Intensification of Liquid–Liquid Emulsification Process in a Rotating Solid Foam Stirrer Tank: Experiments and Modeling

Abstract

Process intensification equipment is playing an increasingly role in the emulsion process. A novel rotating solid foam stirrer tank (RSFST) is developed in this work to try to intensify the liquid–liquid emulsification process. The effects of operating parameters and physical parameters, such as emulsification time, rotational speed, packing size, dispersed phase volume fraction, and continuous-phase viscosity, on the droplet size distribution and Sauter mean diameter d32 of oil-in-water emulsions produced in RSFST were investigated using a kerosene–water system. To benchmark the emulsion performance of the RSFST, a Rushton stirrer is used a reference stirrer and the generated droplet size and average energy dissipation rate as the evaluation metrics. Based on the experimental data of emulsification under different operating conditions and physical parameters, models are applied to describe the bimodal distribution of oil-in-water emulsion droplet sizes, and correlation is proposed to predict the Sauter mean diameter d32 of RSFST. This work provides fundamental data for practical applications of RSFST used in emulsion process intensification.