The oil separation process may be about to undergo a revolution - applause please!
Two degrees of separation Image: Roger H Goud |
A major challenge facing fuel producers looking for combustion efficiency, is that fact that fuel mixes are compromised by the fact that that certain identical flows of fluid tend to coalesce to form a single mass of fluid. However, a recent study by a scientist at Virginia Tech in the US may change the thinking around fuel oil separation.
In a paper published in Physics Review, fluid flow specialist, Sunny Jung, has demonstrated a different reaction of fluid flows based on what happens when an individual claps their hands when wet.
When wet hands are clapped, water drops often hit the face. Jung investigated further and concluded that the body of water on the hands breaks into small drops as a result of the squeezing - or clapping - motion. The study has shown that when the speed of the flow is increased beyond a certain threshold, the liquid does not coalesce to form a single mass of fluid, but remains separated.
With petrol and oil behaving similarly to water, the results of this study could major implications for the oil separation process and fuel development.