Oil Volume Fraction Research Articles

Application of Wavelet Characteristics and GMDH Neural Networks for Precise Estimation of Oil Product Types and Volume Fractions

Given that one of the most critical operations in the oil and gas industry is to instantly determine the volume and type of product passing through the pipelines, in this research, a detection system for monitoring oil pipelines is proposed. The proposed system works in such a way that the radiation from the dual-energy source which symmetrically emits radiation, was received by the NaI detector after passing through the shield window and test pipeline. In the test pipe, four petroleum products—ethylene glycol, crude oil, gasoil, and gasoline—were simulated in pairs in different volume fractions. A total of 118 simulations were performed, and their signals were categorized. Then, feature extraction operations were started to reduce the volume of data, increase accuracy, increase the learning speed of the neural network, and better interpret the data. Wavelet features were extracted from the recorded signal and used as GMDH neural network input. The signals of each test were divided into details and approximation sections and characteristics with the names STD of A3, D3, D2 and were extracted. This described structure is modelled in the Monte Carlo N Particle code (MCNP). In fact, precise estimation of oil product types and volume fractions were done using a combination of symmetrical source and asymmetrical neural network. Four GMDH neural networks were trained to estimate the volumetric ratio of each product, and the maximum RMSE was 0.63. In addition to this high accuracy, the low implementation and computational cost compared to previous detection methods are among the advantages of present investigation, which increases its application in the oil industry.

A novel Pickering emulsion stabilized solely by hydrophobic agar microgels

A novel agar-based Pickering emulsion stabilizer was developed through the hydrophobic modification and microgelation of agar. After hexanoylation, the three-phase contact angle of hexanoylated agar (HAG) particles was adjusted from approximately 60° to 96° closing to neutral wettability. After microgelation, the particle size of the modified agar microgel was approximately 2 μm and Zeta potential reached −23.63 mV. Confocal laser microscopy and cryogenic scanning electron microscopy showed that HAG microgels formed a gel network or embedded on the surface of oil droplets, thus providing a dense barrier for oil droplets to coalesce and Ostwald ripening. The oil volume fraction and particle concentration had a significant effect on the droplet size and rheological properties of the Pickering emulsion. Pickering emulsion gels with long-term storage stability was prepared at low particle concentrations (0.7 wt%) and lower oil fractions (φ = 0.3– 0.5), which might become a new effective delivery system for bioactive substances.

Impact of the Polarization Layer on the Hydrodynamics and Mechanical Performance of a Filtering Hydrocyclone Applied to Oily Water Separation

The growing concern with the environment has driven the development of new technologies for the treatment of produced water. In this context, the filtering hydrocyclone appears as an interesting alternative for the treatment of these waters contaminated with oil from the petroleum industry. This research addresses the flow of fluids inside a hydrocyclone equipped with a porous wall (membrane) containing two tangential inlets and two concentric outlets, with the aim of study the impact of the formation of the polarization layer by concentration on the oily water separation process using CFD. Concentration fields and transmembrane pressure, concentration, and permeate flux profiles are presented and analyzed. The results show that the proposed filtering cyclonic separator concentrates the oil in the central region of the equipment, however, for high oil concentrations; the core expands and approaches the porous wall. Furthermore, the increase in the oil volume fraction causes a decline in the permeate flux, and an increase in feed velocity causes a decrease in the polarization layer.

Lubrication characteristic of tooth surface on arc tooth cylindrical gears

AbstractThis article studies the lubrication state of the arc tooth cylindrical gears during injection lubrication. The mathematical model of arc tooth cylindrical gears are established based on meshing principle. The lubrication characteristics of arc tooth cylindrical gears under different injection methods and conditions are analysed by using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model. The variation law of oil volume fraction in the gear‐meshing zone is obtained. Comparing the two oil jet methods in into mesh lubrication, when the ratio of the pitch line velocity to the injection velocity is less than 1.5 times, the best lubrication is gained through the concave surface injection method, when the ratio of the pitch line velocity to the injection velocity is more than 1.5 times, the best lubrication is gained through the convex surface injection method. It shows that the tooth shape has significant influence on lubrication when the lubricating oil is injected.

