Studying the Transmission Behavior of Two-Phase Flow Oil-Water Mixing Using a Laboratory Multiple Porous Media Model

Abstract

The formation and flow of emulsions in porous media are common to all technologies used to extract or process oil. In most cases, oil and water emulsions are formed in a porous medium due to oil spills near watery areas or soils containing water. This emulsion leads to a reaction between oil and water, which finds its way to the porous medium. The detailed flow mechanisms of emulsions through porous media are not well understood. In this study, the soil’s oil percentage variation was studied when sand was introduced or an emulsion, i.e., mixed with water, and two porous media, different in composition and physical properties, were used to find out their effect on oil transmission. The percentage of oil and water was calculated at several points at different distances and times. It was noted that the results differed in both mediums due to the difference in permeability, porosity, arrangement of soil particles, compaction process, and other physical properties. Liquids’ viscosity, density, and chemical composition clearly and significantly affect the results. The time for the oil to reach the last point in the pipe differed for both soils. If the time period in the experiment of pumping oil only in sandy soil took 6 hours and the washing process took 3 hours. In organic soil, the time period for the pollutant pumping stage took about 7 hours and the washing stage about 4 hours because the oil is transmitted in sandy soil is faster, but in the experiment of pumping oil and water together, the time period in the process of pumping oil and water together in sandy soil took 4 hours and the washing process 3 hours In organic soil, the period of pumping oil and water together took 5 hours, and the washing period 3 hours, because the percentage of oil was less than in the experiment of pumping oil only. In the soil, that is, if the period of pumping the pollutant increased for more than 15 hours, the oil may reach a distance of more than 4 meters in the soil. As for the washing process, when the oil is mixed with water, it gives better results when washing it than if the oil enters alone into the soil because the proportions of oil when it enters the soil together with the water, it is little and does not rise much, so it is easy to wash.