Effect of Fibrous Bed Permeability on Steady-State Coalescence

Abstract

The effect of fibrous bed permeability on the efficiency of steady-state coalescence was investigated. Bed permeability was changed by compression of polyurethane fibers. The effect of bed permeability was followed based on the effluent oil concentration and critical velocity. An oil-in-water system was used as the model of unstable emulsion, with the drop size smaller than the pore size of the fibrous bed in all experiments. Different fluid velocities, bed lengths, and fluid-flow orientations were applied. The results indicate the existence of two regions of dependence, with a break point at a defined range identified as a critical one. Empirical equations were derived by describing the effluent concentration and critical velocity as a function of the bed permeability and length.