Chemical Engineering & Technology, Vol.25, No.9, 899-904, 2002
Electrostatic drop formation in liquid/liquid systems
Electrostatic drop formation in liquid/liquid systems was studied, using high frequency AC fields (45 kHz). The dispersion of nonconductive into conductive fluids was investigated under various conditions, as are the effect of aqueous phase conductivity, capillary geometry and organic phase viscosity on the resulting drop size. The experimentally determined drop sizes and literature data, were correlated with a model equation, which was derived from a simple force balance, with an empirical term for the electric force. The model parameters were obtained in a toluene/water system and the model allows the prediction of the drop sizes of other organic solvents, if the capillary geometry is kept constant.