Modeling fluid behavior and droplet interactions during liquid-liquid separation in hydrocyclones

A mechanical separation process in a hydrocyclone is described in which disperse water droplets are separated from a continuous diesel fuel phase. This separation process is influenced by droplet-droplet interaction effects like droplet breakup and coalescence resulting in a change of droplet size distribution. A simulation model is developed coupling the numerical solution of the flow field in the hydrocyclone based on computational fluid dynamics with population balances. The droplet size distribution is discretized and each discrete droplet size fraction is assumed to be an individual phase within a multiphase-mixture model. The droplet breakup and coalescence rates are defined as mass transfer rates between the discrete phases by the aid of user-defined functions. All model equations are solved with the CFD software package FLUENT™. The investigations show the impact of the cyclone geometry on the coupled population and separation dynamics. Cyclone separators with an optimized geometry show less steep velocity gradients increasing the coalescence rates and improving the separation efficiency. The calculated droplet size distributions at the cyclone overflow and at the underflow show good accordance with experimental data. The basic modeling approach can be extended and adapted to other disperse multiphase flow systems.     

Movement of dispersed droplets of W/O emulsion in a uniform DC electrostatic field:Simulation on droplet coalescence☆

Considering the droplet coalescence, the motion of a group of dispersed droplets in W/O emulsion in a DC electric field is simulated. The simulation demonstrates the evolutions of droplet number, size as wel as its distribution, local concentration distribution and droplet size-velocity relation with the applied time of electric field. The sim-ulated average droplet size is roughly consistent with the experimental value. The simulated variation of droplet number with time under several applied voltages shows that increasing voltage is more effective for raising the rate of droplet coalescence than extending exerting time. However, with the further raise of applied voltage, the improvement in droplet coalescence rate becomes less significant. The evolution of simulated droplet size–velocity relationship with time shows that the inter-droplet electric repulsion force is very strong due to larger electric charge on the droplet under higher applied voltage, so that the magnitude and the direction of droplet velocity become more random, which looks helpful to droplet coalescence.     

具有冲击平板的雾化喷雾流中汽液流动的模拟

A comprehensive three-dimensional model of droplet-gas flow was presented to study the evolution of spray in the effervescent atomization spray with an impinging plate.For gas phase,the N-S equation with the k-ε turbulence model was solved,considering two-way coupling interaction between droplets and gas phase.Dispersed droplet phase is modeled as Lagrangian entities,accounting for the physics of droplet generation from primary and secondary breakup,droplet collision and coalescence,droplet momentum and heat transfer.The mean size and statistical distribution of atomized droplets at various nozzle-to-plate distances were calculated.Some simulation results were compared well with experimental data.The results show that the existence of the impinging plate has a pronounced influence on the droplet mean size,size distribution and the droplet spatial distribution.The air-to-liquid ratio has obvious effects on the droplet size and distribution.     

Coalescence of Water Droplets in Crude Oil Emulsions: Analytical Solution

In petroleum refineries, water is used in desalting units to remove the salt contained in crude oil. Typically, 7 % of the volume of hot crude oil is water, forming a water‐and‐oil emulsion. The emulsion flows between two electrodes and is subjected to an electric field. The electrical forces promote the coalescence of small droplets of water dispersed in crude oil, and these form bigger droplets. This paper calculates the forces acting on the droplets, highlighting particularly the mechanisms proposed for droplet–droplet coalescence under the influence of an applied electric field. Moreover, a model is developed in order to calculate the displacement speed of the droplets and the time between droplet collisions. Thus, it is possible to simulate and optimize the process by changing the operational variables (temperature, electrical field, and water quantity). The main advantage of this study is to show that it is feasible to increase the volume of water recycled in desalting processes, thus reducing the use of freshwater and the generation of liquid effluents in refineries.     

悬浮聚合法制备磁性微球的粒度分布特性

本文研究了含有微细铁黑颗粒的混合单体悬浮聚合产物的粒度分布特性。分析了分散剂、超声预分散和无机铁黑颗粒对形成粒度多峰分布的影响。结果表明,分散剂是体系中形成小颗粒的主要因素;超声波的预分散作用使悬浮体系的液滴破裂以“腐蚀破碎（erosive breakage)”为主;无机铁黑颗粒由于其表面亲水性,倾向于分布在油性单体液表面,不仅有利于悬浮液滴的“磨蚀破碎”,同时也对分散液滴具有良好的稳定作用。上述因素的共同作用使得聚合产物的粒度呈三峰分布。     

