Flow rate effect
As can be seen in Figure 7d and be expected for a closed-loop recycle
flow system, for a certain time of operation, larger flow rates result
in a higher conversion. For instance, if the total flow rate is equal to
0.66 ml/min, after almost 3hr, more than 80% of cis -cyclooctene
is converted. While, if we double the total flow rate to 1.2 ml/min, a
conversion of more than 90 % can be reached within 3 hr. On the other
hand, if the flow rate is kept lower, for instance 0.2 ml/min, after 3
hrs, only 50 % of cis -cyclooctene is converted. By increasing
the total flow rate, although the stable equilibrium may not be reached
in photo-microreactor, we get benefit from recycling the feed faster and
the whole process speeds up. Therefore, comparing the higher flow rate
case with the lower flow rate cases, indicates that in less time of
operation, higher conversion is achieved.