Selective Surface Chemistry Patterning of Microfluidic Separators Using Zeolites

Abstract

Phase separation techniques are used extensively in the chemical engineering field as it is utilized in various applications. In the oil industry, for example, phase separation of oil/water emulsions is required to collect the oil from the reservoirs and discard the water from it. In this work, a method of fabricating a polymeric microfluidic device that is capable of phase separation will be proposed. This device must be able to separate oil/water emulsions utilizing the enhanced surface energy attain as a result of nanomaterial regional-selective coating of the microfluidic device’s walls. Some of the promising potential benefits of this work are that it facilitates the researchers to study microflow phase separation dynamics and explore methods to reach high separation efficiencies. Moreover, the phase separation is done spontaneously without the need for external energy-based phase separation techniques.

Date of Award	18 Jul 2024
Original language	American English
Supervisor	Nahla Alamoodi (Supervisor)