An innovative numerical approach for simulation of emulsion formation in a Microfluidizer

作者：Galooyak Saeed Sadeghpour^*; Dabir Bahram; Zolfaghari Mehdi

来源：Colloids and Surfaces A: Physicochemical and Engineering Aspects , 2015, 487: 169-179.

DOI：10.1016/j.colsurfa.2015.09.059

• Emulsification
• Microfluidizer
• PBE
• CFD
• Simultaneous coupling method
• Daughter size distribution

Microfluidizer is frequently employed for the homogenization of emulsions in food industries. This paper provides an innovative numerical approach for predicting the Microfluidizer performance in the emulsification process. The model has been based on simultaneous coupling of CFD-PBE in each computational cell, instead of the sequential approach proposed previously by other authors. The class method has been selected for discretization of PBE with appropriate breakage and coalescence frequencies. By changing the significant variables, including pressure, pass number and oil content, it has been observed that the numerical results are in general agreement with the experimental data. The results reveal the potential of the proposed approach in prediction of emulsion formation in the Microfluidizer. The evolution of emulsion size distribution in the whole domain implies that viscosity and inertia in turbulent flow contribute to oil droplet breakage, while the impinging of jets is an auxiliary mechanism.

• 出版日期2015-12-20