Novel insight into the miniemulsification process: CFD applied to ultrasonication

Miniemulsion and mini-emulsion polymerization are experiencing a recent revival. However, in spite of the multitude of publications on miniemulsion, some fundamental aspects still remain unclear, like the influence on miniemulsion characteristics by a given emulsification device. In this work, Computational Fluid Dynamics, CFD, was used to further elucidate the miniemulsification process during sonication. The flow pattern given by CFD was used as input for the model of the evolution of droplet size distribution. The effect of the intensity of the ultrasound device, the effect of agitation, as well as the effect of the geometry of the system on the miniemulsion final droplet size distribution were analyzed.