June 2024
- Picture of the Month
![The image shows novel concepts continuous liquid-liquid separation.](/storages/ad-bci/_processed_/4/6/csm_BdM-06-2024_e2c1a20e65.png)
June 2024 – The Laboratory of Equipment Design and the Multi-scale Fluid Manipulation Lab (Taiwan) publish joined article on continuous liquid-liquid separation in microfluidic systems
We are happy to share our recently accepted paper on the “Performance of Different Microfluidic Devices in Continuous Liquid-Liquid Separation” in cooperation with Dr. Ya-Yu Chiang and her lab members of the Multi-scale Fluid Manipulation Lab of the National Taiwan University.
Droplet-based microfluidics exhibit numerous benefits leading to relevant innovations and many applications in various fields. The precise handling of droplets in capillaries, including droplet formation, manipulation, and separation, is essential for successful operation. Only a few reports are known concerning the separation of segmented flows, particularly the continuous separation of droplets, which is of high interest regarding the control of biochemical and chemical reactions or other applications where the contact time of the involved phases is crucial. Here, the separation must be flexible and adjusted to different flow parameters, such as the surface tension, the volumetric flow rates, and their ratios. This contribution presents two novel open-source approaches based on additive manufacturing and mechanical deforming for continuous liquid-liquid separation under various flow conditions. Sophisticated separations can be realized by inexpensive laboratory equipment and simple control of them. The open source approach of this article expands the exploration space in addition to commercially available phase separators only available to a selected group of people.
Reference:
Oldach B., Chiang Y-Y., Ben-Achour L., Chen T-J., and Kockmann N. Performance of different microfluidic devices in continuous liquid-liquid separation. J Flow Chem (2024).