Effect of Temperature on a Vortex Reactor for Hydrodynamic Cavitation

Abstract

The oil and gas sector has recently shown an interest in hydrodynamic cavitation for oil enhancement, as it allows reducing transportation and refinement costs. This work presents a fluid-dynamic study of Colombian oil at different temperatures passing through a vortex reactor. First, an experimental design was elaborated, establishing the temperature and quantity of the injected hydrogen donor as factors and the final viscosity of oil as the response. Then, a numerical model was developed in the Ansys Fluent software using multiphase models, where the required properties of the fluid were obtained via laboratory tests and the Aspen HYSYS software. The results obtained from numerical experimentation were analyzed, and it was observed that the final viscosity was less affected by the temperature than by the hydrogen donor. Moreover, numerical modeling showed an exponential relation between vapor generation and temperature. The experimental and numerical data were compared, and it was found that the temperatures established in the experimental design were not high enough to generate a significant amount of vapor, which is why the decrease in viscosity was lower.

Current State of Research on the Mechanism of Cavitation Effects in the Treatment of Liquid Petroleum Products—Review and Proposals for Further Research

“…Treating oil with devices with moving internal elements can transfer heat to the treated liquid, raising its temperature and thus affecting viscosity. However, the hydrogen donor has a greater effect on the viscosity parameter [99], which can either be added externally according to the process or directly generated from the feedstock itself. As a result, the established initial parameters of the cavitation generator in the treatment process may not be sufficient to maintain stable cavitation in the treated feedstock.…”