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Plassard L, Mouret A, Nieto-Draghi C, Dalmazzone C, Langevin D, Argillier JF. Comparison of Methods Used to Investigate Coalescence in Emulsions. LANGMUIR : THE ACS JOURNAL OF SURFACES AND COLLOIDS 2024; 40:10847-10855. [PMID: 38752617 DOI: 10.1021/acs.langmuir.3c02561] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/29/2024]
Abstract
We present a study of moderately stable dilute emulsions. These emulsions are models for water contaminated by traces of oil encountered in many water treatment situations. The purification of water and the elimination of oil rely on the emulsion stability. Despite actively being studied, the topic of emulsion stability is still far from being fully understood. In particular, it is still unclear whether experimental methods accessing different length scales lead to the same conclusions. In the study presented in this paper, we have used different methods to characterize the emulsions, such as centrifugation and simple bottle tests, as well as investigations of the collision of single macroscopic oil drops at an oil-water interface. We studied different emulsions containing added polymer or surfactant. In the case of added polymer, centrifugation and single drop experiments led to opposite trends in stability when the polymer concentration is varied. In the case of added surfactant, both centrifugation and single drop experiments show a maximum stability when the surfactant concentration is increased, whereas bottle tests show a monotonous increase in stability. We propose tentative interpretations of these unexpected observations. The apparent contradictions are due to the fact that different methods require different drop sizes or different drop concentrations. The puzzling decrease in emulsion stability at a higher surfactant concentration observed with some methods, however, remains unclear. This coalescence study illustrates the fact that different results can be obtained when different experimental methods are used. It is therefore advisable not to rely on a single method, especially in the case of emulsions of limited stability for reasons explained in the paper.
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Affiliation(s)
- Loïck Plassard
- IFP Energies nouvelles, 1-4 Avenue de Bois Préau, 92852 Rueil-Malmaison, France
| | - Aurélie Mouret
- IFP Energies nouvelles, 1-4 Avenue de Bois Préau, 92852 Rueil-Malmaison, France
| | - Carlos Nieto-Draghi
- IFP Energies nouvelles, 1-4 Avenue de Bois Préau, 92852 Rueil-Malmaison, France
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Langevin D. Recent Advances on Emulsion and Foam Stability. LANGMUIR : THE ACS JOURNAL OF SURFACES AND COLLOIDS 2023; 39:3821-3828. [PMID: 36880680 DOI: 10.1021/acs.langmuir.2c03423] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
In this perspective paper, we highlight the numerous open problems in the topic of stability of emulsions and foams, focusing on the simplest case of dispersions stabilized by surfactants. There are three main destabilization processes, gravity induced evolution, Ostwald ripening, and drops or bubble coalescence, which are analyzed separately. The discussion is restricted to the case of Newtonian fluids, deprived of microstructure, except for the presence of micelles. Thanks to continuing efforts and recent breakthroughs, we show that the understanding of emulsion and foam stability is progressing. Many problems are still open, however, and much work remains to be done along the lines outlined in the paper.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dominique Langevin
- Laboratoire de Physique des Solides, UMR CNRS 8502, Université Paris Saclay, 91405 Orsay, France
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Jams and Cakes: A Closer Look on Well Clogging Mechanisms in Microscale Produced Water ReInjection Experiments. Transp Porous Media 2023. [DOI: 10.1007/s11242-023-01900-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
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Dinh HHQ, Santanach-Carreras E, Lalanne-Aulet M, Schmitt V, Panizza P, Lequeux F. Correction to "Effect of a Surfactant Mixture on Coalescence Occurring in Concentrated Emulsions: The Hole Nucleation Theory Revisited". LANGMUIR : THE ACS JOURNAL OF SURFACES AND COLLOIDS 2022; 38:3327-3328. [PMID: 35235325 DOI: 10.1021/acs.langmuir.2c00177] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
