Supercritical fluid reverse micelle systems

A method of producing a reverse micelle system, comprising:

• combining a polar fluid, a second fluid that is a gas at standard temperature and pressure and has a critical density, and a surfactant capable of forming reverse micelles;
• maintaining the combined polar and second fluids and surfactant at a temperature and pressure within a range that produces a density of the second fluid that exceeds the critical density thereof;
• and
• varying at least one of the temperature and pressure so that the density of the second fluid equals or exceeds its critical density, so as to form a continuous phase defined in said second fluid and a discontinuous phase comprising a plurality of nanometer-sized dynamic aggregates of surfactant molecules surrounding a core of the polar fluid dispersed in the continuous phase.

A method of controlling a reverse micelle system, comprising:

• combining a polar fluid, a second fluid that is a gas at standard temperature and pressure and has a critical density, and a surfactant capable of forming reverse micelles;
• maintaining the combined polar and second fluids and surfactant under a pressure such that the density of the second fluid exceeds the critical density thereof, so as to form a reverse micelle system having a continuous phase defined in said second fluid and a plurality of reverse micelles dispersed in the continuous phase;
• the reverse micelles each comprising a dynamic aggregate of surfactant molecules surrounding a core of the polar fluid and collectively having a polar fluid-to-surfactant molar ratio W, which can vary over a range having a maximum ratio W.sub.o that determines the maximum size of the reverse micelles;
• and
• varying the pressure or temperature over a predetermined range such that the maximum ratio W.sub.o is varied to modify the range of polar fluid-to-surfactant ratio W.

A method of controlling a reverse micelle system, comprising:

• combining a polar fluid, a second fluid that is a gas at standard temperature and pressure and has a critical pressure, and a surfactant capable of forming reverse micelles;
• maintaining the combined polar and second fluids and surfactant under a pressure exceeding atmospheric such that the density of the second fluid exceeds the critical density thereof, so as to form a reverse micelle system including a continuous phase defined in said second fluid and a discontinuous phase comprising a plurality of nanometer-sized dynamic aggregates of surfactant molecules surrounding a core of the polar fluid dispersed in the continuous phase;
• and
• varying one of temperature and pressure to determine the quantity of polar fluid contained in the core of each of the micelles.