Optimization of Oil-in-Water Emulsion Stability: Experimental Design,Multiple Light Scattering,and Acoustic Attenuation Spectroscopy

To find an optimal formulation of oil-in-water (O/W) emulsions (φ_o = 0.05), the effect of emulsifier nature and concentration, agitation speed, emulsifying time, storage temperature and their mutual interactions on the properties and behavior of these dispersions is evaluated by means of an experimental design (Nemrodw software). Long-term emulsion stability is monitored by multiple light scattering (Turbiscan ags) and acoustic attenuation spectroscopy (Ultrasizer). After matching surfactant HLB and oil required HLB, a model giving the Sauter diameter as a function of emulsifier concentration, agitation speed and emulsification time is proposed. The highest stability of C₁₂E₄-stabilized O/W emulsions is observed with 1% emulsifier.     

FORMATION OF MULTIPLE EMULSIONS IN A FOUR-COMPONENT SYSTEM CONTAINING NONIONIC SURFACTANTS

ABSTRACT

W/O/W and O/W/O multiple emulsions have been found in systems consisting of water, light mineral oil, and two nonionic surfactants (Span 80 and Tween 20).No specific order of addition of the components or pre-mixing was followed. Following gentle agitation at 25°, 35° and 45° for 48?hours, W/O/W emulsions were found at water contents above 30%, while 0/W/O emulsions generally appeared below 60% water.W/0 and 0/W emulsions, micellar phases and liquid crystalline phases were also observed at various compositions. The multiple emulsion regions decreased in size as temperature increased and the areas and positions of the other phases were also temperature dependent.     

Two-resistance mass transfer model for the adsorption of the pesticide deltamethrin using acid treated oil shale ash

Adsorption characteristics of the pesticides Deltamethrin were studied in aqueous solutions using acid treated Oil Shale Ash (ATOSA) in a series of batch adsorption experiments. The maximum loading capacity of the adsorbent and the rate of adsorption were found to increase with increasing the pesticide initial concentration, mixing speed and were found to decrease with temperature and particle size. Langmuir as well as Freundlich isotherm models fit the adsorption data with R ²>0.97 in all cases. The maximum adsorption capacity for Deltamethrin was 11.4 mg/g. The two-resistance mass transfer model based on the film resistance and homogeneous solid phase diffusion was used to fit the experimental data. A computer program has been developed to estimate the theoretical concentration-time dependent curves and to compare them with the experimental curves by means of the best-fit approach. The model predicts that the external mass transfer coefficient K was affected by varying the initial pesticide concentration, the agitation speed and temperature whereas the diffusion coefficient D was affected by the initial pesticide concentration, and temperature.     

Mono-dispersed cross-linked polystyrene micro-spheres prepared by seed swelling polymerization method

A two-step swelling procedure was adopted to synthesize mono-dispersed and highly cross-linked poly (St-divinylbenzene) particles with PSt micro-spheres (1.80 μm in diameter). The PSt micro-spheres were prepared by a dispersion polymerization method and used as seeds. The effects of monomer concentration, ratio of ethanol to water, swelling reagents, crosslinking reagents, swelling temperature and agitation speed on particle size were investigated in detail. The morphologies and size distributions of these micro-spheres were examined by SEM and particle size analysis (PSA). The T _g of the micro-spheres was measured by DSC. The results indicate that the particles (6.20 μm in diameter) exhibit excellent mono dispersed property and high crosslinking degree when the concentration of the swelling reagent was 25%, the concentration of the crosslinking reagents was 23%, the swelling temperature was 30°C and the stirring speed was 150 r/min. __________ Translated from Chinese Journal of Applied Chemistry, 2007, 24(11): 1289–1294     

Esterification of palmitic acid with epichlorohydrin on anion exchange resin catalyst

The esterification reaction of palmitic acid with epichlorohydrin catalyzed by an anionic macroporous resin was studied. Purolite A-500 resin proved to be a very effective catalyst in the synthesis of 3-chloro-2-hydroxypropyl palmitate. The effects of certain parameters such as speed of agitation, catalyst particle size, catalyst loading, temperature, initial molar ratio between reactants on the rate of reaction were studied. It was found that the overall rate is intrinsically kinetically controlled. The structure of synthesized ester was confirmed by FTIR and ¹H NMR analyses.      

