Production of monodispersed water‐in‐oil emulsions using polymer microchannels

Abstract

AbstractMonodispersed water‐in‐oil (W/O) emulsions were prepared using new fabricated acrylic polymer microchannel (MC) plates. Acrylic plate MC‐A1 was 20 μm wide, 10 μm deep, and 120 μm long; and MC‐A2 was 40 μm wide, 20 μm deep, and 120 μm long with respect to MC sizes. Both MC plates had a terrace length of 30 μm. Monodispersed waterin‐triolein emulsions with average diameters of 42 to 60 μm (MC‐A1) and 62 to 98 μm (MC‐A2) were prepared successfully using tetraglycerin condensed ricinoleic acid ester (CR310) as a surfactant. The CV for droplets produced was less than 10%, demonstrating monodispersity. When we used decane (which is less viscous than triolein) as the continuous phase and CR310 and hexaglycerin pentaoleate (PO500) as surfactants, the average diameters and CV of the droplets became smaller, and the pressure ranges for stable droplet formation were much wider than for the water/triolein system. For comparison, a silicon MC plate (MC‐Si) with dimensions similar to the polymer MC‐A1 was tested and exhibited little significant difference in the average diameter and CV of droplets between MC‐A1 and MC‐Si.