— Authors: Hohl, L., Knossalla, M. und Kraume, M. —
Chemical Engineering Science, 171: 76-87 (link)
The phase separation of liquid/liquid systems consisting of oil, water and amphiphilic molecules is a function of temperature and composition. The phase separation is fastest in liquid three phase systems, where the organic and aqueous excess phases are separated by a microemulsion middle phase. In this work, a detailed analysis of the relevant physical properties (density, rheology, interfacial tension) of the phases in combination with drop size distribution measurements and image analysis of the droplet interactions is performed using an endoscope measurement system. This methodology enables to directly quantify influencing effects of droplet size and droplet interactions on dispersion and phase separation processes. The duration and character of the separation process strongly depends on the droplet interactions (e.g. formation of multiple emulsions) of the dispersed phases.