Electro-coalescence of an aqueous droplet at an oil-water interface

The coalescence of an aqueous droplet at an oil-water interface under an electric field has been investigated, with a view to quantify conditions that give rise to secondary droplet formation. Two patterns of drop-interface coalescence may occur: complete coalescence and partial coalescence. The former is obviously the desirable pattern for industrial coalescers. However in practice, the process of coalescence could actually produce smaller droplets, which become more difficult to remove, and hence undesirable. This is caused by either necking, due to extensive elongation of the droplet, or reaction to a fast and energetic coalescence and is referred to as partial coalescence. The volume of the droplets formed in this way has been analyzed as a function of the initial droplet size, electric field strength and the distance between the droplet and the interface. The expansion speed of the neck connecting the droplet and interface at the beginning of the pumping process has also been quantified. These results are useful in optimizing the electro-coalescence process.     

Acoustically aided separation of oil droplets from aqueous emulsions

A novel method for recovering the oil phase from aqueous emulsions has been developed. The method applies a low-intensity, resonant ultrasonic field within a rectangular chamber, which is optionally filled with a highly porous medium. Oil droplets dispersed in water have negative acoustic contrast factor and thus are driven to the pressure antinodes of the standing wave field under the influence of acoustic radiation forces. Subsequent coalescence and/or wetting onto the internal surfaces of the chamber occur. Three types of porous media (an unconsolidated bed of 3-mm glass beads, aluminum mesh or reticulated polyester mesh) having pore sizes two to three orders of magnitude larger than droplets being collected were used. The oil collection was found to be sensitive to the natural affinity between the oil and the porous medium as well as its porosity. Of the three media studied, the polyester mesh was found to be the best in terms of the percentage oil collection while the bed of glass beads performed the poorest. The oil collection was found to be highly sensitive to the residence time of the emulsion in both the porous medium and acoustic field. Oil collection also showed expected trends with applied electrical power, but it was not found to be strongly dependent on the internal surface area of the mesh for the range of feed concentration tested. These experiments enable a preliminary understanding about the mechanisms underlying the separation process.     

Characterization of colloid thruster beams and plumes

Electrohydrodynamic atomization in the cone-jet mode can generate droplets with diameter as small as a few nanometers. The optimization of colloid thrusters, one of the important applications of this technology, requires a comprehensive understanding of the physics and structure of the associated beams and plumes. In this paper the electrospray beams and plumes emitted from a stable Taylor cone-jet are analyzed by means of a Lagrangian model using particle dynamics. The effect of droplets' charge involved with the electric field is identified as a Poisson problem and is solved through a PIC method. The model takes the electric forces and the droplet inertia into account with the colloid thruster operation in vacuum. Characteristics of the beam such as the size distribution of droplet diameter, the charge to mass ratio, the spray angle, the space distribution of droplets, the electric field and the velocity distribution along the axial and radial direction are presented in this paper. The relationship between droplet size and droplet charge in a spray was studied. The results of the model application are in good agreement with published experimental data and this proves that the electric interaction of charged droplets, the radial electric field and differences in inertia are the reasons for the size segregation effect in sprays.     

Prediction of average droplet size in flowing immiscible polymer blends

The paper is focused on calculation of the average droplet size in immiscible blends during their steady flow. Available theoretical and experimental results of studies of the droplet breakup and coalescence are utilized to derive the equations describing dynamic equilibrium between the droplet breakup and coalescence. New expression for the coalescence efficiency, reliably reflecting recent theoretical results, is proposed. The equation for the average steady droplet size, controlled by the stepwise breakup mechanism and coalescence of droplets with not very different sizes, is derived for blends containing up to 10–20 vol % of the droplets. For blends with above approximate 20 vol % of the droplets, the breakup by the Tomotika mechanism and coalescence in highly polydisperse system is modeled. Results of the derived equations are compared with experimental data; qualitative agreement is found for the dependence of the droplet size on the amount of the dispersed phase. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2017 , 134, 45250.     

直流脉冲电场下液滴-界面聚并行为

为了深入探究直流脉冲电场下液滴-界面聚并行为,针对去离子水作为分散相、葵花油作为连续相的体系,分别改变电场参数（电场强度、频率、波形）和物性参数（界面张力、电导率、液滴粒径、固体颗粒）进行显微实验研究,得到了液滴-界面聚并机制及各参数的影响规律。实验结果表明,液滴-界面存在完全聚并和不完全聚并两种机制,决定因素是泵吸和颈缩过程的相互作用。电场强度增大,不完全聚并程度增大,而电场频率的作用则相反,这与电场力大小和液滴稳定程度有关。随表面活性剂浓度增大,二次液滴急剧增大,超过临界胶束浓度后,小幅减小。随电导率和SiO₂浓度增大,不完全聚并程度均先增大后减小,而随液滴粒径增大,不完全聚并程度持续增大。大部分工况下,液滴在直流稳恒电场下不完全聚并程度高于直流脉冲电场。为脉冲静电破乳机理的深入探讨及高效紧凑脉冲电脱盐脱水设备的研发奠定了理论基础。     

