ARTICLE:

• CONTINUOUS DEMULSIFICATION OF WATER-IN-OIL EMULSIONS BY ELECTRIC FIELDS  download article

Manabu Yamaguchi
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, HIMEJI INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY, Himeji, Hyogo 671-22, Japan

ABSTRACT

The demulsification behavior and performance of water-in-oil emulsions in electric fields were experimentally studied. Three types of constant DC, pulsed DC and AC voltages for breaking the emulsions were used. Their performances were evaluated by the rate of demulsifying the water phase from the emulsions and by the residual content of water in the demulsified oil phase. The dynamic behavior of the droplets in the emulsion phase subjected to electric fields were represented by the axial droplet size distributions and the axial holdup fraction of the droplet phase. The prepared emulsions were comprised an aqueous solution of NaCl and different organic solvents with Span 80 (emulsifying surfactant). For the demulsification rate of a W/O emulsion, a constant DC field in the applied electric fields was the most effective.

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