DFG Priority Program 1740: Reactive Bubbly Flows
Welcome to the coordination page of the priority program "The Influence of Local Transport Processes on Chemical Reactions in Bubble Flows".
Gaseous substances have to be well mixed with a continuous liquid phase to perform a reaction with high yield and selectivity. For this purpose bubbly flows are preferred, in which the gaseous phase is dispersed in the liquid phase (e.g. bubble columns). The time scales of mixing are largely determined by the buoyancy flow and transport resistances of phase boundaries and boundary layers, which are not sufficiently explored yet.
The priority program works on this gap by using new experimental and numerical methods for the determination of reaction-relevant time scales (kinetics) of reaction networks at local (inherent) scale in order to elucidate the interaction between hydrodynamic and reaction in bubbly flows. Here, the close interaction between engineering, chemistry and mathematics is of particular importance.
The central objective of the priority program is to develop new and improved methods for the analysis, modeling and computing:
- local hydrodynamics with turbulence,
- local concentration distribution with mass transfer / mass transport,
- reaction progression with transport limitation.
Welcome to the coordination page of the priority program "The Influence of Local Transport Processes on Chemical Reactions in Bubble Flows".
Gaseous substances have to be well mixed with a continuous liquid phase to perform a reaction with high yield and selectivity. For this purpose bubbly flows are preferred, in which the gaseous phase is dispersed in the liquid phase (e.g. bubble columns). The time scales of mixing are largely determined by the buoyancy flow and transport resistances of phase boundaries and boundary layers, which are not sufficiently explored yet.
The priority program works on this gap by using new experimental and numerical methods for the determination of reaction-relevant time scales (kinetics) of reaction networks at local (inherent) scale in order to elucidate the interaction between hydrodynamic and reaction in bubbly flows. Here, the close interaction between engineering, chemistry and mathematics is of particular importance.
The central objective of the priority program is to develop new and improved methods for the analysis, modeling and computing:
- local hydrodynamics with turbulence,
- local concentration distribution with mass transfer / mass transport,
- reaction progression with transport limitation.

Coordinators
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Michael Schlüter
Technische Universität Hamburg
Dr.-Ing. Bern Gernoth
Programmdirektor Gruppe Chemie und Ingenieurwissenschaften DFG
Programm Commitee
Prof.-Dr.-Ing. Michael Schlüter
Technische Universität Hamburg
Prof. Dr. Dieter Bothe
Technische Universität Darmstadt
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Ulrich Nieken
Universität Stuttgart
Prof. Dr. Sonja Herres-Pawlis
RWTH Universität Aachen
Video: Reactive Oxygen Taylor Bubble - Solution of Cu(btmgp)I (20 mM) in Acetonitrile at ambient pressure and temperature. Source: Project Group Prof. Dr.-Ing. Michael Schlüter, TU Hamburg: Experimental Investigation of Reactive Bubbly Flows - Influence of Boundary Layer Dynamics on Mass Transfer and Chemical Reactions.
