COLSUA-D-16-00714R1.pdf (2.71 MB)
Download fileSpontaneous emulsification of water in oil at appreciable interfacial tensions
journal contribution
posted on 2016-08-16, 10:00 authored by Pedro T. Santos Silva, Sergey Zhdanov, Victor Starov, Richard HoldichSpontaneous formation of aqueous droplets in kerosene was observed, which was facilitated by the presence of an oil soluble surfactant: Span® 80 at concentrations above CMC. Kerosene/water interfacial tension under all conditions studied was not lower than 4 mN/m. Therefore, ultra-low interfacial tension was not required for this
process to occur spontaneously. The process was caused by a transfer of water molecules to swollen reversed micelles. The influence of both the surfactant concentration in the organic phase and NaCl concentration in
the aqueous phase on spontaneous aqueous droplet formation was investigated. Nano-sizing analyse of the drops was performed, which showed the droplets sizes in between 100 and 400 nm. It is proven that
the presence of salt in the aqueous phase inhibits droplet formation. It is shown that big sessile aqueous droplets deposited on a hydrophobic substrate inside the kerosene phase were dissolved in kerosene through
formation and growth of droplets, which form an aqueous film at the droplet base.
Funding
This work was supported by CoWet Marie Curie Intra-European Fellowship within the 7th European Community Framework Programme; MAP EVAPORATION project, European Space Agency and COST MP 1106 EU project.
History
School
- Aeronautical, Automotive, Chemical and Materials Engineering
Department
- Chemical Engineering