Investigation of the Microscopic Process of the Media Coalescence Treatment of Water-in-Oil Emulsion.

Medium coalescence technology is a research hotspot for the separation of oil-in-water emulsions. However, the coalescence mechanism is still unclear, making it challenging to effectively improve the separation performance. Herein, the microscopic mechanism of medium coalescence was revealed. We found that the effective collision positions under the action of the flow field include the exposed granule surface, adherent droplet surface, and three-phase contact line. Furthermore, a numerical model of the microscopic process of water-in-oil emulsion permeation through a granular bed was established. The effects of different parameters (including the number of medium layers, Reynolds number, and inlet concentration) on the microscopic process of capturing dispersed-phase droplets in the bed and the pressure drop in the coalescence area were studied. The numerical results show that the droplets form the bridging structure between the granules. On the one hand, the bridging structure promotes the capture of the droplets by the bed; on the other hand, it causes pressure-drop fluctuations in the coalescence area and asymmetric distribution of the velocity field.