Abstract
The flow properties of emulsions of oil in non‐Newtonian polymeric media were studied using a coaxial cylinder viscometer. The emulsions were prepared using a petroleum oil and aqueous solutions of poly(ethylene oxide) resins. Three different molecular weight poly(ethylene oxide) resins were studied. The effects of polymer concentration and oil concentration on the viscous properties of emulsions were determined. The polymer solutions and their emulsions followed the well‐known Ellis model. The relative viscosities for polymer‐thickened emulsions were found to be significantly lower than the corresponding values for emulsions without polymer. These findings are explained in terms of an increase in the viscosity ratio ηc/ηd (where ηc is the viscosity of the polymer‐thickened continuous medium and ηd is the viscosity of the dispersed oil). An increase in this ratio enhances the internal circulation effect which leads to a decrease in the relative viscosity. A new equation is proposed which describes the relative viscosity versus dispersed‐phase concentration data for polymer‐thickened emulsions rather well. The equation takes into account the internal circulation effect in emulsions and it reduces to the classical Taylor equation in the limit of dilute concentration.
Published Version
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