Tannic Acid-Aminated Sugar Beet Pectin Nanoparticles as a Stabilizer of High-Internal-Phase Pickering Emulsions.

Pickering stabilizers with additional antioxidant, photostabilizing, and metal-chelating properties are suitable for structuring multifunctional Pickering emulsion systems. Tannic acid (TA) is a potential material which when adsorbed onto the interface may impart antioxidant, UV-light-shielding, and chelating properties to Pickering stabilizers. Herein, we report a type of TA polyelectrolyte nanoparticles (NPs) fabricated following a complexation between TA and aminated sugar beet pectin (SBP-NH2). This study is geared toward investigating the performance of TA/SBP-NH2 NPs in stabilizing Pickering emulsions and protecting β-carotene from degradation. TA/SBP-NH2 NPs formed under optimum conditions had a mean diameter of 82 nm with a sphere-like shape. Because of their favorable surface wettability (91.2°), TA/SBP-NH2 NPs promoted formation of the low-, medium-, and high-internal-phase Pickering emulsions (HIPEs) in an oil volume fraction (φ)-dependent manner; the TA/SBP-NH2 NP-stabilized HIPE demonstrated viscoelastic properties increasing with the increasing concentration (c) of nanoparticles. Due to the excellent storage stability and UV light-absorbing capacity, the photostability of β-carotene was significantly improved by a TA/SBP-NH2 NP-stabilized HIPE (φ = 0.75; c = 3 mg/mL). Altogether, this study highlights that TA/SBP-NH2 NPs have potential applications in structuring Pickering emulsions with improved protective effects on loaded lipophilic compounds.

Coalescence characteristics of droplets dispersed in oil subjected to electric and centrifugal fields

The demulsification and dewatering process is an important link in the resource utilization of waste oil. Compared with a single method, a coupling device based on high-voltage electric and swirl centrifugal fields can better realize emulsion demulsification and dewatering. As the main factor affecting the separation performance of a coupling device, the droplet size distribution changes dynamically owing to droplet coalescence. However, the coalescence characteristics of droplets under double-field coupling are unclear. Therefore, a numerical model is established in this study by coupling the electric and flow fields governing equations, and the droplet population balance equation to imitate droplet coalescence and breakup. With the finite element method, the dynamic variation and coalescence characteristics of droplets under different double-field coupling conditions are analyzed. Results show that droplet size decreases as vorticity increases, and vorticity disturbance will cause droplet size distribution instability. Droplet size is inversely proportional to oil volume fraction under the same inlet conditions. When the inlet Reynolds numbers (Re) is less than 12940, the coalescence effect is the dominant factor, but when Re is 12940, the breakage effect is the dominant factor. The regions where the droplet coalescence effect are dominant mainly include the near-wall region of the coupling and small cone and underflow pipe sections. Furthermore, the degree of coalescence does not directly determine the grade efficiency.

Preparation, characterization, and bioactivity of Zingiber officinale Roscoe powder-based Pickering emulsions.

Biocompatible Pickering emulsions (PE) stabilized by tailor-made antioxidant-loaded particles have been known for some time now, but antioxidant-rich natural plant particle-based emulsions are much less well known. This study aimed to investigate the physico-chemical properties of commercial Zingiber officinale powders obtained from biological and conventional agricultural practice and ginger powder-based PE. The physico-chemical and biological properties of Zingiber officinale powders (GDPs) obtained from conventional (GDPC1 and GDPC2) and biological agricultural (GDPBIO) practices, and the properties of derived PE (PE_GDPs) were examined. All GDPs showed weak aggregation in aqueous media and a sufficiently hydrophobic surface to stabilize oil-in-water (O/W) PE against coalescence for at least 1 month. Zingiber officinale powders (2% w/w) derived from biological agricultural practices (GDPBIO) demonstrated the best emulsifying properties. The Zingiber officinale powders and PE_GDPs were also characterized by their phytochemical profiles. All the investigated samples exhibited ferric reducing ability power greater than the positive control, butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT), with values ranging from 91.21 to 102.63 μmol L-1 Fe (II) g-1 for GDPC2 and 05PE_GDPC1 (O/W=1:1), respectively. In β-carotene bleaching test the following trend GDPC1 > GDPBIO > GDPC2 was observed. A 05PE_GDPBIO sample with the oil volume fraction equal to 50% was stable to oxidation and exhibited a promising α-amylase inhibitory activity. The results suggest that ginger powder should be used as a starting point to design biocompatible PEs for different applications in the functional food, nutraceutical, and pharmaceutical industries. In fact, powder and based PE are characterized by a promising antioxidant activity, carbohydrate hydrolyzing enzyme and lipase inhibitory properties. Further in vivo studies are necessary to confirm these findings. © 2022 The Authors. Journal of The Science of Food and Agriculture published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry.

