Evaporation of water-in-oil microemulsion droplet

TL;DR

This study investigates the evaporation behavior of water-in-oil microemulsions, revealing how composition and phase influence evaporation stages and resulting structures, with implications for emulsion fuel stability and combustion efficiency.

Contribution

It introduces a detailed analysis of evaporation stages and proposes a new parameter ({ta}) to predict evaporation behavior based on emulsion composition and properties.

Findings

Evaporation occurs in three stages: pre-heating, steady, and unsteady.

Increasing volume fraction ({}) reduces evaporation rate during steady phase.

Formation of solid shells with varied morphology upon evaporation.

Abstract

Emulsion fuels have the potential to reduce both particulate matter and NOx emissions and can potentially improve the efficiency of combustion engines. However, their limited stability remains a critical barrier to practical use as an alternative fuel. In this study, we explore the evaporation behavior of thermodynamically stable water-in-oil microemulsions. The water-in-oil microemulsion droplets prepared from different types of oil were acoustically levitated and heated using a continuous laser at different irradiation intensities. We show that the evaporation characteristics of these microemulsions can be controlled by varying water-to-surfactant molar ratio ({\omega}) and volume fraction of the dispersed phase ({\phi}). The emulsion droplets undergo three distinct stages of evaporation, namely pre-heating, steady evaporation, and unsteady evaporation. During the steady evaporation phase, increasing {\phi} reduces the evaporation rate for a fixed {\omega}. It is observed that the evaporation of microemulsion is governed by the complex interplay between its constituents and their properties. We propose a parameter ({\eta}) denoting the volume fraction ratio between volatile and non-volatile components, which indicates the cumulative influence of various factors affecting the evaporation process. The evaporation of microemulsions eventually leads to the formation of solid spherical shells, which may undergo buckling. The distinction in the morphology of these shells is explored in detail using SEM imaging.