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Liu H, Sun Y, Chen Z. One-pot facile synthesis of PDMS/PDMAEMA hybrid sponges for surfactant stabilized O/W emulsion separation. SOFT MATTER 2021; 17:9363-9370. [PMID: 34605529 DOI: 10.1039/d1sm01061a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Hydrophobic/oleophilic sponges are excellent absorbent materials for oil contaminant removal. However, the application is limited in dealing with surfactant stabilized O/W emulsions. The water in the emulsion isolates the contact between the sponge and oil droplets. Consequently, the oil absorption efficiency is not ideal. Herein, to improve the oil absorption efficiency from anionic surfactant stabilized O/W emulsions, water responsive hybrid sponges were reported. To prepare such sponges, water soluble poly(N,N-dimethylaminoethylmethacrylate) (PDMAEMA) was introduced into polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) sponges using table salt as a template and multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) as mechanical reinforcement in a one-pot method. Upon contact with an O/W emulsion, the water soluble PDMAEMA chain rose to the surface of the sponge, turning the hydrophobic surface into hydrophilic. Next, the tertiary amine groups in PDMAEMA ionized in water and carried positive charges which would cause the coagulation of oil droplets. Finally, the coagulated oil droplets were absorbed immediately by the oleophilic inner part of the sponge through the wicking effect. As a result, a Janus interface was generated in situ and sustained. Such material design synergistically contributed to a satisfactory hexadecane (HD) absorption efficiency of 178 ± 4% in 25 min. In contrast, the PDMS-MWCNT1.0% sponge could only absorb 9.8 ± 0.2% HD. Moreover, these sponges also presented robust mechanical performance and reusability, offering a new route for oil/water separation and oil pollution remediation in open water.
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Affiliation(s)
- Haifeng Liu
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Emergency Test for Dangerous Chemicals, Institute of Analysis, Guangdong Academy of Sciences (China National Analytical Center, Guangzhou), Guangzhou 510070, China.
- Yinchuan Zhongke Yuanhao Technology Co., Ltd, Yinchuan 750011, China
| | - Yifeng Sun
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Emergency Test for Dangerous Chemicals, Institute of Analysis, Guangdong Academy of Sciences (China National Analytical Center, Guangzhou), Guangzhou 510070, China.
| | - Zhonghui Chen
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Emergency Test for Dangerous Chemicals, Institute of Analysis, Guangdong Academy of Sciences (China National Analytical Center, Guangzhou), Guangzhou 510070, China.
- School of Chemistry, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275, China
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Dinh HHQ, Santanach-Carreras E, Schmitt V, Lequeux F, Panizza P. Breaking of Emulsions with Chemical Additives: Using Surrogate Fluids to Develop a Novel Theoretical Framework and Its Application to Water-in-Crude Oil Emulsions. ACS OMEGA 2021; 6:27976-27983. [PMID: 34722997 PMCID: PMC8552343 DOI: 10.1021/acsomega.1c03848] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/20/2021] [Accepted: 09/24/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
We investigate the role of adding a water-soluble surfactant (Tween 20) that acts as a demulsifier on the stability of water-in-dodecane emulsions stabilized with Span 80. Performing bottle test experiments, we monitor the emulsion separation process. Initially, water droplets sediment fast (∼10 min) until they become closely packed and form the so-called dense packed layer (DPL). The presence of the DPL, a long-lived metastable high-water-fraction (70-90%) emulsion separating bulk oil and water layers, slows down significantly the kinetics (∼105 min) of water separation. Once the DPL is formed, the ratio of the volume of separated water to the total water amount is called as water separation efficiency. We assume that the emulsion stability is reached when the coverage of the emulsifier surfactant exceeds 80% and use the ideal solution approximation. From that, we rationalize the water separation efficiency and the minimum demulsifier concentration required to maximize it, in terms of the mean droplet size, the surfactant concentrations, the total water volume fraction, and the adsorption strength of the water-soluble surfactant. Model predictions and experimental findings are in excellent agreement. We further test the validity and robustness of our theoretical model, by applying it successfully to data found in the literature on water-in-crude oil emulsion systems. Ultimately, our results prove that the efficiency of a demulsifier agent to break a W/O emulsion strongly correlates to its adsorption strength at the W/O interface, providing a novel contribution to the selection guidelines of chemical demulsifiers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Huy-Hong-Quan Dinh
- Laboratoire
Physico-Chimie des Interfaces Complexes, Bâtiment CHEMSTARTUP, RD 817, 64170 Lacq, France
- TOTAL
S.A., Pôle d’Etudes et de Recherches de Lacq, BP 47, 64170 Lacq, France
| | - Enric Santanach-Carreras
- Laboratoire
Physico-Chimie des Interfaces Complexes, Bâtiment CHEMSTARTUP, RD 817, 64170 Lacq, France
- TOTAL
S.A., Pôle d’Etudes et de Recherches de Lacq, BP 47, 64170 Lacq, France
| | - Véronique Schmitt
- Centre
de Recherche Paul Pascal, 115 Avenue Schweitzer, 33600 Pessac, France
| | - François Lequeux
- Laboratoire
Sciences et Ingénierie de la Matiére Molle, ESPCI Paris,
PSL University, Sorbonne Université, CNRS UMR 7615, F-75005 Paris, France
| | - Pascal Panizza
- Laboratoire
Sciences et Ingénierie de la Matiére Molle, ESPCI Paris,
PSL University, Sorbonne Université, CNRS UMR 7615, F-75005 Paris, France
- IPR,
UMR CNRS 6251, Campus Beaulieu, Université Rennes 1, 35042 Rennes, France
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Dinh HHQ, Santanach-Carreras E, Lalanne-Aulet M, Schmitt V, Panizza P, Lequeux F. Effect of a Surfactant Mixture on Coalescence Occurring in Concentrated Emulsions: The Hole Nucleation Theory Revisited. LANGMUIR : THE ACS JOURNAL OF SURFACES AND COLLOIDS 2021; 37:8726-8737. [PMID: 34266236 DOI: 10.1021/acs.langmuir.1c00975] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
By conducting both a bottle test and isolate drop-drop experiments, we determine the coalescence rates of water droplets within water-in-oil emulsions stabilized by a large amount of Span 80 in the presence of Tween 20, a surfactant that acts as a demulsifier. Using a microscopic model based on a theory of hole nucleation, we establish an analytical formula that quantitatively predicts the coalescence frequency per unit area of droplets whose interfaces are fully covered by surfactant molecules. Despite its simplicity and the strong assumptions made for its derivation, this formula captures our experimental findings on Span 80-stabilized emulsions as well as other results, found in the literature, remarkably well on a wide range of water-in-crude oil systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Huy-Hong-Quan Dinh
- Laboratoire Physico-Chimie des Interfaces Complexes, Bâtiment CHEMSTARTUP, RD 817, 64170 Lacq, France
- TOTAL S.A., Pôle d'Etudes et de Recherches de Lacq, BP 47, 64170 Lacq, France
| | - Enric Santanach-Carreras
- Laboratoire Physico-Chimie des Interfaces Complexes, Bâtiment CHEMSTARTUP, RD 817, 64170 Lacq, France
- TOTAL S.A., Pôle d'Etudes et de Recherches de Lacq, BP 47, 64170 Lacq, France
| | - Marie Lalanne-Aulet
- Laboratoire Physico-Chimie des Interfaces Complexes, Bâtiment CHEMSTARTUP, RD 817, 64170 Lacq, France
| | - Véronique Schmitt
- Centre de Recherche Paul Pascal, 115 Avenue Schweitzer, 33600 Pessac, France
| | - Pascal Panizza
- IPR, UMR CNRS 6251, Campus Beaulieu, Université Rennes 1, 35042 Rennes, France
- Laboratoire Sciences et Ingénierie de la Matière Molle, ESPCI Paris, PSL University, Sorbonne Université, CNRS UMR 7615 , 75005 Paris, France
| | - François Lequeux
- Laboratoire Sciences et Ingénierie de la Matière Molle, ESPCI Paris, PSL University, Sorbonne Université, CNRS UMR 7615 , 75005 Paris, France
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