Download or read book The Study of Fluids Flow through Porous Media Using Microfluidic Devices written by Feng Guo and published by . This book was released on 2019 with total page 148 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The goal of this research is implementing glass-fabricated microfluidic devices to study problems involving fluid flow through porous media problems, including; foam flooding in enhanced oil recovery (EOR), immiscible displacement instability, and CO2 sequestration in a deep saline aquifer. The relatively low viscosity and density of CO2 causes severe fingering, gravity override and high mobility through high permeability layers or fractures, which leads to low sweep efficiency in porous media. CO2 foam flooding stabilized by nanoparticles (NPs) is able to significantly increase CO2 injectant apparent viscosity thereby reducing its mobility and increasing the volumetric sweep efficiency in EOR and sequestration. A deep understanding of flow behaviors and displacement instabilities of CO2 (foam and gas) in porous media enhances the ability to predict oil recovery and CO2 storage and inform reservoir engineering decisions. This dissertation provides details of experimental work performed in NP-stabilized CO2 foam flooding, immiscible displacements and CO2 sequestration using different fabricated microfluidic devices. Several novel NPs candidates are investigated and evaluated in terms of foam stability and oil recovery. The flow behavior of CO2 foam and the resulting incremental oil recovery are investigated in both homogeneous and heterogeneous porous media. Flow instabilities and phase diagrams with boundaries of three flow regimes of immiscible displacement are investigated. In addition, the CO2 gas/foam storage capacity and efficiency in a deep saline aquifer are studied. In order to study NP-stabilized CO2 foam flooding in porous media, a homogeneous microfluidic device is fabricated in which the pore network is based on a 2D representation of a sample of Berea sandstone. Foam properties of NPs stabilized CO2 foam using silica (Si), nanoclay, fly ash and iron oxide (IO) and the resulting improvement in oil recovery are investigated using a series of modified bulk foam tests and microfluidic experiments. Results show that the size and/or size distribution, shape, and surface charge of the particles are influential parameters governing the foam stability and formability which have a direct relationship with oil recovery performance. The displacement observation shows the silica and fly ash NPs assisted by surfactant mixture (Alpha-Olefin Sulfonate (AOS)-Lauramidopropyl Betaine (LAPB)) generated stable foams and resulted in high ultimate oil recoveries (over 90%). Even though IO-surfactant mixtures generate foams with relatively inferior stability characteristics and ultimate recovery, approximately three quarters of the IO NPs are recovered once exposed to a magnetic field. Recovered IO NPs have the potential to be reused in EOR process. The implement of by-product fly ash and recyclable IO NP provides potential advantage of NPs on a commercial scale in EOR processes. A heterogeneous microfluidic device is fabricated, which consisted of a centrally located low permeability zone and two high permeability zones on its sides, to study flow behaviors of CO2 foam and its impact on mobility control in displacing oil in a heterogeneous porous medium. The results show that foam is able to mobilize and recover oil trapped in the low permeability zone by increasing the resistance to flow in the high permeability zones and diverting the surfactant solution into the adjacent low-permeability zone. Foam remains gas-rich in the high permeability zones and solvent-rich in the low permeability zone throughout the experiments. The observed displacement dynamics are explained by characterizing channel geometries (trapezoid) and calculating capillary entry pressure values for various fluids and zones of the medium. Flow behaviors and instabilities in two phase immiscible displacements are addressed using a glass microfluidic device. A series of microfluidic device immiscible displacement experiments are conducted across a range of capillary numbers (Ca) of 1E-4 to 9E-8 and viscosity ratio (M) from 1E-4 to 13.6E3. The microfluidic device features a water-wet porous medium based on a two-dimensional representation of a Berea sandstone; the displacement processes are captured using a high-resolution camera that allows visualization of the entire domain, while being able to resolve features as small as 10 μm. The study reports a correlation between fractal dimension of displacement fronts and displacement front patterns in the porous medium. Three flow regimes with boundaries are mapped on a two-dimensional parameter space (log M and log Ca), and phase diagrams proposed in the literature are superimposed for comparison. Results suggest that the transition regime may occupy a much larger region of the flow regime diagram than is suggested in recent literature. This two-phase immiscible displacement study not only extended works of previous studies using an advanced glass microfluidic device but also it may also help understand macroscopic processes at the continuum scale and provide insights into designing engineered porous media such as exchange columns and membranes with respect to desired immiscible displacement behaviors. In order to study CO2 sequestration in an aquifer with multiple variables, namely, fluids’ interfacial tension, injection rate, viscosity and the characteristics of the porous medium, a custom microfluidic device is developed. The pore network is based on a mosaic of Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) images of a thin section of the Lower Cretaceous Washita-Fredericksburg, which is a saline aquifer-bearing formation in east-central Mississippi, USA. The study investigates the effects of those variables on CO2 gas and foam injection into the brine-saturated porous medium. The results suggest that higher injection rates and CO2 foam injection are able to improve CO2 saturation, and therefore storage, in the microfluidic device; ultimate CO2 saturation from foam injection are approximately 20%-40% higher compared to results from gas injection. Thus, CO2 foam injection is a promising approach to reduce CO2 mobility and optimize the CO2 storage capacity in saline aquifer formations. In addition, legislation of CO2 sequestration and potential advantages of using CO2 foam for geological CO2 sequestration in the aforementioned saline aquifer, which is currently under study for commercial-scale CO2 storage, are also discussed. This research study shows advantages of using glass fabricated microfluidic devices with complex configurations to study several flow-through porous media problems. It enables visualization of fluids distributions and displacement fronts inside various porous media, therefore, providing insights into microscale displacement processes help elucidate fundamental mechanisms responsible for the observed flow behaviors.

