Droplet formation mechanisms during the chemical dispersion of crude oil were investigated using both theoretical and experimental approaches. Dimensionless and force balance analysis identified four distinct regimes of droplet formations. For d > eta, d scales either with (epsilon(-2/5)) or (epsilon(-1/4)) or and for d < eta, d scales either with (epsilon(-1/2)) or (epsilon(-1/4)) depending on whether the main restoring force against droplet breakage is provided by surface tension or oil viscosity. The symbols d, eta, and epsilon represent the droplet diameter, the Kolmogorov length scale, and energy dissipation rate, respectively. For d > eta and < eta, the external force, which tries to deform and break the droplet is provided by the pressure difference across the droplet diameter and viscous shear, respectively. Identification of the relationship d similar to(epsilon(-1/4)) for d < eta is a new contribution of this present study. The validity of this relationship was also proven by our experimental observations over a range of physical properties (dynamic viscosity 0.015-8.6 Pa s; oil-water interfacial tension 0.0001-0.015 N/m) and mixing energies (0.00075-0.16 W/kg), similar to those in real environmental settings (e.g., estuary, surface layer of oceans). All these above findings and observations are vital from the stand point of appropriately scaling droplet formation process, during chemical dispersion of crude oil, and in the development of reliable predictive models. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.