A micro-capillary jetting technology for liquid-liquid microdispersion with narrow size distribution

Liquid-liquid microdispersion is one of the key foundations for chemical process intensification. However, liquid-liquid microdispersion at the conditions of high phase ratio and high volume flow rate remains a problem and new microdispersion technology is highly required. Based on the microscale effect of the liquid jet, we developed the micro-capillary jetting technology. It can produce microdroplets (250–500 μm) with narrow size distribution (CV ≈ 10–20 %) in a wide range of physical properties with large capacity and little cost without the restriction of phase ratio. This paper reports the laws of the micro-capillary jetting technology. The liquid-liquid flow patterns and mechanism are studied, and a precise quantitative model to distinguish different jetting patterns is provided for the first time based on the energy analysis in the microscale. Then important factors including physical properties, dispersion mode and structural parameters are investigated. Accordingly, a mathematical model for the prediction of the average droplet size is established and the energy utilization in the jetting dispersion process is calculated.