Intensified liquid-liquid extraction of biomolecules using ionic liquids in small channels

Flow patterns of ionic liquid based aqueous biphasic systems in small channels

“…Regular droplets that fill up the entire channel diameter (drop flow) form at low flow rates, and irregular ones (dispersed flow) form at high flow rates. It was also found that the plug flow region in the dimensionless map for IL-ABS is smaller than with conventional organic solvent -aqueous systems (Cubaud and Mason 2008;Giri Nandagopal and Selvaraju 2016;Bai et al 2016; M. N. Kashid, Harshe, and Agar 2007;Foroughi and Kawaji 2011;Phakoukaki, O'Shaughnessy, and Angeli 2022). This is attributed to the significantly smaller interfacial tension of the IL-ABS compared to the organic solvent-aqueous mixtures which favours small drops to form at low mixture velocities.…”

“…7 b). With organic solvent-aqueous two-phase mixtures annular flow is usually seen at high mixture velocities in small channels (Phakoukaki, O'Shaughnessy, and Angeli 2022). In contrast, with the IL-ABS system, parallel flow is seen due to the large density difference between the ABS phases and their very similar contact angles with the channel wall.…”

“…This is probably due to the low interfacial tension values that cause drops to break at the inlet before filling the entire channel cross section. For the same channel configuration and similar mixture velocities and phase volume fractions, plug flow is reported in the literature with conventional organic-aqueous mixtures, instead of dispersed flow (Phakoukaki, O'Shaughnessy, and Angeli 2022). The parallel flow seen at the low ionic liquid volume fractions and mixture velocities, probably forms because the two phases enter at very low velocities with no disturbances to break it to drops; in addition both phases have similar wettabilities with the channel wall and there is no preference for one to be the continuous phase.…”

“…(Jovanović et al 2011;Madhvanand N. Kashid and Agar 2007;Tsaoulidis et al 2013). Moreover, a large number of flow pattern maps has been published focusing on different parameters such as phase velocities (Cao, Wu, and Sundén 2018), flow rates (Darekar et al 2017) or dimensionless numbers such as capillary (Ca), Weber (We) and Reynolds (Re) (Phakoukaki, O'Shaughnessy, and Angeli 2022) as coordinates. Nonetheless, the different flow pattern transitions are still difficult to predict and highly dependent on the geometry and physical properties of the systems practiced.…”

Synthesis and Characterization of Novel Thiosalicylate-based Solid-Supported Ionic Liquid for Removal of Pb(II) Ions from Aqueous Solution

“…Liquid–liquid extraction may be an excellent option for wastewater treatment as it offers several advantages such as high extractability and high selectivity for liquid separation [ 9 ]. However, there are a few drawbacks to liquid–liquid extraction, such as emulsion formation, the usage of huge volatile organic solvents that are carcinogenic and non-biodegradable and, hence, the formation of large amounts of pollutants, making it costly, time-consuming, and ecologically unfriendly [ 10 ]. The problems associated with the usage of volatile organic solvents in liquid–liquid extraction have motivated many researchers to find alternative metal extractants that would be efficient, cost effective, and environmentally friendly.…”