Abstract
In this paper, an investigation was carried out to study the effect of water fraction and flow conditions on the flow characteristics of surfactant stabilized water-in-oil emulsion. Pressure drop measurements were conducted in 2.54-cm and 1.27-cm horizontal pipes. The influence of water fraction and the flow conditions on emulsion stability, type, conductivity, droplet size distribution, viscosity and pressure drop were reported. The results showed a significant increase in the emulsion stability, viscosity and pressure drop with increasing water fraction up to 70%. In addition, shear thinning behavior was observed for the emulsions especially at high water fractions. Furthermore, pressure drop measurements of high concentrated emulsions showed pipe diameter dependency especially at high Reynolds (Re) numbers. Moreover, drag reduction was observed with decreasing water fraction. The viscosity of surfactant-stabilized water-in-oil emulsions was modeled with a modified fluidity-additivity model.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 405-412 |
| Number of pages | 8 |
| Journal | Chemical Engineering Research and Design |
| Volume | 92 |
| Issue number | 3 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Mar 2014 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:The authors would like to acknowledge the support provided by King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST) for funding this work through project No. 09-OIL 788-04. The technical support provided by Schlumberger Dhahran center for Carbonate Research (SDCR), Saudi Arabia, is highly appreciated.
Keywords
- Pressure drop
- Shear thinning
- Stable emulsion
- Surfactant
- Water fraction
- Water-in-oil emulsion
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- General Chemistry
- General Chemical Engineering