Synergistic Effect of Polymer-Polymer Mixtures as Drag Reducing Agents in Turbulent Pipeline Water Flow
Authors: Gimba MM, Edomwonyi-Otu LC, Abubakar A, Yusuf N
DOI Info: N/A
ABSTRACT
Synthetic polymers such as partially hydrolyzed polyacrylamide (HPAM; magnafloc 1011) and polyethylene oxide (PEO) in parts per million (ppm) are more effective in drag reduction (DR) (reducing pressure drop) in turbulent pipeline water flow. They are less susceptible to biodegradation which leads to environmental concerns. The incorporation of natural polymer such as Aloe Vera mucilage (AVM) onto HPAM & PEO can improve the efficacy of DR and reduce environmental impact. In this work, HPAM, PEO, AVM, mixture of HPAM-AVM and PEO-AVM were investigated in an experimental flow facility which consists of liquid storage tanks, pumps and unplasticised polyvinylchloride (uPVC) horizontal pipe system with 12 mm ID. The concentration ranging from 2.5 – 100 ppm (HPAM & PEO), 5 – 500 ppm (AVM) and total concentration (TC) of 30 ppm and 400 ppm for the polymer mixture were used. Master solution of 2000 ppm, 20000 ppm and Reynolds number (Re) ranging from 21519 to 81424 were investigated. Mercury U-tube manometer was used to measure the pressure drop of the pipeline water flow. The results showed that drag reduction of 80% and 82.5% for HPAM-AVM (30 ppm and 400 ppm) and 81.6% and 83% for PEO-AVM (30 ppm and 400 ppm) were obtained for the polymer mixtures, which was higher than the DR of individual polymers alone at the same conditions. The increase in the dimension of the macromolecular coil of the polymer mixture solutions due the co-presence of the other polymer molecule and rigidity of the polymer molecule may be responsible for the observed synergism in DR.
Affiliations: Department Chemical Engineering, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria
Keywords: Drag Reduction, Synergism, Polymers, Polymer-polymer Mixture, Turbulent Flow
Published date: 2018/12/30
