Agglomeration, droplet, first step demulsification

Agglomeration, droplet, first step in demulsification, 44 Aggregation definition, 6-7, 386 droplet, kinetics and methods of preventing, 36... 

Some emulsions are undesirable when they occur. In process industries chemical demulsification is commonly used to separate water from oil in order to produce a fluid suitable for further processing. The specific kind of emulsion treatment required can be highly variable, even within the same industry. The first step in systematic emulsion breaking is to characterize the emulsion in terms of its nature (O/W, W/O, or multiple emulsion), the number and nature of immiscible phases, the presence of a protective interfacial film around the droplets, and the sensitivity of the emulsifiers [295,408,451], Demulsification then involves two steps. First, there must be agglomeration or coagulation of droplets. Then, the agglomerated droplets must coalesce. Only after these two steps can complete phase separation occur. It should be realized that either step can be rate determining for the demulsification process. 

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