Michael Baune

Dielectrophoretic Gold Particle Separation

Abstract We present a novel process for gold particle separation from aqueous setup with a high separation efficiency and without any environmental risk. Dielectrophoresis (DEP), as the main mechanism of this separation process, is applied for the first time to separate gold even continuously from a raw mineral mixture. Electrothermal and high-pass-filter effects, occurring in DEP with water as liquid phase, were investigated and considered during the design of the separation process. The experimental results demonstrate that even ultra thin gold particles can be separated from a raw mineral mixture with an efficiency of up to 88% at an electric field of 32 kV/m and 200 kHz in continuous operation with specific fluid flow of about 400 m3/(m h).

A fouling suppression system in submerged membrane bioreactors using dielectrophoretic forces

A novel method was developed to suppress membrane fouling in submerged membrane bioreactors. The method is based on the dielectrophoretic (DEP) motion of particles in an inhomogeneous electrical field. Using a real sample of biomass as feed, the fouling-suppression performance using DEP with different electrical field intensities (60-160 V) and different frequencies (50-1000 Hz) was investigated. The fouling-suppression performance was found to relate closely with the intensity and frequency of the electrical field. A stronger electrical field was found to better recover the filtrate flux. This is because of a stronger DEP force acting on the biomass particles close to the membranes surface. Above an intensity and frequency value of 130 V and 1 kHz, respectively the permeate flux was reduced due to an electrothermal effect.

The contribution of diffusion to gas microflow: An experimental study

Moderately rarefied gas flows are clearly distinguished from viscous flow in the continuum regime and from molecular diffusion at high rarefaction. They are an intermediate of the two border cases referred to as slip flow and transition regime flow. Here, we present a new pencil-and-paper approach for modeling flows in these regimes by a superposition of convection and Fickian diffusion. It allows us to predict mass flows for helium, argon, nitrogen, and carbon dioxide in microducts with parallel walls and with slightly varying cross section. The model was validated by measurement series taken from literature and by own permeation experiments on tapered microchannels. Analytical investigation of the approach showed that the diffusive flow is proportional to the cross-sectional area at the channel entrance. Hence, the mass flow in a tapered channel is unequal in both directions when diffusion dominates due to increased rarefaction. In contrary to the common Maxwellian slip approach the superposition model ...

Electrodeless dielectrophoresis: Impact of geometry and material on obstacle polarization

Insulator‐based (electrodeless) dielectrophoresis (iDEP) is a promising particle manipulation technique, based on movement of matter in inhomogeneous fields. The inhomogeneity of the field arises because the excitatory field distorts at obstacles (posts). This effect is caused by accumulation of polarization charges at material interfaces. In this study, we utilize a multipole expansion method to investigate the influence of geometry and material on field distortion of posts with arbitrary cross‐sections in homogeneous electric fields applied perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the post. The post then develops a multipole parallel or anti parallel to the excitatory field. The multipoles intensity is defined by the posts structure and material properties and directly influences the DEP particle trapping potential. We analyzed posts with circular and rhombus‐shaped cross‐sections with different cross‐sectional width‐to‐height ratios and permittivities for their polarization intensity, multipole position, and their particle trapping behavior. A trade‐off between high maximum field gradient and high coverage range of the gradient is presented, which is determined by the sharpness of the posts edges. We contribute to the overall understanding of the post polarization mechanism and expect that the results presented will help optimizing the structure of microchannels with arrays of posts for electrodeless DEP application.

