Massive Microfluidic Arrays for Industrial Processing

The design and operation of a novel type of commercial continuous flow microfluidic extraction system is described. The tunable orientation of dense monolithic microwires can be tailored to confine large volumes of fluids into a microfluidic regime characterized by low capillary and Reynold’s numbers. The design of massive microchannel arrays represents a powerful approach for process intensification in critical industrial operations such as extractions in which emulsification, mass transfer, and phase separation are significantly accelerated and tightly controlled.  Flow hydrodynamics can be precisely tuned despite the massive number of microchannels thus enabling the unprecedented integration of microfluidics at industrially relevant throughputs ( >1000 liters/min) in a single, low energy-use, low footprint process. Commercial applications addressing industrial challenges in the fuel and edible oil industries will be described.