Advances in membrane emulsification. Part B: recent developments in modelling and scale-up approaches

Area of Science:

• Chemical Engineering
• Materials Science
• Process Engineering

Background:

• Membrane emulsification is a microfluidic technique for producing emulsions and particulates.
• It offers advantages over high-shear methods, including narrower size distribution, improved repeatability, and lower energy consumption.
• Significant advancements in understanding microstructure formation have led to predictive modeling approaches.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review various models for predicting droplet size and flow behavior in membrane emulsification.
• To assess the advantages and disadvantages of different modeling approaches.
• To highlight the progress of membrane emulsification towards industrial scale-up and suggest future research directions.

Main Methods:

• Review of existing literature on membrane emulsification models.
• Analysis of models predicting droplet size, flow behavior, and droplet-droplet interactions.
• Discussion of mathematical formulae relevant to these models.

Main Results:

• Models for predicting emulsion droplet size and throughput have advanced significantly.
• The accuracy and applicability of these models are crucial for developing design equations for scale-up.
• Part B of the review details the pros and cons of various predictive models.

Conclusions:

• Membrane emulsification shows great promise for industrial applications due to its controllable and efficient nature.
• Further development of accurate predictive models is essential for successful process scale-up.
• Continued research is recommended to optimize industrial-scale membrane emulsification processes.