Development of gravity-impervious, transportable chemical processes and creation of specialized reaction systems

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1. An Archimedean microchannel was fabricated and used to separate solid particles from water. The spiral channel was held either horizontally or vertically, and slurries were introduced into the inner end of the microspiral. Solid particles moved along with the secondary flow (Dean vortex), and, at the same time, ascended to the lower walls due to the gravity. CFD simulation gave beneficial suggestions for designs of microspirals applicable to liquid/solid separation.2. A novel technique to measure the local thickness of a droplet or a liquid film was developed by using an interference fringe pattern that was formed by reflecting laser lights. The incremental height of the liquid layer was evaluated from the wavelength of the laser light and the refractive index of the liquid. This fringe method has great potential to obtain the three dimensional structure of liquid films which transform rapidly.3. A novel silicon/glass microfluidic device was developed, in which microchannel inner wa … More lls were modified to produce hydrophilic/hydrophobic surfaces selectively. This modification procedure made it possible to form a stable two-layer laminar flow interface between a flow of heavier water and lighter hexane, which were introduced into the upper and lower inlets, respectively.4. CdSe nanocrystals were prepared in a continuous-flow microtube reactor. Effects of reaction conditions on optical properties of the nanocrystals were investigated. The results showed that the micro flow reactor was beneficial for preparation of nanocrystals with narrow size distributions.5. a-Chymotrypsin was immobilized on the inner surface of a PTFE microtube by using glutalaldehyde and parahormaldehyde as cross linkers. The initial reaction rate in the microtubes increased with increasing enzyme concentration even when the substrate concentration was equivalent to the enzyme concentration, while those in the homogeneous batchwise reactor decreased in the range of higher enzyme concentrations.6. The above results were summarized to design gravity-impervious, transportable chemical processes which could be applied to production of specialty chemicals. Less