Online Microwave Assisted Coalescence of Binary Water Drops in Crude Oil

Abstract

In this study, the online microwave heating and coalescence of water droplets in crude oil was examined numerically. The online flow velocities of the emulsions are 10 and 50mm/s. Moreover, the effect of microwave power including 100, 500, 1000, 2000 and 5000W/m on coalescence performance parameters were assessed. In addition, microwave frequencies of 915MHz and 2.45GHz were studied. The coalescence time and microwave energy were lower at 10mm/s. The coalescence time and energy which were 220ms and 55.88J at 50mm/s was lowered to 100ms and 25.4J at 10mm/s. This phenomenon can be associated with the flow fluctuations at increased velocities which inhibited the coalescence dynamics. This study provides insights on the behavior of online microwave heating and coalescence for water-in-crude oil emulsions.