ABSTRACT
The hydrophobicity of fine particles is important for their behavior at interfaces, for example, in stabilizing emulsions. In this study, contact angles were evaluated for silanized fumed silica nanospheres with mean primary diameter of about 12 nm, using heat flow microcalorimetry. Three systems were investigated: water-air-nanospheres, toluene-air-nanospheres, and toluene-water-nanospheres. For the water-air-nanospheres system, n-propanol at various concentrations in water was used to aid in dispersing the nanospheres, and the enthalpy of immersion between water, air, and nanospheres was obtained by extraploting to zero n-propanol concentration. Measurements of enthalpy of immersion for toluene-air-nanospheres system were straightforward, as all the nanospheres samples were dispersible in toluene. The enthalpy of immersion for toluene-water-nanospheres system was calculated from the data for the aforementioned first and the second systems. For water-air-nanosphere systems, contact angles were in the range of 14 to 118 degrees, corresponding to enthalpy of immersion from -0.0905 to 0.0041 J/m(2). For the case of toluene-air-nanospheres systems, the contact angles varied from 72 to 94 degrees with corresponding enthalpy of immersion from -0.0295 to -0.0189 J/m(2). For toluene-water-nanospheres systems, however, contact angles were in the range of 0 to 96 degrees, corresponding to enthalpy of immersion from -0.0717 to -0.0175 J/m(2). Copyright 2000 Academic Press.
ABSTRACT
The role of Athabasca asphaltene particles and molecules in stabilizing emulsions was examined by measuring the surface area of water-in-toluene/hexane emulsions stabilized by various asphaltene fractions, each with a different proportion of soluble and insoluble asphaltenes. The stabilized interfacial area was found to depend only on the amount of soluble asphaltenes. Furthermore, the amount of asphaltenes on the interface was consistent with molecular monolayer coverage. Hence, at low concentrations, asphaltenes appear to both act as a molecular surfactant and stabilize emulsions. The effect of the hexane : toluene ratio on emulsion stability was examined as well. At lower hexane : toluene ratios, more asphaltenes were soluble but the surface activity of a given asphaltene molecule was reduced. The two effects oppose each other but, in general, a smaller fraction of asphaltenes appeared to stabilize emulsions at lower hexane : toluene ratios. The results imply that the emulsifying capacity of asphaltenes is reduced but not eliminated in better solvents. Copyright 2000 Academic Press.
ABSTRACT
An experimental study was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of the various components of Athabasca bitumen in stabilizing water-in-diluted-bitumen emulsions. The solvent used to dilute the very viscous bitumen was a mixture of 50:50 by volume of hexane and toluene. The various bitumen components studied were asphaltenes, deasphalted bitumen, and fine solids. It was found that asphaltenes and fine solids were the main stabilizers of the water-in-diluted-bitumen emulsions. Individually, the two components can stabilize water-in-diluted-bitumen emulsions. However, when both are present the capacity of the diluted bitumen to stabilize water emulsions is greatest. Emulsion stabilization tests indicated that whole bitumen had less capacity to stabilize water emulsions than asphaltenes and solids. This would indicate that the presence of the small molecules within the whole bitumen tends to lower the emulsion stability. Deasphalted bitumen acts as a poor emulsion stabilizer. Although deasphalted bitumen led to the least emulsion stabilization capacity, interfacial tension measurements showed that diluted deasphalted bitumen gave a greater decrease in the interfacial tension of water with diluent. Copyright 1999 Academic Press.
