Oil penetration into aqueous media results in various chemical and physical processes including formation of “oil-in-water” emulsions, that have devastating effects on the environment. This research was conducted to evaluate the kinetics of permeation of “oil-in-water” emulsions into synthetic porous material. It gives the ability to develop more effective sorbents, decreasing risks of negative consequences and environmental contamination. The following publication focuses on assessment of the possibility to describe and predict a process of porous medium imbibition with emulsions by means of the Hill equation. Its adequacy is compared with the classical Lucas–Washburn equation and its modified version. The advanced approach is to substitute the commonly used parameter of the height of an imbibed emulsion (h(t)) by the parameter mh(t), which is the mass of an imbibed emulsion in the case of the classical and modified Washburn equations. According to the obtained results, the Hill equation provides the most appropriate and precise description of the porous material imbibition with “oil-in-water” emulsions and oil in comparison with others, and shows the highest correlation values (Rav = 0.995±0.001) and the lowest normalized root mean square error (NRMSEav 1.95±0.138).

The paper is concerned with the development of an on-line rheometer for suspensions with settling particles. A new concept of a rotational rheometer with helical screw impeller is discussed. On the basis of model considerations a procedure for the flow curve determination of the investigated fluid has been proposed. Contrary to previous attempts, in the developed procedure no calibration of the instrument is necessary. The preliminary experimental verification of the developed approach proved its applicability. (1) and (8)

The non-invasive introduction of active substances into the human body is a top challenge for researchers in medicine, pharmacology, and cosmetology. Development of nanotechnology and possibilities of creating more and more complex drug carriers on a nanoscale give a more realistic prospect of meeting this challenge. However, in the absence of sufficient knowledge of the mechanisms of such systems’ transport through the human skin structure, it is necessary to look deeper into these issues. There are several models describing nanoparticles transport through the skin, but they are mainly based on diffusion process analysis. In this work, a model was proposed to predict nanoparticles transport through the skin, based on the combined diffusion and adsorption concept. This approach was based on experimental studies of silver and copper nanoparticles’ diffusion process through different filtration membrane layers. Dependence of the degree of adsorption on the surface parameter was described using modified Langmuir equation. Then, these considerations were related to the structure of the stratum corneum, which made it possible to predict the changes in the mass of penetrating nanoparticles as a function of transport path length. A discussion of the presented model, depending on such parameters as nanoparticle size, skin cell thickness, or viscosity of the “intercellular cement”, was also performed.

The stabilized emulsions removal from the aqueous systems is supposed to be an issue as important as the free oil products recovery. This work was conducted to investigate the mechanisms of oil-in-water emulsions sorption in a non-woven oleophilic/hydrophobic material forced by the capillary suction pressure, and the saturation level of such material during this process. It ensures the effective application of the sorbents and facilitates the development of alternative high-performance sorptive materials that can contribute to diminishing of the negative consequences of the aquatic environment contamination. The main aspect investigated in this research work was kinetics of the imbibition process in the porous media to define the optimal time of sorption and the height of the emulsions penetration. The measurement of the dispersed phase concentration changes with the increase in an emulsion front in the porous medium using the nephelometrical method is the advanced approach in the field of assessment of sorbents efficiency. The tendency of the imbibed emulsion concentration decrease versus the height was observed, which depended strongly on the viscosity and the initial composition of a penetrating liquid. The observed process was described by the mathematical model based on Hill equation.

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