The Kinetics of Phase Separation in Liquid-Liquid Extraction: Modeling of Droplet Swarm Coalescence

The kinetics of droplet-bulk coalescence in liquid-liquid phase separation was investigated. A modified 1st order rate model was applied to fit the data of three series of experiments with different physical properties. This rate model can characterize the coalescence curve with two kinetic parameters, which are basically just fit parameters. The fit parameters were compared with the physical properties of the investigated systems. They compare well with the density, viscosity, and interfacial tension. The outcome of this study offers a simple and easy to apply tool for kinetic modeling of the coalescence process.