DOI: 10.1615/ICHMT.1997.IntSymLiqTwoPhaseFlowTranspPhen
ISBN Print: 1-56700-162-9
PHASE INVERSION OF STIRRED LIQUID-LIQUID DISPERSIONS
ABSTRACT
A study was made of phase inversion caused by adding more dispersed phase liquid into the stirred liquid-liquid (oil-water) dispersions. With increasing stirring speed for any oil systems, the volume fraction of dispersed phase at inversion from W/O to O/W dispersion decreased and reached a constant value. The inversion holdup from O/W to W/O dispersion was higher than that for the opposite inversion. On adding liquid paraffin into the oil phase, both holdups at W/O-to-O/W and O/W-to-W/O inversion increased in the case of cyclohexane and carbon tetrachloride systems, whereas for the kerosene system the W/O-to-O/W inversion holdup decreased but the opposite inversion holdup was constant. Strictly speaking it is difficult to think that the phase inversion characteristics is entirely interpreted in terms of physico-chemical properties such as viscosity, density, and interfacial tension.