Biopolymer Stabilized Emulsions Improved Storage Stability and In Vitro Bioaccessibility of Lutein

ObjectivesLutein plays a critical role in the visual and cognitive development of infants. However, the application of lutein as a potential nutraceutical is limited by its low stability and poor water solubility. While various encapsulation systems have been developed for lutein to enhance its stability and bioavailability, few utilized bio-based polymers that are safe to use in infant foods. The aim of the study was to develop a novel emulsion system for lutein using food-grade colloids, octenylsuccinylated (OS) starch and gum Arabic (GA), as emulsifiers, which could improve the stability and bioaccessibility of lutein. MethodsLutein oil-in-water emulsions were prepared using two types of OS starch, capsule TA® (CTA) and HI-CAP®100 (HC), and one type of GA, TICAmulsion® 3020 (TM). Lutein was dissolved in olive oil and mixed with the aqueous biopolymer dispersions at 70% oil volume fraction using a homogenizer. The stabilities of the emulsion were assessed by measuring droplet size and distribution, changes of droplet size, and lutein retention at 25 and 45°C after a week of storage. The in vitro bioaccessibility of lutein was measured using a simulated in vitro gastrointestinal model. Free lutein was used as control. ResultsThe mean droplet size of lutein emulsions stabilized by CTA, HC, and TM were 1.19 ± 0.75, 1.45 ± 0.80, and 1.18 ± 0.8 μm, respectively. After a week of storage at 25°C, the particle size stabilized by OS starches did not change significantly, while GA-stabilized emulsion showed 1.58-fold larger droplet size than fresh sample (P < 0.05). Lutein retention in the control and emulsions stabilized by CTA, HC, and TM were 79%, 88%, 89%, and 86% at day 7, respectively. After a week of storage at 45°C, the emulsions stabilized by CTA, HC, and TM showed 1.34-, 2.38-, and 1.55- fold larger particle size compared to fresh samples (P < 0.05). The retention of lutein in free lutein and emulsions were 78%, 86%, 46%, and 63%, respectively. The in vitro bioaccessibility of lutein emulsions were 1.95-, 1.46-, and 1.27- fold higher than that of free lutein (P < 0.05). ConclusionsLutein emulsion stabilized by OS starch CTA had the best overall stability in droplet aggregation, color retention, and in vitro release. The oil-in-water emulsion stabilized by biopolymers could be promising carriers for lutein to expand their application in infant foods. Funding SourcesLouis/Evelyn Knol Fund.

Aqueous condition-tolerated high internal phase oil-in-water Pickering emulsion as building block for engineering 3D functional materials