ABSTRACT
Fine bubble attachment onto a solid surface in an impinging jet flow was analyzed within the framework of DLVO theory. The effects of hydrodynamic convection, van der Waals (VDW) interaction, electrostatic double-layer (EDL) interaction, and gravitational force on bubble attachment rate (in terms of the Sherwood number) were examined in detail. The analyses showed that due to large Peclet number and gravity number for gas bubbles the behavior of the bubble attachment is significantly different from that of colloidal particle deposition in some aspects. Specifically, it was demonstrated that within a certain range of physicochemical conditions, gas bubbles can attach onto a solid surface despite the existence of repulsive VDW interaction force and the fact that the surfaces of both the bubble and the solid collector carry the same sign of electrostatic potentials. This is attributed to the role played by the short-range attractive asymmetric EDL interaction and the strong hydrodynamic and gravity forces, without any need for the so-called hydrophobic interaction force. In addition, it was also shown that the models derived for the impinging jet system can be used to evaluate transport of fine gas bubbles onto a large particle surface, suggesting that the information extracted from the impinging jet geometry can be applied to the analysis of flotation processes. Copyright 1999 Academic Press.
ABSTRACT
A numerical study is presented for the steady electrokinetic flow in intersecting channels in a T-shaped configuration. The electric potential and space charge density distribution along the capillary are obtained numerically by solving the nonlinear Poisson-Boltzmann equation for arbitrary electrokinetic radius and arbitrary surface potential. The velocity and pressure profiles are obtained by solving a modified Navier-Stokes equation using a primitive variable algorithm. A systematic study of flow in T-shaped intersecting channels showed that the hydrodynamic effect is an important factor that influences fluid leakage out of a channel where the electric potential is left floating. It was found that the flow in each channel can be controlled by applying a potential at each reservoir connected to the end of a channel. Copyright 1999 Academic Press.
ABSTRACT
Interactions of ionic species, (organic and inorganic) precipitates, and fine solids with a low energy hydrophobic surface were examined using a model system of paraffin wax in aqueous solutions. Contact angle measurement was used to evaluate the interactions between paraffin wax and testing variables. No changes in contact angle were observed with various types of metal and metal hydroxyl ions, metal hydroxyl precipitates, fine silica, and alumina powders, suggesting weak or absence of interactions between these species and paraffin wax. At pH <9, the presence of amine reduced the contact angle, but no pH dependence on contact angle was observed for a given amine concentration. A sharp decrease in contact angle was observed at higher pHs, where precipitates of amine molecules formed probably on wax surfaces. In the presence of lauric acid, on the other hand, contact angles reduced at a pH below 8, due to the formation of precipitates, but the reduction was less significant, compared with the reduction by amine precipitates. At high pHs, adding lauric acid did not show any effect on the measured contact angles. The significant effect of fine solids on contact angle was observed only when the solids were made hydrophobic by adsorbed surfactants. The present study further demonstrated that both the thermodynamic criteria and the interactions among substrate/solids/surfactants/metal ions must be considered in identifying the effect of different factors on the wettability of low energy hydrophobic surfaces. Copyright 1998 Academic Press.
ABSTRACT
High-grade oil sand disintegration process is observed under a microscope (320x) to validate laboratory experiments on bitumen displacement and final contact angles of bitumen droplets on glass surfaces. The bitumen film on a sand grain was displaced by water and bitumen droplets were formed on the sand grain. Photographs of the bitumen/water/sand contact line and bitumen droplets are presented. Bitumen droplets formed on the sand grain and those on a microscope glass surface were compared. It is observed that the static contact angle of bitumen droplet on a sand grain is similar to that observed on a microscope glass slide in aqueous environment at a pH of 9. Copyright 1998 Academic Press.
ABSTRACT
Based on the presented model for the impinging jet system, extensive theoretical analysis was made on particle deposition. Complete transport equations with consideration of gravity, van der Waals, and electrical double layer (EDL) interactions, as well as hydrodynamic interactions, were numerically solved. The influences of gravity, van der Waals, and electrical double layer interactions on the particle deposition rates (in terms of the Sherwood number) were presented. The results demonstrate that the asymmetric EDL interaction, which has been ignored in previous treatments, has an impact on the particle deposition rate. It was also found that the Sherwood number is strongly dependent on the characteristics of the particle-collector interaction energy profiles, such as the height of the energy barrier and the depth of the secondary energy minimum. Particularly, the effects of the height of the energy barrier and the depth of the secondary energy minimum on the Sherwood number for different Peclet numbers were discussed. In addition, a simple expression was derived for quantitatively estimating the contributions to the deposition rate due to particle diffusion, migration, and convection. With the aid of calculated particle concentration distributions, this expression can be used to understand the numerical predictions. Copyright 1998 Academic Press.
