Enhancement of Oxygen Mass Transfer Using Functionalized Magnetic Nanoparticles

Oxygen-transfer enhancement has been observed in the presence of colloidal dispersions of magnetite (Fe 3 O 4 ) nanoparticles coated with oleic acid and a polymerizable surfactant. These fluids improve gas−liquid oxygen mass transfer up to 6-fold (600%) at nanoparticle volume fractions below 1% in an agitated, sparged reactor and show remarkable stability in high-ionic strength media over a wide pH range. Through a combination of experiments using physical and chemical methods to characterize mass transfer, it is shown that (i) both the mass transfer coefficient ( k L ) and the gas−liquid interfacial area ( a ) are enhanced in the presence of nanoparticles, the latter accounting for a large fraction of the total enhancement (80% or more), (ii) the enhancement in k L measured by physical and chemical methods is similar and ranges from 20 to 60% approximately, (iii) the enhancement in k L levels off at a nanoparticle volume fraction of approximately 1% v/v, and (iv) the enhancement in k L a shows a strong temperature dependence. These results are relevant to a wide range of processes limited by the mass transfer of a solute between a gas phase and a liquid phase, such as fermentation, waste treatment, and hydrogenation reactions.