Wyss 2006
Wyss 2006
Wyss 2006
Hans M. Wyss,1 Daniel L. Blair,1 Jeffrey F. Morris,2 Howard A. Stone,3 and David A. Weitz1
1
Department of Physics & DEAS, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA
2
Levich Institute at the City University of New York, New York, New York 10031, USA
3
DEAS, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA
共Received 18 April 2006; published 11 December 2006兲
We investigate clogging of microchannels at the single-pore level using microfluidic devices as model
porous media. The process of clogging is studied at low volume fractions and high flow rates, a technologically
important regime. We show that clogging is independent of particle flow rate and volume fraction, indicating
that collective effects do not play an important role. Instead, the average number of particles that can pass
through a pore before it clogs scales with the ratio of pore to particle size. We present a simple model that
accounts for the data.
The extraction of solids from fluids is a common and with the ratio of the pore to particle size and we present a
important process in industry and technology; deep-bed fil- simple model that correctly accounts for this scaling.
tration in oil recovery, ground water treatment, catalysis, and We flow particle suspensions through a microfluidic de-
liquid chromatography all depend on the capture of solid vice that consists of a single wide channel followed by an
particles inside a porous medium. However, a serious limita- array of parallel, narrow channels 关see Fig. 1共a兲兴; this design
tion to the performance of all filters is ultimately the clog- allows us to investigate a large number of clogging events
ging of the porous medium. Clogging can also lead to cata- simultaneously. Each channel consists of a set of constric-
strophic results in technologies which rely on the complete tions along their length. The height of the channel is held
suppression of any kind of blockage, such as ink-jet printing constant and is the same as that of the large incoming chan-
or any microfluidic system where particles are present either nel. We control the flow rate of the suspension in the chan-
intentionally or unintentionally in the form of dust or other nels by setting the pressure difference of the fluid across the
contaminants. However, despite their importance, the physi- channels. This approach ensures that the flow rate in any
cal mechanisms that lead to clogging of porous media are given channel does not depend on the state of the other chan-
still not well understood. Physically, filters are porous media nels. Clogging events are independently characterized under
with a distribution of pore sizes that determines the smallest identical conditions, allowing us to acquire statistical infor-
filtrate to be removed from suspension. The simplest possible mation about the random clogging process. The ratio of the
picture of clogging is one of pure size exclusion, where pore to particle size is varied over an order of magnitude: the
blockage events occur only if particles enter a pore that is width of the pores is varied over tens of micrometers and the
smaller than their own diameter. However, in many instances particle diameter is on the order of micrometers. Controlled
clogging is observed even when the pores are much larger and well-defined pore structures are produced by fabricating
than the suspended particles. poly-共dimethylsiloxane兲 共PDMS兲 microfluidic devices using
The process of clogging is exceptionally complicated and soft lithography 关4,5兴. Our devices have four PDMS walls
not well understood. Model descriptions of clogging often and are fabricated without plasma activation to ensure the
focus on different length scales than do typical experimental surface wetting properties remain constant in time 关6兴. We
investigations. However, a sound theoretical description of use aqueous suspensions of uniform polystyrene spheres that
clogging ultimately must be based on an understanding of are electrosterically stabilized by sulfate and carboxyl sur-
the blockage mechanism at the level of a single pore. Unfor- face groups 共IDC兲.
tunately, experimental studies typically focus on macro- We use digital video microscopy to record movies of the
scopic clogging in realistic porous materials such as packed microfluidic channels and measure the dynamics of clogging
grains 关1,2兴, or porous membranes 关3兴. Although these ex- at the single-pore level. The typical transit time of a particle
periments provide important insight into the dynamics of through the entire microfluidic device is ⬃0.1 s. Thus, at
clogging in the pore network as a whole, clogging on the standard video rates, we cannot image individual particles
single-pore level cannot be accessed. Without experimental passing through pores. Instead, we capture images of the
data on clogging at the single-pore level, a full interpretation average particle concentration. The intensity of a point in the
of clogging phenomena in macroscopic porous media will image reflects the average local number concentration of par-
remain elusive. Thus, experimental measurements of clog- ticles; the darker the region, the higher the local particle
ging at the single-pore scale are essential. concentration. A typical experimental image is shown in Fig.
In this article, we report experimental results of filtration 1共a兲. The gray regions on the left correspond to a volume
and clogging at the single pore level. We observe that the fraction of = 4 ⫻ 10−2, while the lightest regions are either
formation of clogs is determined solely by a critical number PDMS walls or pure water. The regions that appear darkest
of particles that flow through single pores irrespective of are areas of highly concentrated particles near a clog. A time
both flow rate and particle volume fraction. Moreover, we series of the clogging process for three channels is shown in
show that this critical number scales in an unexpected way Fig. 1共b兲. The darkest shades of gray 共red online兲 indicate
regions where particles are densely packed, whereas particle- Due to the inverse dependence of t* on Q and , N* is
free fluid appears light gray 共yellow online兲; the channel side independent of . Thus, fluctuations due to Poisson statistics
walls are shown in white. At t = 0 s the areas inside the chan- cannot describe the clogging mechanism since the marked
nels appear evenly gray, demonstrating that particles are ho- insensitivity of N* to both and Q indicates that pore clog-
mogeneously distributed. At t = 8 s two channels have be- ging must be a single-particle effect.
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MECHANISM FOR CLOGGING OF MICROCHANNELS PHYSICAL REVIEW E 74, 061402 共2006兲
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WYSS et al. PHYSICAL REVIEW E 74, 061402 共2006兲
N
1 共WH − nD2兲2 W 3H
N ⯝ 兺
*
⯝ . 共5兲
2 n=0 ␣2D2H2 6 ␣ 2D 4
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