Interfacial tension chloride study

Interfacial tension is an important property in the process design of liquid-liquid processes. The decrement of interfacial tension between both phases leads to an increased interfacial area [135]. Because the volumetric rate of extraction was found to be dependent on the interfacial area, interfacial tension data are useful in understanding the effect of interfacial area on the volumetric rate of extraction and overall reaction rates for a PT-catalyzed reaction. Dutta and Patil [136] reported that the effect on the interfacial tension of the water/toluene system has been studied in the presence of four PT catalysts, i.e., tricaprylmethyl ammonium chloride, hexadecyltrimethyl ammonium chloride, hexadecy-trimethyl ammonium bromide, and hexadecyltributyl phosphonium bromide. The decrease in interfacial tension by surfactants increases the interfacial contact area, enhancing the volumetric rate of extraction. 

Emulsions containing 5 wt % TRS 10-410, 3 wt % isobutanol, sodium chloride (X %), water and equal volume of dodecane oil were prepared by sonication and by hand-shaking. The coalescence behavior of emulsions was studied for hand-shaken as well as sonicated systems. In general, sonicated emulsions required a longer time for phase separation as compared to hand-shaken systems. It was observed that for both the cases, the coalescence rate at room temperature (25°C) was maximum at the optimal salinity (1.5% NaCl) while interfacial tension was minimum at this salinity. 

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