新型静电聚结器中水滴聚结特性研究

传统电脱水器采用裸电极,含水率较高时在高强电场作用下容易发生击穿现象,今设计了包覆绝缘层的高压电极并加工了新型静电聚结器,可有效避免击穿现象的发生。采用水/原油乳状液为实验介质,并利用显微高速摄像系统结合图像处理技术对水滴的聚结规律进行了观察和分析,探索了电场强度、流量、含水率等因素对水滴聚结特性的影响。结果表明:包覆绝缘层的高压电极可有效防止电击穿现象的发生,增加电场强度有助于油水分离,但高于临界场强后容易导致液滴破碎;含水率为10%、20%、30%时,最优电场强度不同,分别是372、320和204 kV m 1;含水率10%和30%乳化物液滴粒径增大倍数明显大于含水率20%的工况;电场作用时间影响液滴聚结效果,高强电场在低流量下具有很显著的作用;随着流量的增加电场作用降低,但高强电场在高流量下依然使液滴粒径明显增大。     

非均匀电场下乳化油中液滴变形动力学行为

外加电场下液滴的变形动力学行为是乳化液电脱水机理研究的重要内容。基于Cahn-Hilliard方程的相场方法,建立了液滴在非均匀电场下的仿真模型,研究了电场作用下乳化液中液滴在形变、移动和聚结过程中电荷密度和电场力的分布规律,以及流场和电场的耦合作用。仿真分析了液滴粒径、电场强度以及电场非均匀系数对液滴运动行为的影响。利用实验室小型脱水系统开展了乳化液脱水实验,并通过高速摄像机对乳化液中液滴的运动行为进行了观测与分析。研究结果表明,在非均匀电场中液滴表面的极化电荷分布不均,由液滴中部向两端逐渐增大,在靠近电场集中方向处的电荷密度和Maxwell应力值最大;在一定范围内增大电场强度、电场非均匀系数或液滴粒径,可使液滴形变量增大,液滴向电场集中区域的移动速度以及液滴间的聚结速度增加。     

DROPLET COALESCENCE AND BREAKAGE RATES IN LIQUID EXTRACTION COLUMNS

Abstract

A review is given of recent work on the measurement of droplet coalescence and breakage rates in a packed and a pulsed plate extraction column using a newly developed colorimetric technique. The results, which were interpreted in terms of second order coalescence and first order breakage rate constants, showed that the droplet interaction rates are considerably lower in the pulsed column. The rate constants can also be used to predict accurately the steady state droplet size distribution, and to study theoretically the effect of droplet coalescence and breakage on mass transfer rate. Deficiencies in the available mass transfer coefficient data for droplets, both individual and in “swarms”, are pointed out.     

Interfacial phenomena and droplet size of particle stabilized emulsions in oscillatory shear

Production of particle stabilized oil in water emulsions has been investigated both theoretically and experimentally under oscillatory shear conditions using different stabilizing particles (SPs). The investigation included analysis of the interaction between particles interfacial stability and droplets breakage and coalescence. For hydrophobic SPs, droplets maintained their sizes as determined by torque balance (TB) without significant breakage or coalescence. For the more hydrophilic SPs, larger droplets formed that broke by eddies in the inertial subrange. At higher fluid shear stresses, loss of the SPs occurred during droplet formation leading to near bare droplet surface and coalescence to much larger sizes with subsequent fragmentation by capillary instabilities. The final droplet size in both cases was very different from TB model predictions. A modeling approach is proposed that combined both TB and droplet breakage and coalescence mechanisms. Comparison between the experimental results and the models predictions showed satisfactory agreement. © 2016 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 62: 2902–2911, 2016     

Evolution of the droplet size distribution during a two-phase flow through a porous media: Population balance studies

Fibrous-bed coalescers are frequently used for separation of the suspension. The effectiveness of the process depends on the flow condition through the packed bed and its structure. The population balance equation was used for analysis of the evolution of the distribution of droplet diameter in the raw suspension due to the coalescence and breakage of droplets passing different sequences of the coalescer structures distinguished by the packing density of fibers in the layers of the coalescers. The results of calculations show the values of particular parameters, like droplet concentration, the mean diameter of the droplet and droplet size distribution in the population as the results of the process. The proposed model can be useful for the designing of the coalescer structures for their particular applications.     

