US Patent:
20100122899, May 20, 2010
Inventors:
Ryan L. Hartman - Arlington MA, US
Hemantkumar R. Sahoo - Houston TX, US
Klavs F. Jensen - Lexington MA, US
Assignee:
Massachusetts Institute of Technology - Cambridge MA
International Classification:
B01D 3/00
B01D 11/00
B01D 17/00
B81B 7/00
B01D 19/00
B01D 47/00
US Classification:
203 28, 210634, 210638, 203 99, 203 71, 210775, 210799, 95227, 21074801
Abstract:
The present invention generally relates to the small-scale separation of a mixture of two or more components with different boiling points into enriched fractions. In some embodiments, a first and second fluid (e.g., a liquid and a gas, a liquid and a liquid, etc.) are passed through a channel. The first fluid may comprise at least two components, each with a unique boiling point. Upon contacting the first and second fluids within the channel, at least a portion of the most volatile of the components in the first fluid (i.e., the component with the lowest boiling point) may be transferred from the first fluid to the second fluid. In some instances, the transfer of the volatile component(s) from the first fluid to the second fluid may be expedited by heating, in some cases above the boiling point(s) of the component(s) to be transferred from the first fluid to the second fluid. Contact between the first and second fluids may be maintained, for example, via segmented flow, bubbling flow, etc. In some instances, separation between the first and second fluids may be maintained in a channel that is essentially free of interior microchannel surface irregularities.