verb
- to break down or separate an emulsion into its constituent phases (oil and water)
Usage: technical; chemistry; petroleum industry
Examples
- The refinery uses heat and chemical agents to demulsify crude oil.
- Adding a demulsifier helps demulsify the water-in-oil emulsion.
- Engineers demulsify the mixture to recover pure oil and water separately.
- The process demulsifies the stable emulsion formed during extraction.