Microfluidics is the study and science of how gases and liquids flow in microchannels, which are used in microfluidic chips and technologies. The fact is, fluids behave very differently when observed at a much smaller scale- in microfluidics, fluids are used in such small volumes that they’re measured in fermo litres, a quadrillionth of a litre. For the maths geeks, that’s 1 x 10⁻²⁴ litres!!
Microfluidic chip fabrication!
How is it related to chemical engineering?
Microfluidics is known for its numerous advances in fields like biology, where it’s applied in several processes such as gene manipulation and analysis- but how is it related to chemistry?
Microfluidics have recently captured attention in chemistry, as a potentially powerful tool in process intensification- chemical engineering often applies itself to industrial processes that involve the formation of products from raw materials on a large scale. Some examples include fermentation, filtration and drying. Microfluidics have gained attention due to their low production costs and small forms. This allows for the controlled operation, the safe operation of microfluidics, and for them to integrate many basic steps into one chip. If used biologically, microfluidic systems can be used to separate cells, and in chemistry, could be used for the purification of compounds. In short, we are optimistic about using microfluidic systems for miniaturised processes.
Real World Applications of microfluidics:
Microfluidics are used in microreactors. These reactors give information about a reaction and the information can then be used in providing the best conditions for the reaction. Microreactors are mainly used in industrial processes such as x- ray absorption and high performance liquid chromatography.
What are the advantages of microfluidics ?
Selectivity of micro-reactors
Everyone knows that in reactions, your reactants give rise to products- but these reactions are dependent on certain conditions in the environment of the reaction. What happens when these specific reaction conditions can be controlled by microfluidics and microreactors?
Precision. Utmost precision and accuracy, allowing a given reaction to be selectively produced, and to occur to a certain degree. Amazing, isn’t it?
Fast, but safe too
When addressing the rate at which microreactors…well, react, it would be best to compare them to bulk reactors. Bulk reactors take more time than needed in order to ensure that the reaction reaches maximum completion- but if you use microreactors, the reactors are way more optimised. Like we said before, everything is controlled, so the reaction need not last longer than it has to, thus resulting in an increased rate of reaction with microreactors.
Plus it’s safe! Microfluidic systems and devices come better equipped to handle higher pressures and temperatures on smaller scales. Essentially saying that reactions that are typically violent, toxic or explosive are comparatively easier to handle.
Green Chemistry
As its name suggests - green chemistry is a term used for chemical processes that aid in decreasing the production of hazardous substances. It is also known as sustainable chemistry. Microfluidics require less energy. The unwanted products of a reaction can be removed with the help of microfluidics. Moreover, they also make the recycling of important reagents more efficient.
Scaling
Microfluidics has its advantages in processes such as heat and mass transfer(processes that are dependent on scale). This is because of the large surface area to volume ratio, due to which heat is transferred easily across a reaction.
So that’s all from us for now. We hope you learnt something you didn’t know before while reading our article! We hope to see you again in our next issue:)
Written by: Mythri Subash and Maheshi Parwani
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