Molecular dynamics studies of the stability of water/n-heptane interfaces with adsorbed naphthenic acids

The mechanism by which naphthenic acids stabilize water/oil interfaces has received extensive attention because of its industrial relevancy. In this work, we employed a molecular dynamics simulation to study its molecular origin. Two models were adopted, wherein naphthenic acid coverage of water/n-heptane interfaces, both spherical and flat, was hypothesized, respectively. It was found that the coalescence of two water clusters is entirely attributed to the diffusional motion of the components involved which requires the initial departure of the naphthenic acid molecules from the interface so that a water bridge can form. The naphthenic acids not only act as a steric barrier but also reduce the mobility of the water and n-heptane molecules making the formation of the water bridge rather difficult. In fact, our results show that the coalescence of two water clusters fully covered by naphthenic acid molecules is a low-probability event even at evaluated temperatures. In addition, the results from the flat interface models suggest that the emulsion stability is weakly dependent on the molecular weight of the naphthenic acids utilized. Order parameter calculations reveal liquid-crystal-like ordering of naphthenic acids at the water/n-heptane interfaces. All these observations are consistent with the corresponding experimental observations. The present work also suggests that the mobility of naphthenic acids is considerably enhanced with more n-heptane molecules present outside a water droplet. However, in such a case, coalescence could not occur as the water clusters are far apart from each other.