Download or read book Fluid Flow Through Porous Media in Microfluidic Device written by Mengjie Mellisa Wu and published by . This book was released on 2011 with total page 94 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Complex Fluid Flows in Microfluidics written by Francisco José Galindo-Rosales and published by Springer. This book was released on 2017-05-26 with total page 116 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This monograph contains expert knowledge on complex fluid-flows in microfluidic devices. The topical spectrum includes, but is not limited to, aspects such as the analysis, experimental characterization, numerical simulations and numerical optimization. The target audience primarily comprises researchers who intend to embark on activities in microfluidics. The book can also be beneficial as supplementary reading in graduate courses.

Download or read book A Study of Microgravity on Fluid Transport Through Porous Structures in Microfluidic Devices written by Sylvain Le Henaff and published by . This book was released on 2022 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The objective of this study is to refine the understanding of micro-fluidics subject to micro-gravity in an attempt to support future space exploration efforts. A combination of experimental and numerical approaches were utilized to build a validated assessment approach. A quasi-pore geometry, inspired by CT scans of rat bones, was used in lieu of human bone structures. A quasi-1D assessment of the conservation of momentum was used to identify the dominant forces acting on the fluid at the operating length-scales. The dominant forces were surface tension, gravity, and shear stress. Experiments were conducted to visualize the flow moving through the quasi-pore geometry. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) was used to create a corresponding model of the experiments in order to illicit further insight. The CFD models were validated by using micro-fluidic experiments. Once validated, the CFD model was also used to study micro-fluids in micro-gravity conditions. The results showed that gravity has a significant effect on the flow pattern of fluids through microfluidic porous features. The results can be correlated to the fluid flow through bone pores on Earth versus in micro-gravity. This suggests that interstitial fluid flow is influenced by the effects of micro-gravity leading to physiological changes in astronaut bones.

