Droplet Generation in Micro-Sieve Dispersion Devices

Microdispersion systems play very important roles in chemical industrial process. For the mass production of liquid-liquid microdispersion systems, microfluidic devices were developed using micro-sieve plates as the dispersion medium. The basic fluid dynamic principles of multiphase microflow and microdispersion in micro-sieve dispersion devices were studied using online high-speed camera imaging systems. The effects of pore position, pore connection and channel width were examined and the conclusion is that the droplets produced in micro-sieve dispersion devices are mainly determined by the Ca^-1/4 and the hydraulic diameter of main channel, which is similar to those produced in the corresponding microchannels. Furthermore, similarly to the microchannels these micro-sieve dispersion devices can also produce monodispersed droplets at high Ca number and low dispersed phase flow rate.