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Effect of dispersed phase viscosity on maximum droplet generation frequency in microchannel emulsification using asymmetric straight-through channels

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Abstract

Uniformly sized droplets of soybean oil, MCT (medium-chain fatty acid triglyceride) oil and n-tetradecane with a Sauter mean diameter of d 3,2 = 26–35 μm and a distribution span of 0.21–0.25 have been produced at high throughputs using a 24 × 24 mm silicon microchannel plate consisting of 23,348 asymmetric channels fabricated by photolithography and deep reactive ion etching. Each channel consisted of a 10-μm diameter straight-through micro-hole with a length of 70 μm and a 50 × 10 μm micro-slot with a depth of 30 μm at the outlet of each channel. The maximum dispersed phase flux for monodisperse emulsion generation increased with decreasing dispersed phase viscosity and ranged from over 120 L m−2 h−1 for soybean oil to 2,700 L m−2 h−1 for n-tetradecane. The droplet generation frequency showed significant channel to channel variations and increased with decreasing viscosity of the dispersed phase. For n-tetradecane, the maximum mean droplet generation frequency was 250 Hz per single active channel, corresponding to the overall throughput in the device of 3.2 million droplets per second. The proportion of active channels at high throughputs approached 100% for soybean oil and MCT oil, and 50% for n-tetradecane. The agreement between the experimental and CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) results was excellent for soybean oil and the poorest for n-tetradecane.

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Abbreviations

A m :

Active cross-sectional area of microchannel plate (m2)

Ca :

Capillary number

d :

Droplet diameter (m)

d10, d50, d90:

Droplet diameters corresponding to 10, 50, and 90% cumulative undersize mass (m)

d 3,2 :

Sauter mean diameter of droplets (m)

d ch :

Diameter of microchannel (m)

k :

Fraction of active microchannels

h :

Height of gap between microchannel plate and cover slip (m)

N 0 :

Total number of microchannels in plate

Q :

Volume flow rate (m3 s−1)

U :

Velocity of disperse phase in microchannel (m s−1)

\( \bar{U} \) :

Mean velocity of disperse phase in active microchannels (m s−1)

W :

Width of gap between MC plate and cover slip (m)

We :

Weber number

γ :

Interfacial tension (N m−1)

η :

Viscosity (Pa s)

ρ :

Density (kg m−3)

τ :

Shear stress (Pa)

c:

Continuous phase

cr:

Critical conditions

d:

Disperse phase

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Tokyo (the invitation fellowship of Dr. Goran Vladisavljević ID No. L-05555), and by the Food Nanotechnology Project of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Chemical Engineering Department, Loughborough University, Loughborough, Leicestershire, LE11 3TU, UK

    Goran T. Vladisavljević

  2. Laboratory of Chemical Dynamics, Vinča Insitute of Nuclear Sciences, P.O. Box 522, 11001, Belgrade, Serbia

    Goran T. Vladisavljević

  3. National Food Research Institute, National Agriculture and Food Research Organization, Kannondai 2-1-12, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-8642, Japan

    Isao Kobayashi & Mitsutoshi Nakajima

  4. Graduate School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Tsukuba, 1-1-1, Tennoudai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-8572, Japan

    Mitsutoshi Nakajima

Authors
  1. Goran T. Vladisavljević
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  2. Isao Kobayashi
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  3. Mitsutoshi Nakajima
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Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Goran T. Vladisavljević or Isao Kobayashi.

Appendix

Appendix

See Tables 2, 3, and 4.

Table 2 Typical transmembrane flux, mean droplet size and span of particle size distribution in membrane emulsification (ME)
Full size table
Table 3 Typical plate dimensions, number of MCs, average size of resultant droplets, and maximum throughput of grooved and straight-through silicon MC plates
Full size table
Table 4 The average droplet size, CV of droplet diameter and droplet throughput in straight-through MC emulsification
Full size table

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Vladisavljević, G.T., Kobayashi, I. & Nakajima, M. Effect of dispersed phase viscosity on maximum droplet generation frequency in microchannel emulsification using asymmetric straight-through channels. Microfluid Nanofluid 10, 1199–1209 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10404-010-0750-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10404-010-0750-9

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