Marcel Mokbel

Mr. Marcel Mokbel


Research Focus & Metrics

Academic Career Length

9Years (2018-Present)

(Calculated once Scilit publication data is synced: current year − year of first publication + 1)

Representative Publications

View All Publications
16 November 2018 in Micromachines
Verified
Journal Article
Open access
PDF file
DBDmitry Bratsun
Dmitry Bratsun
KKKonstantin Kostarev
Konstantin Kostarev
AMAleksey Mizev
Aleksey Mizev
SASebastian Aland
Sebastian Aland
MMMarcel Mokbel
Marcel Mokbel
KEKerstin Eckert
Kerstin Eckert
Continuous-flow microreactors are an important development in chemical engineering technology, since pharmaceutical production needs flexibility in reconfiguring the synthesis system rather than large volumes of product yield. Microreactors of this type have a special vessel, in which the convective vortices are organized to mix the reagents to increase the product output. We propose a new type of micromixer based on the intensive relaxation oscillations induced by a fundamental effect discovered recently. The mechanism of these oscillations was found to be a coupling of the solutal Marangoni effect, buoyancy and diffusion. The phenomenon can be observed in the vicinity of an air–liquid (or liquid–liquid) interface with inhomogeneous concentration of a surface-active solute. Important features of the oscillations are demonstrated experimentally and numerically. The periodicity of the oscillations is a result of the repeated regeneration of the Marangoni driving force. This feature is used in our design of a micromixer with a single air bubble inside the reaction zone. We show that the micromixer does not consume external energy and adapts to the medium state due to feedback. It switches on automatically each time when a concentration inhomogeneity in the reaction zone occurs, and stops mixing when the solution becomes sufficiently uniform.