Study of Growth Parameters for Phaffia rhodozyma Cultivated in Peat Hydrolysates

The yeastPhaffia rhodozyma, known for its ability to synthesize carotenoids, was adapted and cultivated in liquid-phase media using peat hydrolysates as the main substrate source. The hydrolysates were prepared using high-pressure treatment at 185°C, without the addition of acid. The growth of the yeast was studied as a function of the pH, temperature, culture time, and agitation speed. The best conditions for the growth of the yeast were: a pH of 7, a temperature of 18°C, 5-d culture time, and 200-rpm agitation. Under those conditions, P.rhodozyma produced a concentration of 1279.82 μg carotenoids g^-1 dry yeast, which compares well with other previously reported results.     

粗硼砂的氯化铵溶液浸提动力学

研究了反应温度、溶液浓度、固液比、固体粒径大小和搅拌速度对氯化铵溶液浸提粗硼砂(十水四硼酸钠,Na₂B₄O₇·10H₂O)动力学的影响。结果表明反应速率随反应温度、溶液浓度的增加和固体粒径、固液比的减小而增加,但搅拌速度对溶解速率无显著影响。根据均相和多相动反应力学模型研究了粗硼砂的溶解过程。结果表明溶解速率遵从假一级均相反应模型。粗硼砂在氯化铵溶液中溶解的活化能为82.73 kJ·mol^-1。     

Leaching of El-Missikat low-grade fluoritized uranium ore by sulfuric acid: mechanism and kinetic

A well-characterized low-grade fluoritized uranium samples from new occurrence in Gabal El-Missikat prospect, Eastern Desert, Egypt was subjected to sulfuric acid leaching. The effects of leaching parameters on uranium dissolution mechanism were investigated. The shrinking core model was used to model leaching reactions. The kinetics equations indicates that the reactions appear to be controlled by layer diffusion process. The activation energy for uranium dissolution was evaluated. Low activation energy value (2.54 kJ mol⁻¹) confirm the diffusion layer mechanism. The presence of fluoride ions in the solution increases the dissolution of uranium. The optimum process operating parameters were: sulfuric acid concentration: 1.5 M, solid–liquid ratio: 1:3, contact time 8 h; agitation speed rate 200 rpm; and ore particle size − 75 µm at temperature 60 °C, in the absence of an external oxidant. Under these experimental conditions, the extraction efficiency of uranium was about 91%.

     

Biosorption of strontium from aqueous solutions onto spent coffee grounds

A set of experiments was carried out to evaluate the strontium uptake potential of spent coffee grounds (SCG) by batch tests in aqueous medium. Adsorption of Sr²⁺ as a function of contact time and adsorbent dose, pH, particles size, agitation speed, temperature and co-ions presence was investigated. Obtained results revealed that the maximum adsorption took place at pH range of 5–8 and temperature values between 283 and 333 K. Particles size effect was not very significant and agitation speed influenced on the equilibrium time. Competitive adsorption experiments allowed us to classify the negative effect on the Sr²⁺ uptake according to this order Al³⁺ ? Co²⁺ > Mg²⁺ > Ca²⁺ ? Na⁺ > K⁺ > Cs⁺. Kinetic study indicated that the Sr²⁺ uptake was fast and it was well fitted by the pseudo second order reaction model. Adsorption isotherm was well interpreted by Langmuir model. The maximum adsorption capacity was found to be 69.01 mg g^?1 at pH 7, 293 K, particles sizes = 200–400 μm and agitation speed 250 rpm. The thermodynamic study revealed that the process was spontaneous (ΔG ⁰ < 0), exothermic (ΔH ⁰ < 0) with a raised affinity for Sr²⁺ (ΔG ⁰ < 0, ΔS ⁰ > 0) and occurred by physical adsorption (E _a = 8.37 kJ mol^?1). FTIR analysis showed carboxylic acid and amino group presence on SCG surface playing a vital role in Sr²⁺ biosorption.     