ABSTRACT
Coalescence of oil-in-water emulsion droplets in a simple shear flow produced by a Couette device is considered. A phase Doppler anemometer was used to measure the droplet size distribution as a function of time for shear rates ranging from 55 to 213 s-1 and for sodium chloride salt concentrations from 0.095 to 0.6 M. The initial droplet size distribution was log-normal. During the coalescence process, the size distribution was self-preserving in accordance with D. L. Swift and S. K. Friedlander's analysis [J. Colloid Sci. 19, 621 (1964)]. In the limiting case of negligible repulsive force due to the electric double layer, the calculated stability ratios, corrected for droplet polydispersity, agree well with the theoretical analyses of G. R. Zeichner and W. R. Schowalter [AIChE J. 23, 243 (1977)] and D. L. Feke and W. R. Schowalter [J. Fluid Mech. 133, 17 (1983)] for the case of solid particle aggregation. The good agreement between the stability ratios for the case of coalescence of droplets in the present study and those for aggregation of solid particles indicates that resistance to film deformation and thinning present in the case of coalescence is not important compared with the collision process. Copyright 1998 Academic Press. Copyright 1998Academic Press
ABSTRACT
Liquid drop detachment from a solid surface by simple shear flow is modeled based on the experimental observations available in the literature. A liquid drop adhered to a solid surface deforms in the presence of a simple shear flow to form an advancing and a receding dynamic contact angle. The drop slides on the solid surface when the drag due to the shearing fluid overcomes the retentive force due to the contact angle hysteresis. A drop having an equilibrium contact angle, thetae , approaching 180° detaches from the solid surface at the onset of its sliding motion. However, a drop with thetae much lower than 180° slides on the solid surface and will not detach. With further increase in the shear rate, the sliding drop detaches from the solid surface when the lift force equals the adhesive, gravitational, and buoyancy forces of the drop. Based on this premise, an approximate mathematical model for the detachment of a partially wetting drop is constructed. The experimental results available in the literature for Pristane and Squalane drop detachment are compared for slide and lift as the mode of detachment. The critical shear rate for the detachment of Pristane drops, having thetae of 175°, is predicted well by the model where sliding as the mode of detachment is assumed, whereas the experimental data for Squalane drops, having thetae of 126°, is well predicted by the model where lift is considered the mode of detachment.
ABSTRACT
Ostwald ripening at finite dispersed phase volumes was modeled successfully using linearized analytical solutions of the ripening equations and an explicit numerical routine. The numerical approach incorporated a number frequency distribution of drop radii rather than using a discrete number of drops. The effect of finite dispersed phase volume fraction was accounted for by using half the average separation distance between drops as the mass transfer boundary. The numerical predictions matched analytical predictions for infinitely dilute systems almost exactly and were in qualitative agreement with analytical predictions for infinitely concentrated systems. The numerical model was applied to the full range of dispersed phase concentrations and successfully predicted experimental cumulative frequency distributions. The growth rate, i.e. the change in the cube of the mean radius with time, was confirmed to be constant at any dispersed phase volume fraction. A simple expression was developed relating growth rate to dispersed phase volume fraction. Predicted growth rates at dispersed phase volume fractions less than 0.2 matched those found experimentally and by other numerical methods. Predicted growth rates at higher dispersed phase volume fractions agreed well with experimental data from the literature but were significantly higher than predictions from other numerical methods. Copyright 1997 Academic Press.
