Emulsion Breaking

Emulsion Breaking

Oil and water tend to emulsify during industrial process where other emulsion-stabilizing factors like ionization, adsorption, and/or frictional contact may play a role. An oily waste emulsion appears like oily, dirty water with possibly no visible separation. These stabilizing factors must be neutralized to break the emulsion. Many times this is down by adjusting the pH and / or temperature.

There are many blends of inorganic/organic coagulants that are good emulsion breakers. Call us to analyze your application.

FAQ

Q. What is an emulsion?
A. An emulsion is an intimate mixture of two liquid phases, such as oil and water, in which either phase may be dispersed in the other. You may have either an oil-in-water or a water-in-oil emulsion.

Q. What types of clarifiers work best in oily wastes?
A. This depends on the particular application, but oil will usually float. Therefore, it is quite common to see Dissolved Air Flotation clarifiers. There are many different options for DAF's that may work best in your application.

See illustration for a Krofta DAF system

Q. Does mixing play a role in breaking emulsions?
A. Yes, an emulsion may be broken by chemical, electrolytic, or physical methods (such as fast mixing).

Q. Can membrane filtration technology be used to remove oily wastes and emulsions?
A. Ultrafiltration and Reverse Osmosis are commonly used in this application.

See Also:

Oil Water Separation

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Other Sections

Heavy Metal Removal Plant Efficiency

Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) Reduction Municipal Wastewater

Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) Reduction Wastewater Recycling

Total Organic Compound (TOC) Reduction Biological Treatment

TSS and Clarification Wastewater Evaporators

Arsenic Removal Ozone

Water Re-use Cyanide Removal

Oil/Water Separation Lead Removal

Emulsion Breaking Chrome Reduction & Removal

Oil/Grease Separation Hexavalent Chrome

Odor Neutralization Nickel Removal

Sludge Dewatering (Conditioning) Copper Removal

G.R.A.S. Chemistry Mercury Removal

Coagulation Mixed Metals Removal

Flocculation Chelation

Polymer Chemistry Metal Precipitation

Organic Chemistry Phenol Removal

Inorganic Chemistry Odor Control

Jar Testing Ink Removal

Program Design Poly Blend Sizing

Plant Design

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