THE EFFECT OF ALKANES ON THE FORMATION OF ULTRAFINE SILVER BROMIDE PARTICLES IN IONIC W/O MICROEMULSIONS

ABSTRACT

Ultrafine AgBr particles formed in w/o microemulsions with different chain length of alkanes were studied by UV-VIS spectrophotometry, stopped-flow spectrophotometry and transmission electron microscopy. The ultrafine particles of AgBr (5-7?nm in diameter) were obtained by mixing two separately prepared microemulsion systems both containing AOT, n-hexane and an aqueous solution of either AgNO³ or NaBr.The size distribution of the nearly spherical AgBr particles broadened from 5 to about 10?nm as chain length of alkane was increased from n-hexane to n-octane. When n-dodecane or a higher alkane was used, the microemulsion system became increasingly unstable causing precipitation of AgBr.     

Improvement of oxygen transfer coefficient duringPenicillium canescens culture

To improve xylanase productivity fromPenicillium canescens 10–10c culture, an optimization of oxygen supply is required. Because the strain is sensitive to shear forces, leading to lower xylanase productivity as to morphological alteration, vigorous mixing is not desired. The influence of turbine design, agitation speed, and air flow rate on K₁a (global mass transfer coefficient, h^-1) and enzyme production is discussed. K₁a values increased with agitation speed and air flow rate, whatever the impeller, in our assay conditions. Agitation had more influence on K₁a values than air flow, when a disk-mounted blade’s impeller (DT) is used; an opposite result was obtained with a hub-mounted pitched blade’s impeller (PBT). Xylanase production appeared as a function of specific power (W/m³), and an optimum was found in 20 and 100 L STRs fitted with DT impellers. On the other hand, the use of a hub-mounted pitched blade impeller (PBT8), instead of a disk-mounted blade impeller (DT4), reduced the lag time of hemicellulase production and increased xylanase productivity 1.3-fold.

     

Comparison of droplet flocculation in hexadecane oil-in-water emulsions stabilized by beta-lactoglobulin at pH 3 and 7

The influence of surface and thermal denaturation of adsorbed beta-lactoglobulin (beta-Lg) on the flocculation of hydrocarbon oil droplets was measured at pH 3 and compared with that at pH 7. Oil-in-water emulsions (5 wt % n-hexadecane, 0.5 wt % beta-Lg, pH 3.0) were prepared that contained different levels of salt (0-150 mM NaCl) added immediately after homogenization. The mean particle diameter (d43) and particle size distribution of diluted emulsions were measured by laser diffraction when they were either (i) stored at 30 degrees C for 48 h or (ii) subjected to different thermal treatments (30-95 degrees C for 20 min). In the absence of salt, little droplet flocculation was observed at pH 3 or 7 because of the strong electrostatic repulsion between the droplets. In the presence of 150 mM NaCl, a progressive increase in mean particle size with time was observed in pH 7 emulsions during storage at 30 degrees C, but no significant change in mean particle diameter with time (d43 approximately 1.4 +/- 0.2 microm) was observed in the pH 3 emulsions. Droplet aggregation became more extensive in pH 7 emulsions containing salt (added before thermal processing) when they were heated above 70 degrees C, which was attributed to thermal denaturation of adsorbed beta-Lg leading to interdroplet disulfide bond formation. In contrast, the mean particle size decreased and the creaming stability improved when pH 3 emulsions were heated above 70 degrees C. These results suggest that the droplets in the pH 3 emulsions were weakly flocculated at temperatures below the thermal denaturation temperature of beta-Lg (T < 70 degrees C) but that flocs did not form so readily above this temperature, which was attributed to a reduction in droplet surface hydrophobicity due to protein conformational changes. The most likely explanation for the difference in behavior of the emulsions is that disulfide bond formation occurs much more readily at pH 7 than at pH 3.     

硝酸胺溶液浸提硬硼酸钙的动力学研究

对硬硼酸钙在硝酸铵水溶液的溶解在间歇式反应器中就搅拌速度、粒径大小、反应温度、固液比和溶液的浓度等参数的影响进行了研究。结果表明溶解速度随温度、硝酸铵水溶液的浓度以及粒径和固液比的增加而增加,但搅拌速度对溶解速度无重要影响。硬硼酸钙在硝酸铵水溶液中可以高达100%。硬硼酸钙的溶解动力学根据多相和均相反应模型进行了检验。实验数据表明有高的活化能,说明基于多相反应动力学模型的溶解速度可表达为：1-(1-X)^1/3=3.28 ×10⁴·D^{-0.653 7}·C^{1.295 8}·(S/L)^{-0.490 9}·e^-41.40/(RT)·t。反应过程的活化能为41.40 kJ·mol^-1。     

Stability of oil/water (ethanol,lysozyme or lysine) emulsions

Emulsions of n-tetradecane in water (0.1%^v/_^V) homogenized by ultrasounds (1 5 min) were stabilized by 0.5 or 1.0 M ethanol and in the presence of lysozyme (4 mg 100 ml⁻¹) or 1 mM lysine monohydrochloride (14.6 mg 100 ml⁻¹). The zeta potentials and multimodal size distributions of the droplets after 5, 15, 30, 60, 120 min, and 1 and 2 days were determined by dynamic light scattering technique using ZetaPlus apparatus (Brookhaven Instr., USA). Both parameters were determined on the same sample subsequently without any mixing. The effect of pH [4, 6.8 (natural), and 11] was also investigated. The most stable emulsions in 1 M ethanol solutions alone were at pH 6.8 and 11 (the effective diameter D_eff and 350 nm, respectively), while in 0.5 M at pH 4 (D_eff nm). The most stable emulsions with lysozyme were obtained at pH 4 and 1 M ethanol (D_eff nm), and with lysine at pH 6.8 and 0.5 M ethanol (D_eff nm). Except for the emulsions with lysozyme at pH 4 and 6.8, in the rest systems the zeta potentials were negative and ranged between −5 and −85 mV as a function of time and pH. The changes of zeta potential indicate that H⁺ ions are not much potential determining, while OH⁻ ions increase the negative zeta potentials. However, H⁺ ions affect functional groups of lysozyme molecules adsorbed on the alkane droplet, what appears in essential changes of zeta potential and even reversed sign of it in some systems. The results point that stability of these emulsions may also be determined by hydrogen bonding.     

Emulsion Polymerization of Acrylic Monomers Stabilized by Poly(Ethylene Oxide)

Abstract

The stability of acrylic latices stabilized by poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) is governed by the bridging flocculation process during polymerization. The final latex particle size increases with increasing concentration of initiator, PEO, or NaCl. The total scrap formed during the reaction increases rapidly with increasing NaCl concentration due to the ionic strength effect. It is shown that the final latex particle size decreases rapidly with an increase in the agitation speed. The amount of total scrap formed during polymerization is generally greater at a higher agitation speed. These results suggest that the fraction of the particle surface covered by PEO and the ratio of the thickness of the PEO adsorption layer to that of the electric double layer of the latex particles should play an important role in determining the final latex particle size and colloidal stability.     

Optimization of Chlorophyllase-catalyzed Hydrolysis of Chlorophyll in Monophasic Organic Solvent Media

The effects of selected reaction parameters, including solvent hydrophobicity, initial water activity, agitation speed, temperature and enzyme concentration, on the biocatalytic efficiency of a chlorophyllase enzymatic extract from Phaeodactylum tricornutum in neat organic solvent media were investigated. The highest chlorophyllase specific activity of 322 nmol hydrolyzed chlorophyll per gram of protein per minute and bioconversion yield of 91% were obtained in the reaction mixture of hexane/2-octanone (98.3:1.7, v/v), at a controlled initial water activity of 0.90. R _O/A value, which is the ratio of the specific activity in the organic solvent to that in the aqueous/miscible organic solvent medium, was 1.5 × 10⁻³. To reduce the substrate diffusional limitations, the appropriate agitation speed and enzyme concentration were determined. The optimum temperature for maximal enzymatic activity and activation energy were 35°C and 105.0 kJ/mol, respectively. Although the catalytic efficiency of chlorphyllase in the neat organic solvent mixture was lower than that in the aqueous medium, its half-life time in the first environment at temperature ranging from 35 to 50°C was increased by 5.0 to 15.0 times.     

Agitation requirement for synthesis of micron-sized monodisperse polymer particles in soap-free polymerization method

Single-stage polymerization recently proposed for producing micron-sized polymer particles in aqueous media by Gu, Inukai and Konno (2002) was carried out under the control of agitation with styrene monomer, an amphoteric initiator, 2,2′-azobis [N-(2-carboxyethyl)-2-methylpropionamidine] tetrahydrate and a pH buffer NH₃/NH₄Cl at a monomer concentration of 1.1 kmol/m³ H₂O, an initiator concentration of 10 mol/m³ H₂O and a buffer concentration of [NH₃] = [NH₄Cl] = 10 mol/m³ H₂O. In the polymerizations, impeller speed was ranged from 300 to 500 rpm to satisfy complete dispersion of the monomer phase and not to introduce the gas phase from the free surface. Polymerization experiments under steady agitation indicated that impeller speed was an important factor for size distribution of polymer particles. An increase in impeller speed promoted particle coagulation during the polymerization to enlarge the average size of polymer particles but widen the size distribution. To produce polymer particles with narrow size distribution, stepwise reduction in impeller speed was examined in the polymerization experiments. It was demonstrated that this method was more effective than the steady agitation. The impeller speed reduction could produce highly monodisperse particles with an average size of 2 μm and a coefficient of variation of size distributions of 2.2% that was much smaller than typical monodispersity criterion of 10%.     

Preparation and characterization of a novel zeolite using hydrothermal synthesis in a stirred reactor

This paper describes the preparation of novel zeolite particles by the hydrothermal method in a stirred reactor. The variations between certain properties of the resulting zeolites, such as morphology by the scanning electron microscopy (SEM), pore properties (i.e., surface areas, pore volume, and porosity) by the surface area & porosity analyzer, crystallinity by the X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Si/Al ratio by the inductively coupled plasma-atomic absorption spectrometer (ICP-AES), and the process parameters, such as aging time, agitation speed, temperature and pressure, were studied at a specific gel composition. The optimal value of the Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) surface area was found to be over 400 m²/g in the resulting microporous zeolite, indicating that the size was centered on about 0.5 nm. The XRD image was indicative of the probable formation of zeolite-P2 in the hydrothermal synthesis.     

Grafting of Vinyl Acetate-Methyl Acrylate Mixture Onto Cellulose. Effect of Agitation

ABSTRACT

The agitation effect on the heterogeneous graft copolymerization of a mixture of vinyl acetate and methyl acrylate onto cellulose was studied. Two procedures for the addition of the reactants were employed. Stirring speed, agitation time, and magnetic as well as mechanic stirring were tested. This polymerization system undergoes significant changes in the reaction parameters under low and high stirring speeds as well as under short agitation times. An explanation of the results is given.     

А kinеtiс аnаlysis fоr prоduсtiоn of саlсium bоrоgluсоnаtе frоm colemanite

In this paper, the kinetic model of colemanite dissolution in gluconic acid solutions was carried out in a batch reactor. The effects of the particle size, reaction temperature, stirring speed, gluconic acid concentration, and solid/liquid ratio on colemanite dissolution were experimentally studied. The empirical parameters were the gluconic acid concentration (0.05-0.2 M), the temperature (20-50°C), the solid/liquid ratio (0.05/500-1.5/500 g⋅L⁻¹), particle size (193.5-1000 μm), and stirring speed (400-700 rpm). The kinetic models for heterogeneous solid-liquid reactions were used with the dissolution data in evaluating the kinetic. The dissolution of colemanite in gluconic acid solutions was controlled by diffusion through the product layer. The activation energy was found to be 8.39 kJ⋅mol⁻¹. The rate expression associated with the dissolution rate of colemanite depending on the parameters chosen may be summarized as follows: