Fluid Mechanics - Oil Spill Calculation for Chem Engineers

OIL SPILL PROJECT NO.6

Statement of Problem:

In this project, the goal is to apply the knowledge of fluid dynamics in order to determine the effect of two parameters (oil density and volume fraction) on how long will it take for an oil drop to rise a distance of 1m in an oil/water distribution.

Data:

The following information was provided;

| |Water | | | | | |
| | | | | |Oil Droplets | |
|ρr |1030 |kg/m3 | |ρd |850 - 950 |kg/m3 |
|µr |0.0008 |kg/(m-s) | |Dp |0.1 - 1.0 |mm |
|g |9.8 |m/s2 | |φ |0 - 0.5 | |
| | |Distance |1 |m | | |

Calculations:

Part 1:

In this part, the goal was to determine the effect of volume fraction on separation time. In order to determine the effect of volume fraction on settle-time, the density of oil was assumed to be constant with an average value of 900 kg/m3. Volume fraction was varied from a value of 0 to 0.5 and by using the Zigrang-Sylvester relationships provided by the instructor, the coefficients a,b and c were calculated. The settling velocity Uϕ was then determined by using the following relationship;

Uϕ = c – (c2 – a2)1/2

Finally, the time was determined for the oil drops to rise by a distance of 1m by using the following relationship;

Timesettle = Distance / Uϕ

Part 2:

In the 2nd part of the problem, the density of the oil drops was varied between 850 kg/m3 to 950 kg/m3 in order to determine the effect of varying oil density on settling