Cargando…

CFD Analysis and Life Cycle Assessment of Continuous Synthesis of Magnetite Nanoparticles Using 2D and 3D Micromixers

Magnetite nanoparticles (MNPs) have attracted basic and applied research due to their immense potential to enable applications in fields as varied as drug delivery and bioremediation. Conventional synthesis schemes led to wide particle size distributions and inhomogeneous morphologies and crystallin...

Descripción completa

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Florez, Sergio Leonardo, Campaña, Ana Lucia, Noguera, M. Juliana, Quezada, Valentina, Fuentes, Olga P., Cruz, Juan C., Osma, Johann F.
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: MDPI 2022
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9230433/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/35744584
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/mi13060970
_version_ 1784735058433671168
author Florez, Sergio Leonardo
Campaña, Ana Lucia
Noguera, M. Juliana
Quezada, Valentina
Fuentes, Olga P.
Cruz, Juan C.
Osma, Johann F.
author_facet Florez, Sergio Leonardo
Campaña, Ana Lucia
Noguera, M. Juliana
Quezada, Valentina
Fuentes, Olga P.
Cruz, Juan C.
Osma, Johann F.
author_sort Florez, Sergio Leonardo
collection PubMed
description Magnetite nanoparticles (MNPs) have attracted basic and applied research due to their immense potential to enable applications in fields as varied as drug delivery and bioremediation. Conventional synthesis schemes led to wide particle size distributions and inhomogeneous morphologies and crystalline structures. This has been attributed to the inability to control nucleation and growth processes under the conventional conditions of bulk batch processes. Here, we attempted to address these issues by scaling down the synthesis process aided by microfluidic devices, as they provide highly controlled and stable mixing patterns. Accordingly, we proposed three micromixers with different channel configurations, namely, serpentine, triangular, and a 3D arrangement with abrupt changes in fluid direction. The micromixers were first studied in silico, aided by Comsol Multiphysics(®) to investigate the obtained mixing patterns, and consequently, their potential for controlled growth and the nucleation processes required to form MNPs of uniform size and crystalline structure. The devices were then manufactured using a low-cost approach based on polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) and laser cutting. Testing the micromixers in the synthesis of MNPs revealed homogeneous morphologies and particle size distributions, and the typical crystalline structure reported previously. A life cycle assessment (LCA) analysis for the devices was conducted in comparison with conventional batch co-precipitation synthesis to investigate the potential impacts on water and energy consumption. The obtained results revealed that such consumptions are higher than those of the conventional process. However, they can be reduced by conducting the synthesis with reused micromixers, as new PMMA is not needed for their assembly prior to operation. We are certain that the proposed approach represents an advantageous alternative to co-precipitation synthesis schemes, in terms of continuous production and more homogeneous physicochemical parameters of interest such as size, morphologies, and crystalline structure. Future work should be directed towards improving the sustainability indicators of the micromixers’ manufacturing process.
format Online
Article
Text
id pubmed-9230433
institution National Center for Biotechnology Information
language English
publishDate 2022
publisher MDPI
record_format MEDLINE/PubMed