Download or read book Advanced Microfluidic Framework for Understanding of Fluid flow in Porous Media written by Wonjin Yun and published by . This book was released on 2019 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: My research with the microfluidic Reservoir-on-a-Chip (ROC) platform has produced multiple engineering science contributions toward investigating the fundamental mechanisms that dictate transport through subsurface porous media. Microfluidic devices, better known as micromodels, are devices with a connected porous network that allows the direct visualization of complex fluid flow dynamics occurring under transient conditions. The porous pattern of micromodel in my study is analogous to that of natural reservoir rock (i.e. sandstone or carbonate). The micro-pattern is etched in a crystalline silicon wafer with the DRIE (deep reactive ion etching) technique which offers a large aspect ratio (i.e. pore throat-to-body ratio), with more realistic and well-defined structures. Consequently, investigating fluid flow through representative pore network patterns and material in the micromodels have been greatly beneficial to petroleum, geologic, and environmental engineering field. Micromodel studies are based on the direct observation of the pore-scale fluid structures, the visualization of the flow field, and the characterization of matrix-fluid and fluid-fluid interactions. I implemented various methodologies that enable the real-time monitoring of events occurring in a micromodel by integrating them with high-resolution microscopy and laser-induced fluorescence. My research improves petrochemical and geophysical characteristics of transports in micromodels through the development of new micro-fabrication processes, new experimental frameworks, imaging, and novel image processing algorithms. First, my research addresses greater realism in pore structure and visualization of micromodels for the characterization of single and multiphase flows. I optimized dual-etching fabrication and improved 3D structural realism of carbonate-like flow networks inside the micromodel. I applied the micro-particle image velocimetry (micro-PIV). The micro-PIV provides insights into the fluid dynamics within microfluidic channels and relevant fluid velocities controlled predominantly by changes in pore width and depth. Compared with conventional single-depth micromodels, micro-PIV and fluid desaturation pattern prove that the dual-depth carbonate micromodel is a better representation of pore geometry showing more realistic fluid flow and capillary entry pressures. Second, I demonstrated, for the first time, that micromodels monitored using advanced spectral imaging enables real-time and in-situ quantification of the local viscosity of non-Newtonian viscoelastic polyacrylamide EOR polymers. This, in turn, paves the way to validate computational fluid dynamics models for viscoelastic fluids. Third, novel deep-learning algorithms (convolutional neural networks) were applied to the micromodel images for the automated analysis of surface properties. With proper training of deep-learning architectures on high-quality image datasets, I proved that deep-learning has a great potential to serve as a quick and automated image analysis tool for surface wettability determination with an accuracy larger than 95%. Forth, I established an in-house micro-fabrication procedure using a Direct-Write-Lithography technique for the rapid prototyping of new microfluidic designs. I worked on optimizing the micromodel channel design to make the micromodel more suitable for direct visualization of micro-pore scale mixing dynamics between precipitant and oil phase, which may cause asphaltene aggregation and their agglomerations. Furthermore, confocal microscopy enables the 3D reconstruction of asphaltene agglomerates; it reveals the size and size distribution of asphaltene aggregates as a function of flocculation time.

Download or read book Microfluidic Studies of Fluid fluid Interaction and Multiphase Flow in Fractures and Channels written by Negar Nazari and published by . This book was released on 2022 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: World energy demand increases as global population increases. Seeking new solutions and improving the current energy systems are two attractive options to address the existing problems. Processes of interest include CO$_{2}$ storage security, hydrogen storage, and enhanced oil recovery. Studying fluid behavior at pore scale, improves understanding of fundamental mechanisms and enables mechanistic control of the processes involved. Multiphase and multi-component fluid flow is dictated and controlled by pore-scale phenomena. Understanding fluid-fluid interactions and multiphase flow behavior in complex porous media is the essential component of optimizing the subsurface energy design. Microfluidic devices with representative geometry, and length scales are essential to delineate the fundamental mechanisms dictating the pore-scale fluid behavior of multiphase flow in fractures and channels. Therefore, a primary objective of this research is to develop cutting-edge microfluidic devices. My research improves mechanical and physical characteristics of transport processes in micromodels through development of new microfluidic devices, thorough experimental frameworks, and computer-assisted techniques to process and model the results. First, we designed and fabricated a new microfluidic device to better enable study of foam microstructure and rheology in planar fractures. The workflow included finite element analysis of several designs to enhance the pressure tolerance of the device. The new design illustrated improved ability to sustain large differential pressure compared to previous designs in the literature. Our findings validated the previous microvisual studies mentioned in the literature and revealed that foam apparent viscosity is a strong function of foam quality and water velocity at small qualities and this dependency decreases for greater foam qualities and water velocities. Second, we investigated foam flow behavior in microscale fractures and developed a mechanistic transient foam flow model using the population balance method. Microscale experiments in fractures with apertures of 25 and 88 $\mu m$ were used to validate the model for pressure drop, gas saturation, and bubble texture. Key differences related to modeling foam in fractures are the potential for continuously varying gas-liquid curvature in fractures and the relationship of this curvature to apparent foam viscosity. Incorporation of a local foam flow resistance factor is important to representing flow physics accurately. Third, we designed and fabricated a new microfluidic device with a meter-long channel and a rectangular cross section to study the flow behavior of long gas bubbles in noncircular-cross-section capillaries. Our calculations of channel curvature, Dean number, and centripetal acceleration for this novel symmetric loop design illustrated that this capillary tube on a chip behaves, essentially, as a straight channel for a wide range of velocity, U. We found that the pressure drop experienced by bubbles varies as $Ca^{2/3}$ over the range $10^{-7}

