The aim of this study was to examine the inclusion of dynamic and size effects on a closed set of simplistic models for the different processes in a high pressure homogenizer. Based on the evaluation of general trends of the simulation results compared to well-established experimental data, it can be seen that population balance and its submodels presented here are able to reproduce general trends between resulting mean drop size and homogenization pressure, dispersed phase viscosity, volume fraction of oil and amount of emulsifier. The model allows us to follow the outcome of parallel competing processes and to study their influence on the final outcome. However, to obtain predicting power we need to improve the description of a number of specific subprocesses during homogenization such as: impact on the presence of droplets on the decay of turbulence intensity, impact of the partial coverage on adsorption and interdroplet collisions and the role of Marangoni effects during droplet collision.
Based on this kind of dynamic modeling it is possible to examine the development of the drop size distribution in space to see what happens to the drops at different positions. The simulations conclude, based on the assumptions used for the different submodels, that the large difference in resulting drop diameter and width for different concentrations of emulsifiers can be attributed to the effect of coalescence in the latter part of the active turbulent jet.
Since experimental examinations of the processes inside of the homogenization region are hard to obtain this kind of simulation can prove fruitful in description, optimization of design and utilization of high pressure homogenization for emulsion preparation.