Oil/water (O/W) nano-emulsions have been formed in the system water/C16E6/mineral oil by the phase
inversion temperature (PIT) method. The relation between the phase equilibria observed at the hydrophilic−lipophilic balance (HLB) temperature or the PIT (i.e., the nature, number, and relative volume fractions
of the involved phases), the droplet sizes, and polydispersities of the resulting emulsions have been
determined. Milky white emulsions were obtained when, at the HLB temperature, a three-phase equilibrium
formed by water (W), shear-birefringent microemulsion (D), and oil (O) was observed. However, bluish
transparent O/W nano-emulsions with droplet sizes as low as 40 nm were formed in a narrow range of
oil-to-surfactant ratios in which a D or W + D phases were the initial equilibrium phases. In the W + D
equilibria, droplet sizes were independent from the water content, indicating that nanodroplet formation
is mainly controlled by the structure of the D phase. These results suggest that the main requirement for
bluish transparent O/W nano-emulsion formation is the complete solubilization of the oil component in
a bicontinuous microemulsion, independent of whether the initial phase equilibrium is single or multiphase.
A mathematical model of a process in which an exothermic, second-order reaction takes place in a falling film reactor was developed. This model is applicable to a process in which any step, liquid mass transfer, reaction rate, or gas mass transfer, can affect the process rate. The model includes a turbulent diffusivity term for the liquid mass transfer, valid through the entire liquid film. The mathematical model predicts conversions and interfacial temperatures as the most important variables for product yields and product quality. Its validity was proved by means of experimental sulfonation
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.