Download or read book Fluid Flow and Heat Transfer in Porous Media Manufactured by a Space Holder Method written by Xianke Lu and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2020-08-27 with total page 172 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book focuses on the effects of the material, porosity, pore size and pore shape on flow behaviour and heat transfer in microscale porous media manufactured using a space holder method. It also describes a novel approach to studying flow behaviour in non-transparent materials such as porous metals via flow visualization in transparent media that mimic the porous structure. The book employs a combination of microparticle image velocimetry – a modern, advanced technique – and pressure drop measurement – a more traditional method – that makes the mechanistic study of several phenomena possible. It covers the identification of various flow regimes and their boundaries, velocity profiles on the microscale, the heat transfer coefficient under forced convection, and the correlation between flow behaviour on the pore scale and the convective heat transfer performance of the porous media. Understanding the fundamentals of porous flow, especially on the microscale, is critical for applications of porous media in heat exchangers, catalytic convertors, chemical reactors, filtration and oil extraction. Accordingly, this book offers a valuable resource for all researchers, graduate students and engineers working in the areas of porous flow and porous materials.

Download or read book Quantitative Analysis of Flow Through Permeable Media in Microfluidic Devices written by Jindi Sun and published by . This book was released on 2022 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Multiphase flow through permeable media is sophisticated in nature because phases interact at pore scale and compete for permeability. This complexity and non-linearity make predictive mathematical descriptions a challenging task. Remediation of aquifer NAPL (non-aqueous-phase liquid) contamination is an example of an application where predictive models are highly desirable. This dissertation presents an experimental program that uses a microfluidic experiment at form, a high-resolution camera, and a microscope-mountable high-speed camera to examine i) the flow behavior of remediation of aquifer contamination using CO2 foams that are stabilized with nanoparticles, ii) transient flow states in single-phase flow, and iii) occurrence of Haines Jump in two-phase flow using an evolution graph produced through interface tracking. Contamination caused by NAPL in aquifers and soil presents a big challenge and affective remediation techniques are desired. This work considers CO2 foams for remediation of NAPL contaminated porous media. However, CO2-surfactant foam is not stable enough for efficient removal of NAPL contamination. This shortcoming may be alleviated via the NP-surfactant mixture as a stabilizing agent. The first part of work focuses on the use of fly ash NPs and a mixture of AOS and LAPB surfactants to generate stable foams. This work presents results from an experimental program that was designed to establish optimum concentration of the foam’s constituents. Results indicate that fly ash, which is a by-product of coal-burning power plants, is a suitable material to generate robust CO2 foams. Moreover, the results suggest for 1000 ppm AOS-LAPB surfactant solution, 1000 ppm fly ash NPs is the best choice. What’s more, foam generated in channels is discontinuous and the solid sediment in NAPL can weaken the mobility and performance of foam. The flow system is too complex to study the mechanics behind the multi-phase flow. Hence, simplified microfluidic devices and advanced techniques are applied in the second and third part of the dissertation. The classic multiphase extension for Darcy's law models this complexity through two practices: per-phase application of Darcy's law with relative permeability and instantaneous resolution of fluid dynamics at pore scale. Experimental evidence against the latter practice is provided in the second part in the dissertation for single-phase experiments. The third part of the dissertation targets the former assumption by examining Haines Jump, a type of rapid pore-filling event in multiphase flow through permeable media better known as Haines Jump. Segmentation and tracking techniques are applied to extract and track displacement fronts as they evolve through high-speed video recording. The resulting evolution graph facilitate topology-cognitive computation on the transport network. These experiments conclusively identify Haines Jump in microfluidic devices and qualitatively analyze their significance to Darcy's law in the macroscopic scheme of bulk flow rates.

