The Melting Dynamics of Solids in Warm Solutions

Nowadays, an important part of the work of engineers and scientists consists in explaining everyday natural phenomena, whose real importance even on a global level is overlooked. One of them is the study of the melting of solids in different solutions, from laminar to turbulent flow conditions. In fact, the particular case of ice has become significant for many fields of Natural Sciences, such as Material and Environmental Science, and Energy Engineering, to prevent and predict the behavior of glaciers and beyond, and to optimize energy systems. To this end, various types of experimental research have already been conducted, in the hope of being able to mathematically predict the process and the evolution of melting over time. In this work, the study of fusion has been combined with another huge topic that has been present for a very long time and is vital in many industrial sectors. Even today it is a subject of study and development as the emulsification processes require a considerable amount of energy, or are not available on an industrial scale. Therefore, an innovative method for creating emulsions through the melting process is presented here. Three sets of experiments were conducted to study a water-in-oil system: the first without surfactant but at different temperatures, the second with different emulsifier concentrations and temperatures, and the third by implementing a small input of mechanical energy at temperature and concentration fixed. Ultimately, different mixtures of surfactants were tested in an oil-in-water system to understand their influence on the emulsification process.