Development of an adjustable measuring cell for ultrasonic characterization of water-in-crude oil emulsions

Abstract

This work reports the experiments carried out with an adjustable measuring cell for ultrasonic characterization of water-in-crude oil emulsions. The cell prototype was designed to allow adjustments to be made to the position of the solid delay lines to avoid the overlapping echoes. The tests performed used a 0.5-MHz transducer in pulse-echo mode and emulsions with water contents ranging from 0 to 30% by volume. The echoes reflected at the interfaces of the delay lines were acquired immediately after finishing the emulsification process. Using a stirring and a peristaltic pump the flow conditions were simulated. The characterization of each emulsion was made from the reference echoes acquired in the initial experiment with an air sample. All measurements were performed at the same temperature. The results show that this technique is useful to differentiate the water-oil emulsions with water content up to 30%.