Role of coalescence

The role of coalescence within a contactor is not always obvious. Sometimes the effect of coalescence can be inferred when the holdup is a factor in determining the Sauter mean diameter (67). If mass transfer occurs from the dispersed (d) to the continuous (e) phase, the approach of two drops can lead to the formation of a local surface tension gradient which promotes the drainage of the intervening film of the continuous phase (75) and thereby enhances coalescence. It has been observed that d-X.o-c mass transfer can lead to the formation of much larger drops than for the reverse mass-transfer direction, c to... 

Figure 2. Schematic presentation of the role of coalescence of oil ganglia in the formation of the oil bank.

In the prepolymer-ionomer process , the compound which contains the moieties which are the precursors of ionic groups is incorporated in the polymer chain already at the stage of urethane prepolymer formation. Then they are neutralised, which results in the formation of a prepolymer-ionomer which is emulsified in water and eventually crosslinked. In this process, the prepolymer-ionomer is usually dissolved in a small amount of water-miscible solvent of high boiling point, e.g., N-methylpyrolidone, which plays the role of coalescing agent in the process of film formation. It is then possible to obtain DPUR which contain either cationic DPUR with a pH of less than 7 (cationic moieties are attached to the polyurethane or polyurethane-urea chain) or anionic DPUR with a pH of greater than 7 (anionic moieties are attached to the polyurethane or polyurethane-urea chain). If non ionic hydrophilic moieties are attached to or incorporated in the polyurethane or polyurethane-urea chain, then a nonionic DPUR may be obtained. 

The effect of coalescent on the properties of films made from hybrid dispersions seems to be not quite significant (see Table 6.16) which is strange when taking into account the important role of coalescent in the process of film formation. The only observation that can be made here is that, as has already been stated in Section 6.6.1.2.1, high levels of coalescent cannot be recommended in preparation of hybrid dispersions. 

The role of coalescing solvents in coating formulations, the factors which affect the choice of coalescing solvents, and the recent developments in esters of low volatility, low odor and rapid biodegradability for use in coating formulations are discussed. 

Notes ED = extruder die The values in parentheses are for oriented blends after the selective extraction of the HDPE matrix The estimations of the microfibriis lengths are made assuming that one PAG globule at ED produces one microfibril in the final UDP MFC. The role of coalescence for microfibril formation in the HDPE/PA blends is considered further in the text. 

The role of coalescence in gas-liquid and liquid-liquid drop size prediction... 

For dispersion processes, the role of coalescence on the mean particle size and particle size distribution should not be overlooked. The type and amounts of surface-active agents added, as well as the material of construction of the rotor and stator, all affect coalescence, as discussed in greater detail in Chapter 12. 

It is quite clear, first of all, that since emulsions present a large interfacial area, any reduction in interfacial tension must reduce the driving force toward coalescence and should promote stability. We have here, then, a simple thermodynamic basis for the role of emulsifying agents. Harkins [17] mentions, as an example, the case of the system paraffin oil-water. With pure liquids, the inter-facial tension was 41 dyn/cm, and this was reduced to 31 dyn/cm on making the aqueous phase 0.00 IM in oleic acid, under which conditions a reasonably stable emulsion could be formed. On neutralization by 0.001 M sodium hydroxide, the interfacial tension fell to 7.2 dyn/cm, and if also made O.OOIM in sodium chloride, it became less than 0.01 dyn/cm. With olive oil in place of the paraffin oil, the final interfacial tension was 0.002 dyn/cm. These last systems emulsified spontaneously—that is, on combining the oil and water phases, no agitation was needed for emulsification to occur. 

To explain the role of the medium capillary pressure upon foam coalescence, consider a flat, cylindrical, stationary foam lamella of thickness, 2h, circa 1000 A, and radius, R (i.e., 50 to 100 /xm), subject to a capillary pressure, P, at the film meniscus or Plateau border, as shown in Figure 3. The liquid pressure at the film meniscus is (P - P ), where P is the gas pressure. g c g... 

In the case of droplets and bubbles, particle size and number density may respond to variations in shear or energy dissipation rate. Such variations are abundantly present in turbulent-stirred vessels. In fact, the explicit role of the revolving impeller is to produce small bubbles or drops, while in substantial parts of the vessel bubble or drop size may increase again due to locally lower turbulence levels. Particle size distributions and their spatial variations are therefore commonplace and unavoidable in industrial mixing equipment. This seriously limits the applicability of common Euler-Euler models exploiting just a single value for particle size. A way out is to adopt a multifluid or multiphase approach in which various particle size classes are distinguished, with mutual transition paths due to particle break-up and coalescence. Such models will be discussed further on. 

L. Loho and A. Svereika Coalescence During Emulsification. 2. Role of Small Molecule Surfactants. J. Colloid Interface Sci. 261, 498 (2003). 

V. Schmitt, C. Cattelet, and F. Leal-Calderon Coarsening of Alkane-in-Water Emulsions Stabilized by Nonionic Poly(Oxyethylene) Surfactants The Role of Molecular Permeation and Coalescence. Langmuir 20, 46 (2004). 

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