By Docia Atanda
Faculty advisor: Dr. Sarah Smith
Additive manufacturing (3D printing) is a transformative approach to industrial production that uses computer aided design (CAD) software to direct hardware to deposit material layer upon layer to deposit material in precise geometric shapes to yield lighter, more complex, and low-cost designs with increased reproducibility. One area where 3D printing can improve current methods is packed bed columns. Packed bed columns are used in many chemistry processes such as separations, distillation, catalysis, and water treatment. Typically, columns are slurry packed with a granular material and have bed inhomogeneity, low reproducibility, and do not provide optimal mixing and contact between the stationary phase and mobile phase due to channeling and path preference by the mobile phase. By 3D printing columns with specific internal geometries and channels, the reproducibility and homogeneity can be improved. In this research, multiple columns were designed with controlled paths to control packing, particle size and shape to enable conditions optimal for the removal of highly charged metals that are hazardous to the environment in water samples by iron oxide or carbon. The columns and caps were designed in Fusion 360, sliced through the Dremel DigiLab 3D Slicer, and printed with the Dremel DigiLab 3D40 Idea Builder printer using polylactic acid (PLA) filaments. The printed columns were each connected to a pump, and it was determined that none leaked at a flow rate of 1 mL/min.
