With emulsification, two fluids are mixed together, which do not dissolve in each other. An example familiar from everyday life is the mixture of oil and water. If you stir oil in water, you have to stir very forcefully so that a mixture is created. And if you leave the mixture for a while, the components separate again.
So that such mixtures form the most stable emulsion possible, however, in the process engineering, the first fluid, in the form of the smallest droplets (called the “dispersing phase”) is added to the second fluid (called the “continuous phase”). In order to keep the emulsion stable after the mixing phase, the emulsifying agents, e.g. tensides, or stabilisers are added.
The technical realisation of the emulsifying is performed with machines that work according to the rotor-stator principle. At high rotational speeds, strong shear and stress forces and turbulences are generated in these machines. As a result, very small droplets with large specific surfaces are formed. As a result, the two phases can be combined better. In addition, small buoyancy forces work on small droplets, which contribute to the separation of the emulsion. If the viscosity of the continuous phase is increased, the buoyancy forces of the droplets are also reduced.
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