Experimental investigation on electrostatic breakup characteristics of non-Newtonian zeolite molecular sieve suspension fluid

•The mechanism of electrospray granulation was investigated.•The microdripping mode was characterized by monodisperse fine droplets formation.•The crucial parameters governing the electrospray granulation process were obtained.•The physical basis on operating desirable conditions precisely was provided. The application of electric fields is of great interest in the terrestrial and space domains owing to its ability to enhance the discrete phases’ fragmentation and control particle size. Therefore, adopting electrostatic spray to prepare microspheres has become a feasible method. In this study, the mechanism for this process was discussed, taking into account a determined non-Newtonian fluid. The result shows that tiny and uniform microspheres can be obtained by carefully consideration of the parameters, which are highly problematic to achieve in engineering and laboratory environments. Also, the electrostatic breakup modes of non-Newtonian fluid include dripping, microdripping, and oscillating microdripping, and their characteristics are different from those of Newtonian fluid. In particular, the transition from dripping mode to microdripping mode presents a mutation state that has not appeared in previous literature. In addition, the effects of applied voltage, flow rate, and suspension liquid concentration on the breakup mode, droplet size, and falling frequency were discussed. Accordingly, the critical operating parameters affecting the electrostatic breakup characteristics and the desirable breakup modes for the preparation of microspheres were identified. The present work is expected to provide theoretical guidance for the preparation of microspheres.