Download or read book Theoretical Microfluidics written by Henrik Bruus and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2007-09-27 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Microfluidics is a young and rapidly expanding scientific discipline, which deals with fluids and solutions in miniaturized systems, the so-called lab-on-a-chip systems. It has applications in chemical engineering, pharmaceutics, biotechnology and medicine. As the lab-on-a-chip systems grow in complexity, a proper theoretical understanding becomes increasingly important. The basic idea of the book is to provide a self-contained formulation of the theoretical framework of microfluidics, and at the same time give physical motivation and examples from lab-on-a-chip technology. After three chapters introducing microfluidics, the governing equations for mass, momentum and energy, and some basic flow solutions, the following 14 chapters treat hydraulic resistance/compliance, diffusion/dispersion, time-dependent flow, capillarity, electro- and magneto-hydrodynamics, thermal transport, two-phase flow, complex flow patterns and acousto-fluidics, as well as the new fields of opto- and nano-fluidics. Throughout the book simple models with analytical solutions are presented to provide the student with a thorough physical understanding of order of magnitudes and various selected microfluidic phenomena and devices. The book grew out of a set of well-tested lecture notes. It is with its many pedagogical exercises designed as a textbook for an advanced undergraduate or first-year graduate course. It is also well suited for self-study.

Download or read book Introduction to Microfluidics written by Patrick Tabeling and published by . This book was released on 2010-05-06 with total page 312 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Microfluidics deals with fluids flowing in miniaturized systems, and has practical applications in the pharmaceutical, biomedical and chemical engineering fields. This text provides an introduction to this emerging discipline.

Download or read book Coupled Fluid Flow in Energy Biology and Environmental Research written by Matthias Ehrhardt and published by Bentham Science Publishers. This book was released on 2012-03-31 with total page 140 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Progress in Computational Physics is a new e-book series devoted to recent research trends in computational physics. It contains chapters contributed by outstanding experts of modeling of physical problems. The series focuses on interdisciplinary computational perspectives of current physical challenges, new numerical techniques for the solution of mathematical wave equations and describes certain real-world applications. With the help of powerful computers and sophisticated methods of numerical mathematics it is possible to simulate many ultramodern devices, e.g. photonic crystals structures, semiconductor nanostructures or fuel cell stacks devices, thus preventing expensive and longstanding design and optimization in the laboratories. In this book series, research manuscripts are shortened as single chapters and focus on one hot topic per volume. Engineers, physicists, meteorologists, etc. and applied mathematicians can benefit from the series content. Readers will get a deep and active insight into state-of-the art modeling and simulation techniques of ultra-modern devices and problems. The second volume of this series, titled Coupled Fluid Flow in Energy, Biology and Environmental Research covers the following scientific topics in the fields of modeling, numerical methods and applications: • Coupling between free and porous media flow • Coupling of flow and transport models • Coupling of atmospheric and ground water models This second volume contains both, the mathematical analysis of the coupling between fluid flow and porous media flow and state-of-the art numerical techniques, like tailor-made finite element and finite volume methods. Finally, readers will come across articles devoted to concrete applications of these models in the field of energy, biology and environmental research.

