Sammendrag
Presented here is experimental and theoretical work on phase transitions and separation time scales for CO2−crude
oil mixtures with CO2 content ranging from pure to 79 mol %. The experimental work was performed using the wheel flow loop
located at the SINTEF Multiphase Flow Laboratory. Under constant volume conditions, phase transition temperature and pressures
were determined, as well as the volume fractions of the respective phases. The results indicated good agreement between the
experimentally determined phase transitions and the phase diagrams predicted by the thermodynamic model. It was shown that the
measured torque was sufficient to determine the pressure−temperature conditions of the phase transitions. Furthermore, separation
times were measured for both oil-in-CO2 and CO2-in-oil in a range of conditions for the respective fluid systems. Results showed
that the separation times were considerably shorter for the CO2 continuous fluid system compared to oil continuous. Moreover, a
comparison of Weber numbers for the various test conditions indicated that the drop sizes influence the overall separation time,
which is affected by settling and coalescence processes. Finally, this study showed that the wheel flow loop is well suited for the study
of CO2-rich systems for determination of volume fractions of phases, phase transitions, and transport and separation
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