Rapid Evaluation of Emulsion Stability and Demulsifier Selection

The performance of the analytical centrifuge LUMiFuge for characterization of emulsion stability, optimization of preparation conditions, emulsifier and demulsifier selection is demonstrated. The temperature controlled stability analyzer LUMiFuge allows to trace the local and temporal changes of light transmission during centrifugation. Results of investigations on emulsion stability as a function of polarity of nonionic emulsifiers and of temperature, on the influence of dispersion procedures during emulsion preparation and on demulsifier selection for crude oil emulsions are presented. Besides the evaluation of different factors influencing emulsion stability the simultaneous measurement of eight samples in parallel makes the LUMiFuge very suitable for screening purposes. The method not only delivers information about the extent of phase separation but also the kinetics are directly measured. The latter is of great practical importance for estimation of shelf life and in relation to the engineering of separation processes. Time of investigation and centrifugal acceleration can be adapted to avoid conditions where centrifugal forces are the determining factors for phase separation.  ......

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