Emulsification, separation, and manipulation of oil-water systems using condensation, electrocoalescence, and electrowetting
Thesis: Ph. D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, 2018
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| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | eng |
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Massachusetts Institute of Technology
2019
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| Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/123056 |
| _version_ | 1811078193911693312 |
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| author | Guha, Ingrid Fuller. |
| author2 | Kripa K. Varanasi. |
| author_facet | Kripa K. Varanasi. Guha, Ingrid Fuller. |
| author_sort | Guha, Ingrid Fuller. |
| collection | MIT |
| description | Thesis: Ph. D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, 2018 |
| first_indexed | 2024-09-23T10:55:24Z |
| format | Thesis |
| id | mit-1721.1/123056 |
| institution | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| language | eng |
| last_indexed | 2024-09-23T10:55:24Z |
| publishDate | 2019 |
| publisher | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | mit-1721.1/1230562019-11-22T03:26:06Z Emulsification, separation, and manipulation of oil-water systems using condensation, electrocoalescence, and electrowetting Guha, Ingrid Fuller. Kripa K. Varanasi. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. Thesis: Ph. D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, 2018 Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. Includes bibliographical references (pages 53-60). This thesis explores the emulsification, separation, and manipulation of oil/water mixtures using a range of chemical, mechanical, and electrical techniques. Simply explained, this thesis reports new methods to emulsify oil and water using condensation, separate oil and water using low-voltage electrocoalescence, and manipulate oil and water using ultra low-voltage electrowetting. The emulsification method relies on condensation of one liquid phase onto another. As nanoscale droplets of water condense onto the surface of oil, they are submerged and stabilized in the oil by a surfactant in the oil phase. The concentration of surfactant and time of condensation determine the size and stability of the resulting emulsions. The separation method presented in this thesis redesigns the configuration of the standard electrocoalescence setup and the dielectric materials used. The design employs a surface configuration in place of a bulk configuration for electrocoalescence. Additionally, a high-K dielectric (hafnium oxide) is used in place of a hydrophobic low-K dielectric (e.g. a fluoropolymer). A thermodynamically stable nanoscale oil film-a lipid bilayer-forms on the surface of the hafnium oxide, effectively rendering the surface hydrophobic by buffering water drops from the surface and preventing pinning. This surface configuration coupled with the use of a high-K dielectric drastically reduces the voltage required to induce electrocoalescence. The method of manipulating oil and water presented in this thesis is the electrowetting of a water drop on bare silicon in an oil environment containing zwitterions. The zwitterions form a nanoscale lipid bilayer between the water drop and the silicon surface. This electrowetting system contains no deposited solid dielectrics, resulting in ultra low-voltage actuation of the electrowetting effect. This thesis presents the theory, experimental results, and discussion of the experimental results for each method of controlling water/oil mixtures. by Ingrid Fuller Guha. Ph. D. Ph.D. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science 2019-11-22T00:08:44Z 2019-11-22T00:08:44Z 2018 2018 Thesis https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/123056 1127289813 eng MIT theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed, downloaded, or printed from this source but further reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582 60 pages application/pdf Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| spellingShingle | Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. Guha, Ingrid Fuller. Emulsification, separation, and manipulation of oil-water systems using condensation, electrocoalescence, and electrowetting |
| title | Emulsification, separation, and manipulation of oil-water systems using condensation, electrocoalescence, and electrowetting |
| title_full | Emulsification, separation, and manipulation of oil-water systems using condensation, electrocoalescence, and electrowetting |
| title_fullStr | Emulsification, separation, and manipulation of oil-water systems using condensation, electrocoalescence, and electrowetting |
| title_full_unstemmed | Emulsification, separation, and manipulation of oil-water systems using condensation, electrocoalescence, and electrowetting |
| title_short | Emulsification, separation, and manipulation of oil-water systems using condensation, electrocoalescence, and electrowetting |
| title_sort | emulsification separation and manipulation of oil water systems using condensation electrocoalescence and electrowetting |
| topic | Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. |
| url | https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/123056 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT guhaingridfuller emulsificationseparationandmanipulationofoilwatersystemsusingcondensationelectrocoalescenceandelectrowetting |