Rheological and flow behavior of water-in-oil Pickering emulsions stabilized with organo-hectorite clay

Abstract

The rheological and flow behaviors of Pickering emulsions are studied as a function of their water concentration. The studied emulsions are water-in-gasoil inverse emulsions stabilized with organo-hectorite clay. An in-line emulsion preparation was performed and a novel emulsification system was used. The emulsification system was tested and confirmed before performing pipe-flow measurements. A stress-controlled rheometer was used to study the rheological behavior of organoclay stabilized inverse emulsions. It was found that the emulsions exhibited a shear thinning with yield stress non-Newtonian rheological behavior and that the flow curves were well correlated using the Herschel-Bulkley model. Pressure loss and axial velocity measurements were studied to investigate the pipe-flow behavior of the emulsions. Axial velocity of the fluids was measured using an Ultrasonic Pulsed Doppler Velocimeter. It was shown that, up to 50 wt% water mass concentration, an exponential increase of yield stress and viscosity values is noticed, and the phase inversion point is not reached. In the range of the applied flow rates, turbulence took place only in the case of the lowest water cut (0 wt%). The Herschel-Bulkley rheological parameters were used to simulate the pipe-flow behavior of the studied fluids, and showed a satisfactory correlation with the in-line measurements. Furthermore, wall shear stress and velocity profiles were used to study the short-, medium-, and long-term stability of the emulsions.