Abstract
This work reports for the first time on the use of Confined Impinging Jet Mixers (CIJM) for the production of emulsions with dispersed-phase content up to 80 wt %, in both the surfactant-poor and -rich regimes, following the exposure to varying CIJM hydrodynamic conditions. It was observed computationally and experimentally that the CIJM capacity resulted strictly dependent on the mass jet flow rate (Wjet > 176 g/min) and the pre-emulsion droplet size (>10 μm). CIJM emulsification performance remained (almost) unaffected by the variation in the oil mass fraction. All systems showed the lowest droplet size (∼8 μm) and similar droplet size distributions under the highest Wjet. Conditionally onto the Tween20 availability, the emulsion d3,2 was primarily determined by formulation characteristics in the surfactant poor-regime and by the CIJM energy dissipation rate in the surfactant-rich regime. In conclusion, this study offers further insights into the CIJM suitability as a realistic alternative to already-established emulsification methods.
Highlights
In industrial practice, emulsification processing is commonly conducted within the turbulent regime caused by mixing, pressure, or ultrasound
Confined Impinging Jet Mixers (CIJM) emulsification capacity is first assessed using a Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) computational approach to understand the effect of the inlet jet mass flow rate (Wjet) on the hydrodynamic conditions realized within the CIJM geometry (Figure 2)
The CIJM processing capacity is further interrogated by investigating the effect of pre-emulsion droplet size and dispersed-phase content on the final emulsion microstructure
Summary
Emulsification processing is commonly conducted within the turbulent regime caused by mixing (highshear mixing, colloidal milling), pressure (high-pressure homogenization, microfluidisation), or ultrasound (sonication). The industrial appeal of these methods mainly stems from their capacity to allow continuous and large-throughput processing as well as their flexibility in terms of handling a wide range of materials.[1]. It is presently well-accepted that eddy formation plays a key part in droplet breakup under turbulence, with the smallest eddies determining the size of the smallest droplets achievable during emulsification.[2] According to the Kolmogorov-Hinze theory,[3,4] the size of these eddies is given by λk = ε−1/4ρc−3/4ηcc3/4 (1).
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