| US 7,575,681 B2 | ||
| Microfluidic separator | ||
| Dan Eugen Angelescu, Danbury, Conn. (US); Philippe Salamitou, Paris (France); Joyce Wong, Pasadena, Calif. (US); Bhavani Raghuraman, Wilton, Conn. (US); and Brian Oliver Clark, Sugar Land, Tex. (US) | ||
| Assigned to Schlumberger Technology Corporation, Ridgefield, Conn. (US) | ||
| Filed on Sep. 08, 2004, as Appl. No. 10/935,858. | ||
| Prior Publication US 2006/0008913 A1, Jan. 12, 2006 | ||
| Int. Cl. B01D 63/00 (2006.01); B01L 11/00 (2006.01) | ||
| U.S. Cl. 210—321.74 [210/321.6; 210/257.2; 422/101; 166/308.3] | 16 Claims |
| 1. An apparatus, comprising:
a microfluidic device comprising a porous membrane for separating a multiphase mixture in a fluid flow stream within a structure
wherein a pressure difference across the porous membrane is maintained below a capillary break-through pressure of a nonwetting
fluid phase present in the multiphase mixture;
wherein the porous membrane is arranged substantially tangent to an intended fluid flow direction of the multiphase mixture
present in the fluid flow stream and disposed across a fluid sample inlet to the microfluidic device; and
a microsieve structured and arranged adjacent to and downstream of the membrane and includes a capillary fluid separator having
microfabricated channels arranged substantially tangent to the fluid stream downstream of the porous membrane.
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