An apparatus (11) for enhancing phase contact and chemical reactions, comprising:
- at least one first high-turbulence mixing stage (13);
- at least one second high-shear-stress and high-cavitation stage (15);
- said stages (13, 15) being adapted to cause an increase in relative sliding speeds of phases involved in a multiphase flow passing through said stages (13, 15),
- wherein said at least one first high-turbulence mixing stage (13) comprises a rotor (17) rotatable within a mixing chamber (19) surrounded by a stator (21), and wherein the rotor (17) comprises at least one radial pin (23) integral with said rotor (17),
- wherein said at least one radial pin (23) radially extends from an axis of rotation of a shaft (39) of the rotor (17) over such a length that a diameter of an external circumference described by the at least one radial pin (23) is in a range of 0.3 to 0.9×D, D being a diameter of the mixing chamber (19),
- wherein said at least one first high-turbulence mixing stage (13) is adapted to subject the multiphase flow to a high-turbulence regimen with Reynolds number Re>500,000 and said at least one second high-shear-stress and high-cavitation stage (15) is adapted to subject the multiphase flow to a cavitation regimen characterized by a cavitation number σ<1, where σ=2(pr−pv)/((p)(v2)), pr is reference pressure in pascal, pv is fluid vapor pressure in pascal, p is fluid density in kg/m3, and v is speed of the flow of the fluid in m/sec,
- wherein said at least one second high-shear-stress and high-cavitation stage (15) comprises a rotor (25) provided with radial teeth (27) and housed in a cavitation chamber (29) surrounded by a stator (31) provided with radial teeth (33),
- wherein facing surfaces (35, 37) of the radial teeth (27) of the rotor (25) and the radial teeth (33) of the stator (31) have a parabolic profile in circumferential direction,
- wherein the parabolic profile of each tooth of said radial teeth (27) of the rotor (25) lies along a curve of a parabola (Pr) of which a vertex (Vr) is arranged at a rear edge (27b) of the tooth (27), with respect to a direction of rotation (F1) of the rotor (25), and along a radius (Rr) connecting said rear edge (27b) to a centre (Cr) of the rotor (25), a focus of the parabola (Pr) being also located on said radius (Rr), and
- wherein the parabolic profile of each tooth of said radial teeth (33) of the stator (31) lies along a curve of a parabola (Ps) of which a vertex (Vs) is arranged at a rear edge (33b) of the tooth (33), with respect to the direction of rotation (F1) of the rotor (25), and along a radius (Rs) connecting said rear edge (33b) to the centre (Cs) of the stator (31), a focus of the parabola (Ps) being also located on said radius (Rs).