A Numerical Model for Oil/Water Separation from a Solid Particle

• Main Author: Fan, Eric Sheung-Chi
• Other Authors: Bussmann, Markus
• Language: en_ca
• Published: 2010
• Subjects: spherical coordinates; Volume-of-Fluid; oil/water/particle separation; 0548
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/1807/24566

A computational fluid dynamics model has been developed to study an oil-coated particle immersed in a uniform aqueous flow, to determine the conditions that favour oil separation. The governing flow equations are discretized using a finite volume approach, and the oil/water interface is captured using the Volume-of-Fluid (VOF) method in a 2D spherical coordinate system. The model predicts different mechanisms for oil separation. At a Reynolds number, Re, equal to 1, and at a low capillary number, Ca << 1, the high interfacial tension can induce rapid contact line motion, to the extent that the oil film can advance past its equilibrium position and separate from the particle. This mechanism requires that the contact angle measured through the oil phase is large. On the other hand, as Ca approaches 1, the shear exerted by the external flow stretches the oil into a thread that will eventually rupture and separate.