A transparent micro-device to study mass transfer and thermodynamics in two-phase flows at high pressure

Abstract : Concentration data and mass transfer coefficients between supercritical CO2 and water in microfluidic capillaries are still scarce in the literature, although they are a big asset for the understanding of green chemical processes using water and supercritical CO2. In this study, a transparent, inexpensive and pressure resistant microsystem is developed to investigate mass transfer of a two-phase flow of water and CO2 under high-pressure (P > 70 bar). It is based on microcapillary technology [1] and allows 2D axisymmetric modelling.