Effects of Surfactants on Oil Droplet Demulsification in Oil-in-Water Emulsions under an Electric Field: A Molecular Dynamics Study.

ABSTRACT: The application of an electric field to demulsification of oil-in-water (O/W) emulsions has received extensive attention. However, microcosmic information about the effect of surfactant type on the demulsification of an O/W emulsion under an electric field is still rare. In this work, the effects of cationic surfactant cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) and anionic surfactant sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) on oil droplet demulsification in an emulsion under a pulsed-DC electric field were studied by molecular dynamics (MD) simulation. The MD simulation results show that oil droplets underwent directional movement under the action of an electric field. The larger the electric field strength, the shorter the time required for the oil droplets to coalesce. However, the movement direction of

SUBMITTER: Liu S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11635463 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature