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Open Access Topical Review Issue
High-throughput microfluidic production of carbon capture microcapsules: fundamentals, applications, and perspectives
International Journal of Extreme Manufacturing 2024, 6(3): 032010
Published: 04 April 2024
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In the last three decades, carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions have shown a significant increase from various sources. To address this pressing issue, the importance of reducing CO2 emissions has grown, leading to increased attention toward carbon capture, utilization, and storage strategies. Among these strategies, monodisperse microcapsules, produced by using droplet microfluidics, have emerged as promising tools for carbon capture, offering a potential solution to mitigate CO2 emissions. However, the limited yield of microcapsules due to the inherent low flow rate in droplet microfluidics remains a challenge. In this comprehensive review, the high-throughput production of carbon capture microcapsules using droplet microfluidics is focused on. Specifically, the detailed insights into microfluidic chip fabrication technologies, the microfluidic generation of emulsion droplets, along with the associated hydrodynamic considerations, and the generation of carbon capture microcapsules through droplet microfluidics are provided. This review highlights the substantial potential of droplet microfluidics as a promising technique for large-scale carbon capture microcapsule production, which could play a significant role in achieving carbon neutralization and emission reduction goals.

Open Access Paper Issue
Bionic microchannels for step lifting transpiration
International Journal of Extreme Manufacturing 2023, 5(2): 025502
Published: 10 March 2023
Abstract PDF (1.4 MB) Collect
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Those various cross-sectional vessels in trees transfer water to as high as 100 meters, but the traditional fabrication methods limit the manufacturing of those vessels, resulting in the non-availability of those bionic microchannels. Herein, we fabricate those bionic microchannels with various cross-sections by employing projection micro-stereolithography (PµSL) based 3D printing technique. The circumradius of bionic microchannels (pentagonal, square, triangle, and five-pointed star) can be as small as 100 μm with precisely fabricated sharp corners. What’s more, those bionic microchannels demonstrate marvelous microfluidic performance with strong precursor effects enabled by their sharp corners. Most significantly, those special properties of our bionic microchannels enable them outstanding step lifting performance to transport water to tens of millimeters, though the water can only be transported to at most 20 mm for a single bionic microchannel. The mimicked transpiration based on the step lifting of water from bionic microchannels is also achieved. Those precisely fabricated, low-cost, various cross-sectional bionic microchannels promise applications as microfluidic chips, long-distance unpowered water transportation, step lifting, mimicked transpiration, and so on.

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