De-emulsification of 2-ethyl-1-hexanol/water emulsion using oil-wet narrow channel combined with low-speed rotation

Low-speed rotation of disc in an internal circulation of a novel de-emulsification with rotation-dise horizental contactor (RHC-D) realized de-emulsification for O/W emulsions due to repeated coalescence in oil-wet narrow channels at a low rotation speed. For three emulsions included ethanol/water/2-ethyl-1-hexanol, ethanol/water/2-ethyl-1-hexanol/SDS (Sodium Dodecyl Sulfonate) and 2-ethyl-1-hexanol/water/SDS emulsion, deemulsification ratios of oil phase could reach 1, 1 and 0.67 respectively at 170 r·min^-1, and de-emulsification ratios increased obviously after agitating 10 min. De-emulsification experiment in the seam indicated that oil droplet sizes in O/W emulsion became larger after de-emulsification. The main de-emulsification mechanism in RHCD was the coalescence of oil droplets in oil-wet narrow channels. With increase of the rotation speed, oil droplets dispersed better in the aqueous phase. However, de-emulsification effect enhanced due to the increase of the coalescence rate at a bit higher rotation speed. In addition, internal circulation made those O/W emulsions to be broken repeatedly, consequently de-emulsification ratio increased. Repeated de-emulsification through internal circulation might make continuous extraction of ethanol come true at a low rotation speed.