Journal of
Engineering and Technology Research

  • Abbreviation: J. Eng. Technol. Res.
  • Language: English
  • ISSN: 2006-9790
  • DOI: 10.5897/JETR
  • Start Year: 2009
  • Published Articles: 197

Full Length Research Paper

Effects of viscosity on phase separation of liquid mixtures with a critical point of miscibility

Filomena Califano
  • Filomena Califano
  • Chemistry and Physics Department, St. Francis College, 180 Remsen Street, Brooklyn, NY, 11201.
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Nicole James
  • Nicole James
  • Chemistry and Physics Department, St. Francis College, 180 Remsen Street, Brooklyn, NY, 11201.
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  •  Accepted: 05 May 2013
  •  Published: 30 May 2013

Abstract

 

After quenching a high-viscosity partially miscible critical liquid mixture to a temperature far below the critical point, we observed the formation of rapidly coalescing droplets, whose size grew linearly with time, indicating that phase separation process is driven byconvection. As predicted by the diffuse interface model, this experimental work showed that the viscosity did not have any effect on the growth rate and the speed of the nucleatingdroplets. Eventually, when the droplets size reached its critical length, they started tosediment and separated by gravity. At this point, the viscosity influenced the settling speedand the total separation time.

 

Key words: Phase separation, spinodal decomposition, viscosity, convection.