Patent ID: 6299657
Filing Date: 2001-10-09
Classification: B01F,B01J,F28F,Y10S,Y10T

Abstract:
A process for carrying out chemical reactions between gaseous reactants, liquid reactants, or both, in which at least two reactants A and B are individually supplied toa microstructure lamellae mixer having at least one mixing chamber and a guide component for supplying the reactants to be mixed to the at least one mixing chamber, the guide component being composed of several planar elements which are layered one above the other and which have at least one surface which comprises closed microchannels running at an angle with respect to the longitudinal axis of the mixer, the microchannels of adjacent elements crossing each other without contact and having outlets into the at least one mixing chamber, and wherein:a) the planar elements comprise foils into which in each case an individual or a system of adjacent microchannels oriented at alternating angles to the mixer longitudinal axis is incorporated, such that when the foils are layered one above the other, an individual or a series of the closed microchannels for guiding reactants to be mixed are formed;b) the microchannels have a depth of <1,000 .mu.m, a width which is at least 10 times the depth and a base wall thickness of <1,000 .mu.m;c) the outlets of the microchannels adjoining the at least one mixing chamber lie in line one above the other, the microchannels of adjacent foils diverging towards reactant inlets to the mixer such that the reactants to be mixed can be fed to separate inlets,in which they are divided into spatially separated microstreams which then emerge from the microchannels of the mixer into a common mixing and reaction space in the form of fluid lamellae of reactants A and B, the lamellae of each individual reactant all having the same flow rate into the mixing and reaction space as the other lamellae of the same reactant, each fluid lamella of the reactant A being discharged into the mixing and reaction space adjacent to a fluid lamella of the reactant B, and the adjacent fluid lamellae mixing with one another by diffusion, turbulence or both.