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Capillary-based Centrifugal Microfluidic Device for Size-controllable Formation of Monodisperse Microdroplets

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Distillation in microchemical systems using capillary forces and segmented flow.

Ryan L Hartman¹, Hemantkumar R Sahoo, Bernard C Yen

¹MIT, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA, USA.

|June 18, 2009

Summary

This study presents a microfluidic distillation device for separating liquid mixtures. The integrated silicon chip achieves separation based on boiling points using vapor-liquid equilibrium in segmented flow.

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Area of Science:

Chemical Engineering
Microfluidics
Separation Science

Background:

Distillation is a common liquid mixture separation technique relying on volatility differences.
Traditional distillation is challenging in microfluidic systems due to dominant interfacial forces over gravitational forces.

Purpose of the Study:

To describe and demonstrate distillation within microchemical systems.
To present an integrated silicon device for microfluidic distillation.

Main Methods:

Microfluidic distillation was achieved by establishing vapor-liquid equilibrium in segmented flow.
Capillary forces were utilized to separate enriched vapor from the liquid phase, enabling single-stage operation.
The device's performance was validated using binary mixtures of methanol-toluene and dichloromethane-toluene.

Main Results:

Separation of methanol-toluene mixtures yielded liquid with 0.22 ± 0.03 mole fraction methanol and vapor with 0.79 ± 0.06 mole fraction methanol.
Separation of dichloromethane-toluene mixtures resulted in liquid with 0.16 ± 0.07 mole fraction dichloromethane and vapor with 0.63 ± 0.05 mole fraction dichloromethane.
Experimental outcomes aligned with theoretical phase equilibrium predictions.

Conclusions:

An integrated silicon microfluidic device successfully performs single-stage distillation.
The developed method effectively separates liquid mixtures based on boiling point differences in microscale systems.