Droplet coalescence and breakage rates in a packed liquid extraction column

Coalescence rates for MIBK (methyl isobutyl ketone) droplets in water in a packed column have been measured directly using a novel colorimetric technique. Second-order coalescence and first-order breakage rate constants were derived from the results using a discrete population balance model and were correlated in terms of droplet diameter and dispersed-phase holdup. It is shown that the rate constants can be used to predict the steady-state droplet-size distribution and coalescence rates. They were also used in a theoretical study of mass transfer for a typical polydisperse system, which showed that repeated droplet coalescence and breakage leads to some reduction in column height.     

电场作用下双液滴聚合特性

乳状液破乳分离是目前高含水期油田开采过程中难以解决的技术问题,电场破乳方法具有高效清洁等优点,是解决该问题的有效手段。采用数值模拟与试验验证相结合的方法研究电脱水过程中阶跃、斜坡电场诱导下双液滴的聚合与分离特性。结果表明,在斜坡电场作用下,界面张力引起的泵吸作用大于电场力引起的颈缩作用,有利于液滴聚并,且液滴发生二次乳化现象的概率降低。而施加阶跃电场时,一定范围内能够达到液滴破乳的目的,但液滴在聚并过程中易发生二次乳化现象。从电场对连续相影响的角度分析发现,阶跃电场不仅对液滴具有驱动作用,对连续相的影响也较为明显,阶跃电场会增大连续相内湍流作用,不利于电脱水过程。因此,采用斜坡信号诱导液滴聚合能够降低二次乳化现象发生的概率。     

Validation of the Lagrangian Approach for Predicting Turbulent Dispersion and Evaporation of Droplets within a Spray

The accuracy of the Lagrangian approach for predicting droplet trajectories and evaporation rates within a simple spray has been addressed. The turbulent dispersion and overall evaporation rates of droplets are modeled reasonably well, although the downstream velocity decay of the larger droplets is underpredicted, which is attributed to a poor estimate of the radial fluctuating velocity of these droplets at the inlet boundary. Qualitative agreement is found between the predicted and experimental evolution of the droplet size distribution downstream of the nozzle. These results show that smaller droplets evaporate preferentially to larger droplets, because they disperse more quickly toward the edge of the jet, where the entrainment of fresh air from the surroundings produces a significant evaporative driving force. Droplet dispersion and evaporation rates are highly influenced by the rate of turbulence generation within the shear layer. This work demonstrates the potential of the Lagrangian approach for analyzing particle trajectories and drying within the more complex spray dryer system.     

Validation of the Lagrangian Approach for Predicting Turbulent Dispersion and Evaporation of Droplets within a Spray

The accuracy of the Lagrangian approach for predicting droplet trajectories and evaporation rates within a simple spray has been addressed. The turbulent dispersion and overall evaporation rates of droplets are modeled reasonably well, although the downstream velocity decay of the larger droplets is underpredicted, which is attributed to a poor estimate of the radial fluctuating velocity of these droplets at the inlet boundary. Qualitative agreement is found between the predicted and experimental evolution of the droplet size distribution downstream of the nozzle. These results show that smaller droplets evaporate preferentially to larger droplets, because they disperse more quickly toward the edge of the jet, where the entrainment of fresh air from the surroundings produces a significant evaporative driving force. Droplet dispersion and evaporation rates are highly influenced by the rate of turbulence generation within the shear layer. This work demonstrates the potential of the Lagrangian approach for analyzing particle trajectories and drying within the more complex spray dryer system.     

MODELING OF TURBULENT, NEUTRALLY BUOYANT DROPLET SUSPENSIONS IN LIQUIDS

The mixing of neutrally buoyant, immiscible droplets in suspension in a turbulent liquid is being studied. In a statistically homogeneous field, it is anticipated that the droplets will affect the turbulent eddies, and that the turbulence will cause the droplets to break-up and coalesce. A cascade model is constructed by extension of the Desnyansky and Novikov equation, accounting for the wavenumber dependence of the fluctuating energy, for the intermittency factor of the turbulence and for the droplet population. In the absence of breakage and coalescence, interactions between eddies and droplets are assumed to be of collision type, so that the exchange of energy and the modifications to the eddy and droplet populations can be described. The resulting equations are solved for a fixed droplet population, showing the effect of droplet size on the turbulent energy spectrum. Continuation of the work is discussed, including droplet breakage and coalescence, as well as the introduction of non-homogeneous distributions.