Liquid dispersion in premix emulsification within porous membrane structures

Abstract

Liquid/liquid multiphase dispersion processes are studied within porous membrane structures for emulsification. In membrane emulsification, a liquid premix is dispersed by passing through a porous membrane. The interior membrane structure has a significant impact on the liquid fragmentation as well as on the dispersion process and hence on the resulting droplet size distribution of the emulsified dispersed phase. This contribution investigates the fragmentation of non-miscible oil in water, denoted as o/w, systems using the premix membrane emulsification process with generated droplet sizes of <10µm. Main aim is to correlate the fluid dispersion and emulsification process to the structural properties of the membranes, as fluid dispersion rates up to 10 where reached. The multiphase fluid dispersion in porous structures is analyzed at different process conditions and under varying the porosity, the pore structure and the pore sizes. Different process performance in dependency on structural features will be described. Membranes generated from non-spherical and spherical shaped particles are employed. A liquid dispersion coefficient is extracted as a function of the relevant structural properties. The structural and hydrodynamic properties of the membranes are gained through computer tomograms and models of sintered sphere packings. This investigation assists the tailored fabrication of structural optimized membranes, which may lead to processing of emulsions with predefined properties.