Penentuan Distribusi Ukuran Gelembung Air Dalam Kerosin dengan Metode Pengapungan Batang (Bouyancy Weighing-Bar Method)

Abstract

The Bouyancy Weighing-Bar Method is a method which apparatus has a simple structure and this method can produce the high accuracy result in particle size distribution measurement of the settling and floating particle. In this method, the density change in a suspension due to particle migration is measured by weighing buoyancy against a weighing-bar hung in the suspension, and the particle size distribution is calculated using the length of the bar and the time course change in the mass of the bar. In the present experiment, we focused to develop the buoyancy weighing–bar method for liquid-liquid systems with the different density. We used kerosene-water as samples of experiment. The investigation of the separation time of kerosene-water has been done by the buoyancy weighing-bar method at concentration ratio between kerosene with water of 99% : 1%; 98% :2%; 97% :3%; 96% : 4% and 95% : 5% which varied with rod diameter of 20 mm, 15 mm, 10 mm and 5 mm. The result data obtained by the buoyancy weighing-bar method were compared with the gas chromatography. The purity of kerosene at concentration of 99% kerosene : 1% water at 110 seconds and 1500 seconds is 89,3359% and 98,9741%. Based on the data obtained, the buoyancy weighing–bar method can be used to determine the optimal time of kerosene-water separation. Beside, the buoyancy weighing-bar method could be used to measure the droplet size distribution of water at concentration of 99% kerosene : 1% water and at concentration of 98% kerosene : 2% water. The precision of the resulting droplet size distribution is comparable to that of a coulter counter method. This ability is a novel method in droplet size distribution measurement and very useful in the chemical industry.