spelling pubmed-92304332022-06-25 CFD Analysis and Life Cycle Assessment of Continuous Synthesis of Magnetite Nanoparticles Using 2D and 3D Micromixers Florez, Sergio Leonardo Campaña, Ana Lucia Noguera, M. Juliana Quezada, Valentina Fuentes, Olga P. Cruz, Juan C. Osma, Johann F. Micromachines (Basel) Article Magnetite nanoparticles (MNPs) have attracted basic and applied research due to their immense potential to enable applications in fields as varied as drug delivery and bioremediation. Conventional synthesis schemes led to wide particle size distributions and inhomogeneous morphologies and crystalline structures. This has been attributed to the inability to control nucleation and growth processes under the conventional conditions of bulk batch processes. Here, we attempted to address these issues by scaling down the synthesis process aided by microfluidic devices, as they provide highly controlled and stable mixing patterns. Accordingly, we proposed three micromixers with different channel configurations, namely, serpentine, triangular, and a 3D arrangement with abrupt changes in fluid direction. The micromixers were first studied in silico, aided by Comsol Multiphysics(®) to investigate the obtained mixing patterns, and consequently, their potential for controlled growth and the nucleation processes required to form MNPs of uniform size and crystalline structure. The devices were then manufactured using a low-cost approach based on polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) and laser cutting. Testing the micromixers in the synthesis of MNPs revealed homogeneous morphologies and particle size distributions, and the typical crystalline structure reported previously. A life cycle assessment (LCA) analysis for the devices was conducted in comparison with conventional batch co-precipitation synthesis to investigate the potential impacts on water and energy consumption. The obtained results revealed that such consumptions are higher than those of the conventional process. However, they can be reduced by conducting the synthesis with reused micromixers, as new PMMA is not needed for their assembly prior to operation. We are certain that the proposed approach represents an advantageous alternative to co-precipitation synthesis schemes, in terms of continuous production and more homogeneous physicochemical parameters of interest such as size, morphologies, and crystalline structure. Future work should be directed towards improving the sustainability indicators of the micromixers’ manufacturing process. MDPI 2022-06-19 /pmc/articles/PMC9230433/ /pubmed/35744584 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/mi13060970 Text en © 2022 by the authors. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
spellingShingle Article
Florez, Sergio Leonardo
Campaña, Ana Lucia
Noguera, M. Juliana
Quezada, Valentina
Fuentes, Olga P.
Cruz, Juan C.
Osma, Johann F.
CFD Analysis and Life Cycle Assessment of Continuous Synthesis of Magnetite Nanoparticles Using 2D and 3D Micromixers
title CFD Analysis and Life Cycle Assessment of Continuous Synthesis of Magnetite Nanoparticles Using 2D and 3D Micromixers
title_full CFD Analysis and Life Cycle Assessment of Continuous Synthesis of Magnetite Nanoparticles Using 2D and 3D Micromixers
title_fullStr CFD Analysis and Life Cycle Assessment of Continuous Synthesis of Magnetite Nanoparticles Using 2D and 3D Micromixers
title_full_unstemmed CFD Analysis and Life Cycle Assessment of Continuous Synthesis of Magnetite Nanoparticles Using 2D and 3D Micromixers
title_short CFD Analysis and Life Cycle Assessment of Continuous Synthesis of Magnetite Nanoparticles Using 2D and 3D Micromixers
title_sort cfd analysis and life cycle assessment of continuous synthesis of magnetite nanoparticles using 2d and 3d micromixers
topic Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9230433/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/35744584
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/mi13060970
work_keys_str_mv AT florezsergioleonardo cfdanalysisandlifecycleassessmentofcontinuoussynthesisofmagnetitenanoparticlesusing2dand3dmicromixers
AT campanaanalucia cfdanalysisandlifecycleassessmentofcontinuoussynthesisofmagnetitenanoparticlesusing2dand3dmicromixers
AT nogueramjuliana cfdanalysisandlifecycleassessmentofcontinuoussynthesisofmagnetitenanoparticlesusing2dand3dmicromixers
AT quezadavalentina cfdanalysisandlifecycleassessmentofcontinuoussynthesisofmagnetitenanoparticlesusing2dand3dmicromixers
AT fuentesolgap cfdanalysisandlifecycleassessmentofcontinuoussynthesisofmagnetitenanoparticlesusing2dand3dmicromixers
AT cruzjuanc cfdanalysisandlifecycleassessmentofcontinuoussynthesisofmagnetitenanoparticlesusing2dand3dmicromixers
AT osmajohannf cfdanalysisandlifecycleassessmentofcontinuoussynthesisofmagnetitenanoparticlesusing2dand3dmicromixers