Microfluidics-Based Analysis in Organic Wastewater Processing

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Cutting-edge microfluidic knowledge and an excellent R&D team give Creative Biolabs the confidence to develop and fabricate microfluidic systems suitable for organic wastewater treatment for our clients all over the world.

Microfluidic Systems in Organic Wastewater Processing

With the increase in agricultural, industrial and municipal water consumption and the shortage of high-safety water resources, water and wastewater treatment and recycling have become important measures to alleviate the shortage of water resources and improve water security. The flow processing and liquid phase manipulation characteristics of microfluidic technology make microfluidic chips have inherent advantages in treating water and wastewater. The miniaturized and highly integrated semi-automatic microfluidic system has good operational safety, ease of use, and efficiency in various water treatment applications. The application of microfluidic systems in the field of organic wastewater treatment mainly includes pollutant monitoring, water purification and fouling research.

Pollutant Monitoring

With the increase of industrialization and the popularization of antibiotics, the deposition concentration of various drugs, antibiotics, heavy metals and other water pollutants in surface water continues to increase. Due to the lack of on-site deployment and reliable testing equipment, environmental pollution is often unable to be effectively supervised. Microfluidic electrochemical sensors using various biomolecules as recognition elements can quickly and sensitively capture drug residues from water and convert them into readable electrical signal outputs. Commonly used recognition molecules include enzymes, phages, DNA, antibodies, etc. In addition, a miniaturized isothermal polymerase reaction or reverse transcriptase quantitative polymerase chain reaction chip is also an on-site detection method that does not require complex device support when more accurate detection results are required.

Fig 1. Microfluidic electrochemical biosensors. (Campana, et al., 2019)

Water Purification

The advanced oxidation process (AOP) refers to the indiscriminate conversion of various water-soluble pollutants into relatively benign components using reactive oxygen species, reducing the concentration of toxic and recalcitrant organic substances below acceptable levels. Traditional AOP technology has limited purification efficiency and high energy consumption, which greatly limits the practicability of AOP in environmental applications. The microreactor has a channel size of millimeters or even micrometers, and the extremely high interface surface area improves the mass transfer and catalytic efficiency of the reaction. Transparent channel materials allow real-time access to side reactions and efficient photocatalytic AOP applications. Microfluidic systems have inherent continuous flow processing capabilities, rapid heat transfer, and high ease of use, which greatly promotes the development of wastewater AOP purification at the microscale.

Fig. 2 Microfluidic biosensors for wastewater processing. (Campana, et al., 2019)

Fouling Research

The simplest wastewater treatment method is to use the membrane structure to form a barrier that limits the transport of particles. Various colloidal particles, biological materials and organic substances will continue to deposit and form serious membrane fouling during the treatment. Biofouling degrades other substances in solution, resulting in exponentially increasing pollution. Microfluidic devices can define tiny gaps in the structure to simulate the blind pore size and shape of the membrane, and the continuous and predictable laminar flow theory adds additional maneuverability to the liquid phase flow trajectory. Microfluidic devices have become important tools for studying biological growth and fouling processes in fluid states.

Fig 3. Fouling research using microcolumn arrays to simulate membrane structure. (Biswas, et al., 2018)

Services

Our reliable and cutting-edge microfluidic technology platform provides a powerful tool for environmental microfluidics research, especially in water/wastewater-related research applications. Equipped with complete microfluidic manufacturing equipment, Creative Biolabs will comprehensively evaluate the fluid dynamic characteristics, fabricating materials, manufacturing technology and structural design of microreactors suitable for your research plan, with excellent fabrication characteristics and optimization. The integrated structure helps you maximize the multiple advantages of the microfluidic system, thus meeting the multifaceted needs of your organic wastewater treatment. We will provide powerful assistance to promote the development of environmental microfluidics, especially in water-related research, so don't hesitate to contact us for more information.

References

Campana, A.; et al. Enzyme-based electrochemical biosensors for microfluidic platforms to detect pharmaceutical residues in wastewater. Biosensors. 2019, 9: 41.
Biswas, I.; et al. Microfluidic membrane filtration systems to study biofouling. IntechOpen. 2018, 57: 75006.

For Research Use Only. Not For Clinical Use.