Back to results
US 5,399,293 AGranted
Emulsion formation system and mixing device
AssigneeIntevep, S.A.
InventorsGustavo Nunez, Roger Marin, Maria L. Ventresca
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Loading patent…
Loading patent…
AssigneeIntevep, S.A.
InventorsGustavo Nunez, Roger Marin, Maria L. Ventresca
Estimating the term…
A method for preparing oil in water HIPR emulsions includes the steps of providing a Newtonian liquid including a mixture of a viscous hydrocarbon, an emulsifying additive and water; subjecting the Newtonian liquid to a first shear force whereby a substantial portion of the Newtonian liquid is radially displaced and mixed so as to form a non-Newtonian liquid; thereafter subjecting remaining non-radially displaced Newtonian liquid to a second shear force to mix the remaining non-radially displaced Newtonian liquid into the non-Newtonian liquid to form the HIPR emulsion, which emulsion is a stable oil in water emulsion having a droplet size of between about 1 to 30 microns and having a droplet size distribution (x) no greater than about 1, the droplet size distribution being defined as follows: ##EQU1## wherein D90 is a droplet size at least as large as about 90% of all droplets in the oil in water emulsion; D10 is a droplet size at least as large as about 10% of all droplets in the oil in water emulsion; and D50 is a droplet size at least as large as about 50% of all droplets in the oil in water emulsion.
A method for forming an oil in water HIPR emulsion, comprising the steps of:
An apparatus for forming an oil in water HIPR emulsion from a Newtonian liquid comprising a mixture of a viscous hydrocarbon, an emulsifying additive and water, the apparatus comprising a cylinder defined about a central axis and having an inlet for said Newtonian liquid and an outlet for said HIPR emulsion, a plurality of means for subjecting said Newtonian liquid to shear force positioned serially along a flow path of said Newtonian liquid said plurality of shear means comprising at least a first shear means and a second shear means arranged serially for rotation about said central axis wherein said plurality of shear means being positioned serially within said cylinder along a flow path of said Newtonian liquid, said plurality of shear means each having a diameter (d) and said cylinder having a length (L) and a diameter (D), said first shear means being positioned at a distance from said inlet of about 1/3L, said second shear means being positioned at a distance from said first shear means of about 1.5d, and a ratio of cylinder length to cylinder diameter (L/D) being between about 1.5 to 3.0, and a ratio of shear means diameter to cylinder diameter (d/D) being between about 0.35 and 0.45, so that a substantial portion of said Newtonian liquid is subjected to a first shear force and radially displaced from said first shear means and mixed so as to form a non-Newtonian liquid, and remaining non-radially displaced Newtonian liquid is subjected to a second shear force and mixed into said non-Newtonian liquid to form an HIPR emulsion comprising a stable oil in water emulsion having a droplet size of about 1 to 30 microns and having a droplet size distribution (x) no greater than about 1, said droplet size distribution being defined as follows:
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.