Influence of Droplet Size on Exergy Destruction in Flow of Concentrated Non-Newtonian Emulsions

The influence of droplet size on exergy destruction rate in flow of highly concentrated oil-in-water emulsions was investigated experimentally in a cone and plate geometry. The oil concentration was fixed at 74.5% by volume. At this dispersed-phase (oil) concentration, two different droplet size emulsions were prepared: fine and coarse emulsions. The fine and coarse emulsions were mixed in different proportions to vary the droplet size distribution. Although the dispersed and matrix phases of the emulsions were Newtonian in nature, the emulsions exhibited a non-Newtonian (shear-thinning) behavior due to the high droplet concentration. The shear stress—shear rate data of the emulsions could be described adequately by a power law model. At low shear rates, the exergy destruction rate per unit volume of emulsion exhibited a minimum at a fine emulsion proportion of 35%. The results from the cone and plate geometry were used to simulate exergy loss in pipeline flow of emulsions. The pumping of emulsions becomes more efficient thermodynamically upon mixing of fine and coarse emulsions provided that the flow regime is maintained to be laminar and that the Reynolds number is kept at a low to moderate value. In the turbulent regime, the exergy loss generally increases upon mixing the fine and coarse emulsions.