Applications of Multiphase Microflows to Chemical Processes

Abstract

Chemical process with multiphase fluids, such as typified by an extraction process, plays an important role in various fields of chemistry. Extraction using multiphase microlfows in microchannels has attracted attention for over a decade because multiphase microflows can shorten the extraction time by several orders of magnitude as compared to the case of conventional extraction. The physical properties of multiphase microflows are different from those of conventional fluids. Multiphase microflows show various flow patterns, such as parallel microflow, segmented microflow, microemulsions, and annular microflow. Fluid control techniques based on the physical properties of microfluids have been developed in order to control such microflows, and applications utilizing those multiphase microflows have been reported. In this paper, the fundamental physical properties of multiphase microflows, fluid control methods, and microextraction processes are introduced.