Emulsified fuel

Emulsified Fuels are emulsions composed of water and a combustible liquid, either oil or a fuel. Emulsions are a particular example of a dispersion comprising a continuous and a dispersed phase. In the case of emulsions both phases are the immiscible liquids, oil and water. Emulsion fuels can be either a microemulsion or an ordinary emulsion (sometimes referred to as macroemulsion, to differentiate them from microemulsions). The essential differences between the two are stability (microemulsions are thermodynamically stable systems, whereas macroemulsions are kinetically stabilized) and particle size distribution (microemulsions are formed spontaneously and have dimensions of 10 to 200 nm, whereas macroemulsions are formed by a shearing process and have dimensions of 100 nm to over 1 micrometer). Microemulsions are isotropic whereas macroemulsions are prone to settling (or creaming) and changes in particle size over time. Both use surfactants (also called emulsifiers) and can be either water-in-oil (invert emulsions), or oil-in-water (regular emulsions) or bicontinuous (also called multiple or complex emulsions).