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Study of a new multi channel foam and emulsion generator

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 February 2012

Maximilien Stoffel
Affiliation:
Université Paris-Est, ESIEE Paris, ESYCOM, 2 Bd. Blaise Pascal, 93162 Noisy le Grand, France
Sebastian Wahl
Affiliation:
Université Paris-Est, ESIEE Paris, ESYCOM, 2 Bd. Blaise Pascal, 93162 Noisy le Grand, France
Elise Lorenceau
Affiliation:
Université Paris-Est, LPMDI, FRE 3300 CNRS, 5 Bd. Descartes, 77454 Marne-la-Vallée, France
Reinhard Hohler
Affiliation:
Université Paris-Est, LPMDI, FRE 3300 CNRS, 5 Bd. Descartes, 77454 Marne-la-Vallée, France Université Paris 6, INSP, UMR 7588 CNRS-UPMC, 4 place Jussieu, 75252 Paris, France
Bruno Mercier
Affiliation:
Université Paris-Est, ESIEE Paris, ESYCOM, 2 Bd. Blaise Pascal, 93162 Noisy le Grand, France
Dan Angelescu
Affiliation:
Université Paris-Est, ESIEE Paris, ESYCOM, 2 Bd. Blaise Pascal, 93162 Noisy le Grand, France
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Abstract

This work describes the design and operation of two microfluidic emulsion and foam generators. The difference between the two devices consists in the geometry of the output channel - in one case, we used a straight microchannel, whereas in the second case we implemented a fractal channel output geometry. While both devices can produce highly monodisperse foams and emulsions at high throughput (coefficient of variation CV≈1.5% and production frequency of up to 2.5kHz per channel with a total of 256 micro channels capable, in theory, of operating in parallel), the actual CV at the exit of the device was significantly higher due to interactions between adjacent droplets or bubbles. Using a combination of high-viscosity continuous phase liquid and low-solubility gas phase resulted in improved monodispersity. In these conditions, the fractal output channel geometry resulted in the lowest overall CV (≈3%) at the exit of the device for both foam and emulsion production, due to an inhibition of aging and coalescence phenomena as compared to the straight channel.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2012

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References

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