A Normalized HLD (HLDN) Tool for Optimal Salt-Concentration Prediction of Microemulsions

Optimal condition-based microemulsion is key to achieving great efficiency in oil removal. One useful empirical equation to predict an optimal condition is a hydrophilic–lipophilic deviation (HLD). However, the K constants of each surfactant should be the same to combine the HLD equations for the mixed surfactant. Recently, a normalized hydrophilic-lipophilic deviation (HLDN) was presented to avoid this limitation. This work sought to determine the phase behaviors and predict the optimal salt concentrations, using HLDN for the mixed surfactant. Sodium dihexyl sulfosuccinate (SDHS) as an anionic surfactant, and alcohol alkyl polyglycol ether (AAE(6EO4PO)) as a nonionic surfactant, were both investigated. Alkanes and diesel were used as a model oil. The results showed that AAE(6EO4PO) enforced both the hydrophilic and the hydrophobic characteristics. The Winsor Type I-III transition was influenced by the ethylene oxide, while the propylene oxide presence affected the Winsor Type III-II inversion. For the HLDN equation, the average interaction term was 1.82 ± 0.86, which markedly showed a strong correlation with the fraction of nonionic surfactant in the mixed systems. The predicted optimal salt concentrations using HLDN of SDHS-AAE(6EO4PO) in the diesel systems were close to the experimental results, with an error of <10% that is significantly beneficial due to the shorter time required for optimal determination.