Download or read book Process Analysis Design and Intensification in Microfluidics and Chemical Engineering written by Santana, Harrson Silva and published by IGI Global. This book was released on 2019-01-18 with total page 388 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Microfluidics represent great potential for chemical processes design, development, optimization, and chemical engineering bolsters the project design of industrial processes often found in large chemical plants. Together, microfluidics and chemical engineering can lead to a more complete and comprehensive process. Process Analysis, Design, and Intensification in Microfluidics and Chemical Engineering provides emerging research exploring the theoretical and practical aspects of microfluidics and its application in chemical engineering with the intention of building pathways for new processes and product developments in industrial areas. Featuring coverage on a broad range of topics such as design techniques, hydrodynamics, and numerical modelling, this book is ideally designed for engineers, chemists, microfluidics and chemical engineering companies, academicians, researchers, and students.

Download or read book Microfluidics History Theory and Applications written by William B. J. Zimmerman and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2006-06-27 with total page 320 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Microfluidics is a microtechnological field dealing with the precise transport of fluids (liquids or gases) in small amounts (e.g. microliters, nanoliters or even picoliters). This book provides a useful introduction into this burgeoning field, and a specific application of microfluidics is presented. It also gives a survey of microfluidics.

Download or read book Micro and Nanoflows written by Valery Ya. Rudyak and published by Springer. This book was released on 2018-04-18 with total page 258 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book describes physical, mathematical and experimental methods to model flows in micro- and nanofluidic devices. It takes in consideration flows in channels with a characteristic size between several hundreds of micrometers to several nanometers. Methods based on solving kinetic equations, coupled kinetic-hydrodynamic description, and molecular dynamics method are used. Based on detailed measurements of pressure distributions along the straight and bent microchannels, the hydraulic resistance coefficients are refined. Flows of disperse fluids (including disperse nanofluids) are considered in detail. Results of hydrodynamic modeling of the simplest micromixers are reported. Mixing of fluids in a Y-type and T-type micromixers is considered. The authors present a systematic study of jet flows, jets structure and laminar-turbulent transition. The influence of sound on the microjet structure is considered. New phenomena associated with turbulization and relaminarization of the mixing layer of microjets are discussed. Based on the conducted experimental investigations, the authors propose a chart of microjet flow regimes. When addressing the modeling of microflows of nanofluids, the authors show where conventional hydrodynamic approaches can be applied and where more complicated models are needed, and they analyze the hydrodynamic stability of the nanofluid flows. The last part of the book is devoted the statistical theory of the transport processes in fluids under confined conditions. The authors present the constitutive relations and the formulas for transport coefficients. In conclusion the authors present a rigorous analysis of the viscosity and diffusion in nanochannels and in porous media.

Download or read book Fluid Flow in Fractured Porous Media written by Richeng Liu and published by MDPI. This book was released on 2019-09-30 with total page 578 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The fluid flow in fracture porous media plays a significant role in the assessment of deep underground reservoirs, such as through CO2 sequestration, enhanced oil recovery, and geothermal energy development. Many methods have been employed—from laboratory experimentation to theoretical analysis and numerical simulations—and allowed for many useful conclusions. This Special Issue aims to report on the current advances related to this topic. This collection of 58 papers represents a wide variety of topics, including on granite permeability investigation, grouting, coal mining, roadway, and concrete, to name but a few. We sincerely hope that the papers published in this Special Issue will be an invaluable resource for our readers.

Download or read book Theory of Porous Media written by Reint de Boer and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2012-12-06 with total page 626 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is a consistent treatment of the material-independent fundamental equations of the theory of porous media, formulating constitutive equations for frictional materials in the elastic and plastic range, while tracing the historical development of the theory. Thus, for the first time, a unique treatment of fluid-saturated porous solids is presented, including an explanation of the corresponding theory by way of its historical progression, and a thorough description of its current state.

Download or read book Microfluidics written by Yu Song and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2018-05-07 with total page 576 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The first book offering a global overview of fundamental microfluidics and the wide range of possible applications, for example, in chemistry, biology, and biomedical science. As such, it summarizes recent progress in microfluidics, including its origin and development, the theoretical fundamentals, and fabrication techniques for microfluidic devices. The book also comprehensively covers the fluid mechanics, physics and chemistry as well as applications in such different fields as detection and synthesis of inorganic and organic materials. A useful reference for non-specialists and a basic guideline for research scientists and technicians already active in this field or intending to work in microfluidics.