Method for manufacturing emulsion

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10058827-B2
Application number	US-201214239534-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 8, 2012
Priority date	Aug 19, 2011
Publication date	Aug 28, 2018
Grant date	Aug 28, 2018

Abstract

The disclosed invention is a method for producing an emulsion, comprising the steps of: (1) causing water and a water-insoluble substance that is to be emulsified to become freely miscible under conditions of temperature and pressure in the vicinity of the vapor-liquid critical point of water; and (2) cooling the product comprised of the water-insoluble substance and water solved each other in the presence of a surfactant to obtain a liquid comprised of the water-insoluble substance dispersed in water or a liquid comprised of water dispersed in the water-insoluble substance. The present invention provides a new method for producing emulsions with high efficiency without requiring a long period of processing or a great amount of energy.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A method for producing an emulsion comprising the steps of:
(1a) feeding continuously or intermittently either (i) a water-insoluble substance that is to be emulsified and water that is heated and pressurized, respectively or (ii) water and a water-insoluble substance that is to be emulsified and that is heated and pressurized, respectively into a first flow merger in which liquids fed through multiple liquid supply ports are mixed and discharged through a single liquid outlet, and then
(1b) feeding the water and water-insoluble substance that are merged in the first flow merger to a mixing apparatus to maintain under conditions of temperature and pressure which are approximately at the vapor-liquid critical point of water for a period in a range of 0.01 to 90 seconds to cause the water and the water-insoluble substance to become freely miscible; and
(2a) feeding the freely miscible product comprised of the water-insoluble substance and water and a surfactant, respectively into a second flow merger in which liquids fed through multiple liquid supply ports are mixed and discharged through a single liquid outlet, under conditions of temperature and pressure which are approximately at the vapor-liquid critical point of water, and
(2b) feeding the obtained mixture of the freely miscible product and the surfactant into a cooling device to cool the obtained mixture of the freely miscible product and the surfactant at a rate of 100° C./second to 1000° C./second to a temperature of 100° C. or less to obtain a liquid comprised of the water-insoluble substance dispersed in water or a liquid comprised of water dispersed in the water-insoluble substance.

2. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the temperature approximately at the vapor-liquid critical point of water is a temperature of 300° C. or higher and the pressure approximately at the vapor-liquid critical point of water is a pressure of 20 MPa or greater.

3. The method according to claim 1 , wherein a period for the maintaining in step (1b) falls within a range of 0.01 to about 4.5 seconds.

4. The method according to claim 3 , wherein a period for the maintaining in step (1b) falls within a range of 0.01 to about 3 seconds.

5. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the period for the maintaining in step (1b) falls within a range of 0.01 to 14 seconds.

6. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the period for the maintaining in step (1b) falls within a range of 0.01 to 8.4 seconds.

7. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the period for the maintaining in step (1b) falls within a range of 0.01 to 4.2 seconds.

8. A method for producing an emulsion, comprising the steps of:
(1a) feeding continuously or intermittently either a water-insoluble substance that is to be emulsified, a surfactant and water that is heated and pressurized or water, a water-insoluble substance that is to be emulsified and that is heated and pressurized and a surfactant independently into a first flow merger in which liquids fed through multiple liquid supply ports are mixed and discharged through a single liquid outlet,
(1b) feeding the water, the surfactant and the water-insoluble substance that are merged in the first flow merger to a mixing apparatus to maintain under conditions of temperature and pressure which are approximately at the vapor-liquid critical point of water for a period in a range of 0.01 to 90 seconds to cause the water, the surfactant and the water-insoluble substance that is to be emulsified to become freely miscible; and
(2) feeding the freely miscible product comprised of the water-insoluble substance, the surfactant and water into a cooling device to cool the freely miscible product comprised of the water-insoluble substance, the surfactant and water at a rate of 100° C./second to 1000° C./second to a temperature of 100° C. or less to obtain a liquid comprised of the water-insoluble substance dispersed in water or a liquid comprised of water dispersed in the water-insoluble substance.

9. The method according to claim 8 , wherein the temperature approximately at the vapor-liquid critical point of water is a temperature of 300° C. or higher and the pressure approximately at the vapor-liquid critical point of water is a pressure of 20 MPa or greater.

10. The method according to claim 8 , wherein a period for the maintaining in step (1b) falls within a range of 0.01 to about 4.5 seconds.

11. The method according to claim 10 , wherein a period for the maintaining in step (1b) falls within a range of 0.01 to about 3 seconds.

Assignees

• Deguchi Shigeru
• Ifuku Nao
• Japan Agency Marine Earth Sci

Inventors

• Deguchi Shigeru
• Ifuku Nao

Classifications

• B01F2003/0064

  Operations & Transport · mapped topic

• B01F17/00

  Operations & Transport · mapped topic

• B01F3/0815 Primary

  Operations & Transport · mapped topic

• B01F23/411 Primary

  using electrical or magnetic fields, heat or vibrations · CPC title

• B01F23/043

  Mixing fluids or with fluids in a supercritical state, in supercritical conditions or variable density fluids · CPC title