The coalescence of water drops, dispersed in oil, is critical to the destabilization of a water-in-oil emulsion under an electric field. He, we determine the conditions for coalescence or non-coalescence of two aqueous water drops that are suspended in an insulating oil and subjected to a uniform electric field. Drop–interface interaction under an electric field is relevant in commercial desalters wherein water droplets suspended in oil coalesce under an electric field, move down under gravity, and eventually coalesce with the water pool at the bottom of the desalter. 

Electrocoalescence is modelled using dipolar electrostatic forces which bring the droplets together but are resisted by Stokesian drag forces. We demonstrate that hydrodynamic interactions are important to model electrocoalescence. Similarly, a multi box methodology is necessary for getting improved statistics for drop size distribution, since any coagulation/coalescence process, typically results in the loss of droplets. Moreover, the process of chaining can be modelled by assuming a “wait-time” on contact of the interacting drops, and n-mer formation can be predicted.

Potential and challenges of desalination technologies for arid and semiarid regions: The study involved the assessment of the efficiency and viability of these systems by analyzing indicators such as gain output ratio, energy consumption, thermal energy usage, and water recovery. The results of our study indicate that sophisticated desalination techniques i.e. Zero-liquid Discharge (ZLD) have a high level of effectiveness. However, there are still substantial challenges to overcome in order to use these methods in arid and semi-arid regions, especially in emerging and least developed countries.