Work

Experimental and modelling study of creaming in concentrated emulsions under centrifugation

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: Monitoring and modelling emulsion creaming/sedimentation is essential in several engineering applications. However, when dealing with concentrated emulsions, further challenges appear due to complex interactions that make their investigation tricky. In this study, we develop and validate a method that combines experiments and modelling to quantify the creaming kinetics in dense oil-in-water emulsions. Centrifugation is used to accelerate phase separation. Glycerol is added to the continuous phase to modify its refractive index, making it closer to that of the dispersed phase, which increases light transmission in concentrated emulsions and enables tracking of droplet creaming by light transmission measurements. A one-dimensional convection–diffusion model is evaluated against experimental data using various hindered-settling velocity correlations. Dimensionless analysis supports key modelling assumptions and elucidates the observed dynamics. Computational Fluid Dynamics simulations are also performed using the Euler–Euler method, and the results are compared to the experiments and the convection–diffusion model predictions.

Source: International Journal of Multiphase Flow

DOI: 10.1016/j.ijmultiphaseflow.2025.105380

Authors: Djibrilla Mounkaila Noma, Noureddine Lebaz, Khadija Sall, Nida Sheibat-Othman

Institutions: Lyon 1 Université, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Laboratoire d'Automatique, de Génie des Procédés et de Génie Pharmaceutique

Language: English

Topic: Fluid Dynamics and Heat Transfer

Subfield: Computational Mechanics

Field: Engineering

Domain: Physical Sciences

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $3,900

Funder: Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1