METERING OF 2-PHASE LIQUID-LIQUID EMULSIONS - A STATE-OF-THE-ART REVIEW

Metering of two-phase liquid/liquid emulsions is important industrially. However, despite the industrial importance of the problem, this topic has received little attention in chemical engineering literature. This is the first comprehensive review of the topic. Following a brief discussion about the industrial applications of emulsions, the working principles of various emulsion metering techniques available to date, are discussed (albeit briefly). Where possible, the limitations of these techniques are pointed out. Various on-line techniques for calibrating the flowmeters (proving devices) are reviewed as well. The major drawback of the current literature is the general lack of experimental data available on metering of emulsions. Only a few emulsion metering techniques have been investigated in detail. In many cases, little or no experimental data are reported to test the full range of the applicability of the techniques. It is recommended that future research work should focus more on experimental evaluation of various techniques available so as to determine their full range of applicability and limitations. Experimental work dealing with comparisons of the various emulsion metering techniques will be most useful.