Theoretical Aspects of Emulsification in Porous Media

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Abstract
A theoretical analysis of the mechanism of emulsification in porous media is presented. As an initial step in the investigation of the dispersion of one liquid in another, the hydrodynamic stability of a liquid layer surrounded by two other liquids is studied by the application of perturbation methods. Criteria for the hydrodynamic stability of the liquid layer are developed and the critical condition at which the instability occurs is predicted. Any disturbance of the interface is amplified, and, finally, jets of one liquid shoot out into the other phase. The radius of the droplets, as well as the phase. The radius of the droplets, as well as the number of droplets, formed are then determined. The analysis presented pays due care to the viscometric aspects of the dispersion of one fluid into another. The mechanism oil emulsification proposed is based on the hypothesis that viscosity proposed is based on the hypothesis that viscosity differences between displaced and displacing liquids can lead to emulsion formation. Introduction: A considerable amount of the world's crude oil is produced in the form of stable emulsions. These produced in the form of stable emulsions. These must be broken down into their two constituents, crude oil and brine, before sale and transportation of the former and disposal of the latter. The application of new recovery methods such as thermal simulation and surfactant flooding has, in many cases, accentuated the problem of emulsion formation. This, together with the introduction of new recovery methods using emulsions or emulsion floods, has led to considerable interest in both the generation and the flow of emulsions. Since there is sound evidence that emulsions are generated in some instances while liquids are flowing in porous media, we have investigated some of the viscometric aspects of emulsification by considering the hydrodynamic stability of liquid-liquid interfaces in porous media. porous media.

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