Influence of geometry and material of insulating posts on particle trapping using positive dielectrophoresis

Insulator-based dielectrophoresis (iDEP) is a powerful particle analysis technique based on electric field scattering at material boundaries which can be used, for example, for particle filtration or to achieve chromatographic separation. Typical devices consist of microchannels containing an array of posts but large scale application was also successfully tested. Distribution and magnitude of the generated field gradients and thus the possibility to trap particles depends apart from the applied field strength on the material combination between post and surrounding medium and on the boundary shape. In this study we simulate trajectories of singe particles under the influence of positive DEP that are flowing past one single post due to an external fluid flow. We analyze the influence of key parameters (excitatory field strength, fluid flow velocity, particle size, distance from the post, post size, and cross-sectional geometry) on two benchmark criteria, i.e., a critical initial distance from the post so that trapping still occurs (at fixed particle size) and a critical minimum particle size necessary for trapping (at fixed initial distance). Our approach is fundamental and not based on finding an optimal geometry of insulating structures but rather aims to understand the underlying phenomena of particle trapping. A sensitivity analysis reveals that electric field strength and particle size have the same impact, as have fluid flow velocity and post dimension. Compared to these parameters the geometry of the posts cross-section (i.e. rhomboidal or elliptical with varying width-to-height or aspect ratio) has a rather small influence but can be used to optimize the trapping efficiency at a specific distance. We hence found an ideal aspect ratio for trapping for each base geometry and initial distance to the tip which is independent of the other parameters. As a result we present design criteria which we believe to be a valuable addition to the existing literature.

Electrolyte Composition for Distinguishing Corrosion Mechanisms in Steel Alloy Screening

The formation and breakdown of passive layers due to pitting corrosion are a major cause of failure of metal structures. The investigation of passivation and pitting corrosion requires two different electrochemical measurements and is therefore a time consuming process. To reduce time in material characterization and to study the interactions of both mechanisms, here, a combined experiment addressing both phenomena is introduced. In the presented electrolyte the different corrosion mechanisms are distinguished and investigated by cyclic voltammograms and polarization scans. The measurements show a passive area, metastable pit growth, and pitting corrosion as well as repassivation. The pitting corrosion is separated from additional dissolution processes and the standard deviation of the corrosion potential is smaller than in other electrolytes. Both passivation and pitting corrosion can be observed in one measurement without additional corrosion attacks. The deviation between different measurements of the same steel is small; this is helpful for the screening of similar materials.

Bridging the scales in high-throughput dielectrophoretic (bio-)particle separation in porous media

Dielectrophoresis (DEP) is a versatile technique for the solution of difficult (bio-)particle separation tasks based on size and material. Particle motion by DEP requires a highly inhomogeneous electric field. Thus, the throughput of classical DEP devices is limited by restrictions on the channel size to achieve large enough gradients. Here, we investigate dielectrophoretic filtration, in which channel size and separation performance are decoupled because particles are trapped at induced field maxima in a porous separation matrix. By simulating microfluidic model porous media, we derive design rules for DEP filters and verify them using model particles (polystyrene) and biological cells (S. cerevisiae, yeast). Further, we bridge the throughput gap by separating yeast in an alumina sponge and show that the design rules are equally applicable in real porous media at high throughput. While maintaining almost 100% efficiency, we process up to 9 mL min−1, several orders of magnitude more than most state-of-the-art DEP applications. Our microfluidic approach provides new insight into trapping dynamics in porous media, which even can be applied in real sponges. These results pave the way toward high-throughput retention, which is capable of solving existing problems such as cell separation in liquid biopsy or precious metal recovery.

The influence of microstructure deformation on the corrosion resistance of cold formed stainless steel

Rotary swaging is an incremental cold forming process to produce axisymmetric workpieces from rods and tubes. The process also induces changes of the microstructure of the material depending on the process parameters. This in turn influences the mechanical properties like hardness as well as the electrochemical properties. As a result of changed electrochemical properties, the passivity of the material and thus the corrosion behavior changes. In order to investigate the influence of rotary swaging on the corrosion behavior of the stainless steel AISI304, deformed micro parts are electrochemically analyzed. The measurements reveal a dependency of corrosion rate and impedance on both feed velocity and final diameter of the rotary swaging process. A higher feed velocity decreases the corrosion rate and increases the impedance indicating a better resistance against corrosion as a side effect of rotary swaging.ddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddd.