This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project investigates the use of an innovative mixing technique for chemical processes. The problem is that in many processes, high viscosity and chemical reactions that cause changes in phase interfere with mixing the reagents together, resulting in a poor product and wasted reagent. The opportunity is to develop an innovative mixing technique in which multiphase phenomena dramatically enhance the mixing of viscous and chemically reacting fluids. The objective of this research is to investigate and demonstrate this process and apply it for industrial use. Phase I will show the feasibility of this approach by performing research to prove theories for the mixing mechanism. Understanding the physics of the mixing mechanism is the basis for design methods for mixing equipment demonstrated in Phase II.
