Study of a quench device for the synthesis and hydrolysis of Zn nanoparticles: Modeling and experiments

The synthesis and hydrolysis of zinc nanoparticles are carried out in a tubular reactor. A key component of the reactor is a coaxial jet quench device. Three coaxial and multi-inlet confined jets mix Zn(g), steam, and argon to produce and hydrolyze zinc nanoparticles. The performance of the quench device is assessed with computational fluid dynamics modeling and measurements of hydrogen conversion and particle size and composition.Numerical data elucidate the impact of varying jet flow rates on temperature and velocity distributions within the reactor. Experiments produce hydrogen conversions of 61-79%. Particle deposition on sections of the reactor surface above 650 K favors hydrolysis. Residence time for in-flight particles is less than 1 s and these particles are partially hydrolyzed.