Achieving optimal micro-explosions in stable emulsions by adding water-soluble polymers

The emulsified feedstock technique is to improve the performance of products by using the micro-explosion phenomenon of emulsion. However, an obstacle to some applications of this technology is the contradiction between emulsion stability and micro-explosion intensity. For the first time, adding water-soluble polymers was proposed to solve this problem. Two polymers of xanthan gum (XG) and nonionic polyacrylamide (NPAM) were investigated and the results show that micro-explosions have five forms. As one of these five forms, the intensity of optimal micro-explosion is three orders of magnitude higher than other forms, and adding 0.5 g/dL XG increases the probability of optimal micro-explosion from 0 to 60% due to the low surface activity, strong thickening and pseudoplasticity of XG solutions. By contrast, NPAM does not promote micro-explosion because of its strong surface activity. Finally, a new mechanism for micro-explosions related to liquid–gas interfacial tension, liquid–liquid interfacial tension and viscosity is proposed.