I am working on a project to Emulsify Water and Diesel, is there a way to reduce the surface Tension of the water to Zero or close to, so that the two will mix, without the use of Chemicals or additives?
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2 Answers
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the surface tension of water falls as its temperature rises, but the most effective way to reduce the surface tension of water is by mixing in a tiny amount of a chemical additive called a surfactant. in this way you can cut the surface tension of water in half... but if there is a particular reason you do not want to do this with additives, please explain the constraint.
answered Jan 11, 2018 at 18:36
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In addition to Niel’s point, surfactants could refer to detergent and soap, etc. Removing impurities in the water is another method of reducing surface tension, since impure water has slightly higher surface tension than pure water(salt water has a higher water tension that distilled water).
answered Jan 11, 2018 at 21:58
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$\begingroup$ Thanks for the two responses, we are currently using Surfactant that is very effective, the issue though is that the amount and the cost of the chosen surfactant is such that we are trying to find a more economical way, the idea is that by reducing the surface tension mechanically, then I would be able to use a smaller percentage of surfactant. $\endgroup$ Jan 12, 2018 at 18:23