Shahbaznezhad M, Dehghanghadikolaei A, Sojoudi H. Contactless Method for Electrocoalescence of Water in Oil.
ACS OMEGA 2021;
6:14298-14308. [PMID:
34124453 PMCID:
PMC8190923 DOI:
10.1021/acsomega.1c01072]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/26/2021] [Accepted: 05/14/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
This paper discusses an experimental approach to study the effects of a contactless method on electrocoalescence of water-in-oil mixture/emulsion. A positive corona discharge is utilized using a sharp conductive needle without direct contact with the mixture/solution to avoid potential corrosion of the electrode. This creates a nonuniform electric field, which is further used for the coalescence of water droplets in the range of micro to macro in oil. Two approaches are employed in this study: qualitative analysis conducted by visually studying coalescence patterns in videos captured with a high-speed camera and a quantitative analysis based on calculations obtained from dynamic light scattering measurements. From the behavior of the water droplets under the electric field, it is observed that dipole-dipole interaction, migratory coalescence/electrophoresis, and dielectrophoresis have major roles in promoting the coalescence events. The effects of oil viscosity and power consumption on the coalescence rate are also investigated, suggesting an optimal oil-water separation process. The results of this study pave a path for developing a safe, contactless, rapid, and low-power-consuming separation process, potentially suitable for an offsite application.
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