Conventional high internal phase oil-in-water Pickering emulsions (HIPPEs) have limited applicability as building blocks for fabricating functional materials due to the aqueous condition-dependent stability. The hydrocarbon chain-grafted cellulose nanocrystals (H-CNCs) act as effective stabilizers to stabilize HIPPE. With the attractive hydrophobic forces between the hydrocarbon chains grafted on H-CNC surfaces, the emulsion droplets of H-CNC-stabilized HIPPE exhibit severe flocculation and such HIPPE at stabilizer contents as low as 0.06 w/v% (based on emulsion volume) display promising rheologies such as shear-thinning behaviors, viscoelasticity, rapid thixotropic recovery, and satisfactory stability against inter-droplet repulsions under a wide range of different aqueous conditions (pH scale: 3 to 12, ionic strength: 0 to 1 M NaCl and stabilizer content: ≥ 0.06 w/v%) and oil volume fractions (66% − 83%). By varying aqueous conditions/compositions and oil volume fractions while maintaining robust stability and promising rheological behaviors, the HIPPEs show the broad applicability as building blocks to print or build functional three-dimensional materials such as ultra-lightweight porous scaffolds with tunable pore sizes, stimuli-responsive hydrogels for controlled release of internal phase, elastic hydrogel sensors susceptible to weak forces and porous material with excellent thermal insulation performance, demonstrating the versatility of such H-CNC-stabilized HIPPEs in engineering state-of-the-art functional materials.

Injection lubrication for high-speed helical gears using the overset mesh method and experimental verification

Aiming at the limitation of the dynamic mesh method in solving the flow field of rotating machinery, an injection lubrication model of high-speed helical gear is proposed using the overset mesh method. The tooth lubrication performance is evaluated through oil volume fraction and oil pressure. Results show that the tooth lubrication is well when the injection angle is 7.5° and the injection velocity is 45 m/s. The lubrication performance will be improved by 7.726% and 47.259% through optimizing the injection angle and velocity, respectively. Swirling and oil deposition appear under the driving wheel. The simulation results agree well with the experimental measurements. These findings provide new insight into reducing friction and improving the transmission efficiency of high-speed aviation gears.

Rice bran-modified wheat gluten nanoparticles effectively stabilized pickering emulsion: An interfacial antioxidant inhibiting lipid oxidation

This study investigated the fabrication of Pickering emulsion stabilized by rice bran-modified wheat gluten nanoparticle (RGNP) and evaluated the effect of rice bran-modification on lipid oxidation of emulsified soybean oil, with native wheat gluten nanoparticle (CGNP) as the control. Compared with CGNP, RGNP exhibited stronger antioxidant activities due to high content of polyphenols. RGNP were roughly spherical (mean size of about 250 nm) with balanced wettability (104.6 ± 2.3°) and had excellent colloidal thermal stability. When used at a concentration of 1.5 wt%, both CGNP and RGNP could stabilize Pickering emulsions at varying oil volume fractions (0.20–0.85). For high internal phase emulsions, nanoparticles adsorbed at an oil–water interface forming an interconnected network structure, depressing the oxidation of soybean oil. RGNP as an interfacial antioxidant further improved the Pickering emulsion’ oxidative stability. This work may expand the application of wheat gluten as an antioxidant solid particle in Pickering emulsion.

Polyglycerol polyricinoleate stabilised water-in-oil emulsion: structural characteristics and functional performance

In the present work, the relationship between structural characteristics and functional performance in polyglycerol polyricinoleate (PGPR) stabilised water-in-oil (W/O) emulsions was investigated. Novel W/O emulsions with a PGPR concentration of 4%, and oil volume fractions (φO) of 0.7 and 0.8 showed the smallest mean droplet size (~5 μm) and highest emulsification index (~97%). Both W/O emulsions showed shear-thinning and elastic-dominant properties with a weak frequency dependence. Both W/O emulsions possessed superior thixotropic recovery properties with recovery percentages of 131.26% (φO = 0.7) and 114.56% (φO = 0.8). The thermo-responsive properties could be closely related to the PGPR aggregation induced by hydrophobic interaction and interfacial rearrangement. The present work helped to design and develop functional W/O emulsions as alternatives to butter spreads, bio-lubricants, and other thermo-responsive delivery systems.

