Colloidal State Machines as Smart Tracers for Chemical Reactor Analysis
Name
Advanced Intelligent Systems - 2023 - Zhang - Colloidal State Machines as Smart Tracers for Chemical Reactor Analysis.pdf
Description
Published version
Size
6.5 MB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
13ed9736cbb0ed6e8c207e9d79ad2790
Author(s)
Zhang, Ge
Yang, Jing Fan
Yang, Sungyun
Brooks, Allan M
Koman, Volodymyr B
Gong, Xun
Strano, Michael S
Date Issued
June 29, 2023
Journal
Advanced Intelligent Systems
Publisher
Wiley
Citation
Zhang, Ge, Yang, Jing Fan, Yang, Sungyun, Brooks, Allan M, Koman, Volodymyr B et al. 2023. "Colloidal State Machines as Smart Tracers for Chemical Reactor Analysis." Advanced Intelligent Systems, 5 (9).
Version
Final published version
Abstract
A widely utilized tool in reactor analysis is passive tracers that report the residence time distribution, allowing estimation of the conversion and other properties of the system. Recently, advances in microrobotics have introduced powered and functional entities with sizes comparable to some traditional tracers. This has motivated the concept of Smart Tracers that could record the local chemical concentrations, temperature, or other conditions as they progress through reactors. Herein, the design constraints and advantages of Smart Tracers by simulating their operation in a laminar flow reactor model conducting chemical reactions of various orders are analyzed. It is noted that far fewer particles are necessary to completely map even the most complex concentration gradients compared with their conventional counterparts. Design criteria explored herein include sampling frequency, memory storage capacity, and ensemble number necessary to achieve the required accuracy to inform a reactor model. Cases of severe particle diffusion and sensor noise appear to bind the functional upper limit of such probes and require consideration for future design. The results of the study provide a starting framework for applying the new technology of microrobotics to the broad and impactful set of problems classified as chemical reactor analysis.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Chemical Engineering
Terms of Use
Creative Commons Attribution
Persistent DSpace Link
DOI of Published Version
10.1002/aisy.202300130
