Title: Droplet production via interfacial chemical reaction: a route to nano-emulsions

Speaker: Dr. Thomas Ward, Department of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering, North Carolina State University

Date/Time: Monday, April 12, 2010, 10:00 am       

Location: CSRI Building/Room 90 (Sandia NM)

Brief Abstract: Microfluidic flow-focusing technology will be used to investigate the production of a surfactant via an interfacial chemical reaction. The goal is to develop novel processes for producing emulsions that may be used as bio-diesel fuels. One difficulty in producing bio-diesel emulsions in the sedimentation of the dispersed phased fluid. The dispersed phase fluid sedimentation rate significantly decreases by generating nanometer sized droplets. In the absence of a chemical reactions the drop shapes produced in a flow-focusing geometry remain constant from the time of break up at the nozzle until they exit the channel. In the presence of the chemical reaction there is modification of the shape depending on the reactant concentrations. The morphology and other aspects of droplet production are measured for a variety of flow conditions with observable trends that seem to depend on the reaction rate, suggesting that the Damköhler number may be the most suitable parameter for characterizing these types of flows. By performing bulk process to generate emulsion in a similar operating parameter range then it may be possible to produce similar observed phenomenon that would be favorable for emulsion production.

CSRI POC: Elebeoba May, (505) 844-9933