Fabrication and characterization of Pickering high internal phase emulsions stabilized by debranched starch-capric acid complex nanoparticles

High internal phase emulsions (HIPEs) stabilized by debranched starch-capric acid (DBS-CA) complex nanoparticles were fabricated and their performance was evaluated. DBS-CA was prepared through enzymatic debranching and solid encapsulation methods, and displayed V-type crystalline structure. Contact angle measurements show enhanced hydrophobicity of DBS-CA compared to native starch. The DBS-CA nanoparticles have an average size of 463.77 nm and tended to be aggregating as analyzed by scanning electron microscope and dynamic light scattering particle size analysis. When used as a particulate emulsifier, DBS-CA could stabilize HIPEs with oil volume fraction as high as 80%. The HIPEs showed pH-dependent properties; good storage stability and mechanical strength were achieved within pH range from 3 to 11, especially under alkaline conditions. It was proposed that smaller particle size and higher surface charging were responsible for the more tightly connected gel structure and thus their performance. This study demonstrates a novel approach to fabricate food-grade Pickering HIPEs, which may have many promising potential applications in the food industry.

A new mathematical model of continuous gravitational separation with coalescence of liquid-liquid emulsions

A model for a continuous gravitational separation process of a liquid-liquid dispersion is presented, which is formulated as a population balance equation (PBE) that describes the coalescence and the hindered polydisperse sedimentation of droplets. This is important because this separation process is critical in the operation of many industries as discussed later. This study is based on previous findings by Garcia and Betancourt (2019) where a formulation for a batch process was presented. This analysis shows the improvements and differences between the model presented in this study and the formulation by Garcia and Betancourt (2019). The modeling framework comes from the Kynch’s theory that has been employed to model solid particle sedimentation processes; however, in this case the principles are applied to an organic phase-aqueous phase liquid mixture. For the numerical solution of the model, the PBE is discretized in terms of droplet volume. Since the population balance model is subject to mass loss due to droplet coalescence, we propose a formula to compute the source term of the largest droplet class. Model validation used experimental data from literature for a continuous process. Numerical results explored the variation of parameters such as feed flowrate, feed oil volume fraction and the standard deviation of the initial and feed droplet volumes.

Numerical Study of Oil-water Separation in Inline Axial Hydrocyclone

The fluid mixture hydrocyclone is an excellent tool for downhole oil/water separation (DOWS) for high water cut. In the present work the flow through inline axial inlet hydrocyclone is investigated computationally using ANSYS-FLUENT-19 software. The three dimensional continuity and momentum equations with SST k-omega turbulence model are used to simulate the strongly swirling, turbulent flow. Oil/water two phase mixture treated as the working fluid, water is considered as the primary phase and oil is the secondary phase. The considered oil volume fraction this work is 0.25 and flow split is 0.3 for three different flow rates of (14, 28, 56) m3/hr corresponding to Reynold's number range of (1.6 to 6.6)*104. The pressure and velocity fields were analyzed in the whole hydrocyclone with core recirculation. The results are helpful to predict the flow motion inside the cyclone to estimate the oil/water separation process. The present work indicates that the water purity at cyclone exit was 90%, while the obtained oil purity was 38%.

Improving the colloidal stability and emulsifying property of flaxseed 11S globulin by heat induced complexation with soy 7S globulin

Flaxseed protein contains mainly 11S globulin (FG). It suffers significant aggregation upon heating, ionic strength and pH variation which hinders its application in food products. This study aims at improving the colloidal stability of FG by fabricating a flaxseed 11S globulin-soy 7S globulin (SG) complex and exploring its potential application in stabilizing emulsion. Results showed that SG could limit the thermal aggregation of FG by forming a stable FG-SG complex above 80 °C at neutral pH. Increasing temperature and heating time would promote the exposure of hydrophobic sites and facilitate the complexation that was irreversible. The complex showed enhanced stability against ionic strength and pH variation and was able to stabilize high internal phase emulsion (HIPE) with oil volume fraction up to 85% by a minimal protein concentration of 20 g/L which however could not be achieved solely by flaxseed 11S globulin. The HIPEs showed long term stability in a wide range of pH and ionic strength. This study paves way for enhancing the functionalities of oilseed 11S globulin simply through thermal induced complexation with 7S globulin from another plant source.

Dynamics of an oil-coated bubble rising in a quiescent water medium

Bubbles encapsulated by an organic bulk phase are widely present in the ocean and many industrial processes. We present experiments on a rising oil-coated compound bubble in quiescent water. By immobilizing the compound bubble surface and increasing the compound bubble effective density, the oil coating causes a smaller bubble shape deformation, changing the wake dynamics and forces acting on the bubble, and thereby its drag coefficient and path oscillation. The compound bubble zigzag oscillation is observed to decay significantly with time above a critical oil volume fraction. These results may provide guidance for simulations and applications of bubbly flows with compound interfaces.

