Spinning Disc Reactor for Green Processing and Synthesis - Process Intensification for Green Chemistry - page 86

the pharmaceutical and fine chemicals industry. Combining highly efficient continuous
processing technologies, such as the SDR, and tools for achieving green chemistry, such as
heterogeneous catalysts and environmentally benign reagents, can open up new avenues to
attaining a truly sustainable process, as has been highlighted in this chapter. Moreover, the
improved energy efficiency offered by intensified equipment such as the SDR provides a
distinct advantage in the current bid to cut down on energy use, as elaborated on inChapter 15.
There are nevertheless a number of important technical issues and challenges to be
addressed before this emerging technology can find widespread commercial application.
Resolving these issues will require a good deal of collaborative effort between many
stakeholders in academia and industry, and could pave the way for greater uptake of SDRs
in the chemical and processing industries in the next 10-15 years.

Nomenclature

a cor Coriolis acceleration (m/s 2 )
Q Volumetric flow rate (m 3 /s)

r Radial position from centre of disc (m)

S )

t res Mean disc residence time (s)
u m Mean radial velocity (m/s)
v r

Scaling factor (

Radial velocity (m/s)

z Vertical distance from disc surface (m)

Greek Letters

d Film thickness (m)

Shear rate (s 1 )

g

Kinematic viscosity (m 2 /s)

n

u Angular direction ( )

Liquid density (kg/m 3 ) r

v Angular velocity (rad/s)

Subscripts

i inner

o outer

References

(1) C. G. Kirkbride, Heat transfer by condensing vapour on vertical tubes. Ind. Eng. Chem., 26(4),
425-428 (1934).
(2) R. E. Emmert and R. L. Pigford, A study of gas absorption in falling liquid films. Chem. Eng.
Prog., 50(2), 87-93 (1964).
(3) G. D. Fulford, The flow of liquids in thin films, in Advances in Chemical Engineering, vol. 5,
Academic Press: New York, pp. 151-236 (1964).