A novel preparation strategy of emulsion gel solely stabilized by alkaline assisted steam-cooking treated insoluble soybean fiber

In this work, the insoluble soybean fiber, which was derived from okara facilely prepared by alkaline assisted steam-cooking treatments (AST-ISF), was used to prepare emulsion gels through regulating oil volume fraction (φ, 0.1–0.6) and ISF concentration (c, 0.05%–0.5%). AST-ISF was mainly composed of insoluble fiber (82.99 ± 0.24%), and most proteins were removed by alkaline treatment. AST endowed ISF with a higher crystallinity index (47.30 ± 0.82%) and moderate interfacial wettability (87.2 ± 1.2°), which facilitated the adsorption of AST-ISF at the oil-water interface and the formation of a stronger gel-like network structure. Raw okara and alkaline treated ISF could not form emulsion gels. In contrast, the emulsion gels could be formed by AST-ISF, and it was enhanced by AST-ISF adsorbing and entrapping with the oil phase. Oil volume fraction was a crucial factor affecting the microstructure. Especially when φ = 0.5, the degree of droplet aggregation was particularly prominent, and the elastic modulus increased up to about ten times compared with that at φ = 0.1. The minimum AST-ISF concentration to form emulsion gel was 0.3%. The study revealed that the structure of AST-ISF stabilized emulsion gel was characterized as a hybrid network structure composed of tightly packed oil droplets with cross-linked ISF in the continuous phase.

Heat-flow coupling variation in double-row tapered-roller bearings during the loss of lubrication process

Loss of lubrication (LOL) is a severe problem in transmission systems wherein the temperature increases continuously until failure. The temperature and flow-field distributions during this process are complicated. These distributions and the heat generation of the transmission system during LOL have not been adequately studied. In this study, we used computational fluid dynamics to establish an oil–gas, two-phase flow model for asymmetric bearings and calculated the oil volume fraction on the bearing surface. A dynamic heat generation calculation method was proposed based on the kinematic viscosity variation of the oil–air mixture during the LOL process. The temperature distributions of the large and small rollers and raceway surface during the LOL process were analyzed using a simulation method. The injection parameters were optimized to avoid the gluing of the large roller. The internal temperature distribution was found to have a strong positive correlation with the lubricant distribution during the LOL process. Moreover, the lubrication and temperature distributions on the large-roller side were worse than those on the small-roller side. A temperature reduction of approximately 25% can be achieved if the number of oil inlets is increased.

Oil-water separation in a cylindrical cyclone with vortex finder

Cylindrical cyclones are always used in the petroleum industry to separate the oil-water two-phase mixtures or treatment the waste water. Here, we use dimensional analysis and multiphase flow numerical simulation to analyze the separation process in a cylindrical cyclone with a vortex finder to better understand the theory and characteristics of separation. In the dimensional analysis, we consider all structural, flow, and operating parameters. A multiphase mixture model is used to simulate oil-water two-phase flow and separation in a cylindrical cyclone. There is a vortex in the core of the cylinder, and its structure is influenced by the diameter of the overflow pipe, the inlet velocity, and the flow split ratio. However, the influence of these three factors on the equivalent diameter of the vortex core can be ignored. Moreover, the inlet velocity has little influence on the equivalent length of the vortex core. Therefore, the structure of the vortex core can be calculated from the diameter and flow split ratio of the up-outlet of the cylindrical cyclone. Oil-water separation increases as the diameter of the oil droplet increases. The separation efficiency of the cylindrical cyclone with vortex can reach 80% if the inlet dispersion droplet diameter is larger than 1 mm. The oil volume fractions in the up- and down-outlets decrease as the overflow split ratio increases. The flow split ratio is the only operating parameter to consider to obtain the best separation results for a cylindrical cyclone with a fixed inlet oil-water mixture.