Abstract
In this study, the effectiveness of guar gum as a flow improver in single-phase water as well as in oil–water flows was investigated. Guar gum is one of the hydrocolloids mostly used as a flow improver because of its unique rheological behaviour. It forms highly viscous shear thinning solutions at very low concentrations. In the oil industry, pressure drop is experienced in the transportation of fluid due to skin friction in the pipeline which translates to high energy cost. The addition of small amount of heavy molecular weight synthetic polymer has been found to enhance flow in pipes. This phenomenon is called drag reduction (DR). However, very few reports exist on the potentials of natural polymers which are more environmentally friendly and cheaper as a DR agent. The experimental rig consists of a horizontal 12- and 20-mm-ID uPVC pipes with oil (ρ = 832 kg/m3; µ = 3.5 cP at 25 °C) and tap water (ρ = 998 kg/m3; µ = 1.0 cP at 25 °C) as test fluids. The molecular weight of guar gum was determined to be 994,035 ± 1.9% g/mol. Results showed that maximum drag reduction of 45% was achieved by the addition of 200 ppm of guar gum to single-phase water flow at Re of 69,000 in the 12-mm-ID pipe. In oil–water flows, maximum DR of 23% was achieved for 0.25 oil fraction and 200 ppm of guar gum. In addition, drag reduction was found to increase with pipe diameter and decrease with increasing oil fraction. DR with guar gum compares better with synthetic polymers of equivalent molecular weight with promise for wider industrial applications.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Edomwonyi-Otu, L.C.; Angeli, P.: Pressure drop and holdup predictions in horizontal oil-water flows for curved and wavy interfaces. Chem. Eng. Res. Des. 93, 55–65 (2015)
Edomwonyi-Otu, L.C.; Adelakun, D.O.: Effect of heavy molecular weight polymer on quality of drinking water. Mater. Today Commun. 15, 337–343 (2018)
Ayegba, P.O.; Edomwonyi-Otu, L.C.; Yusuf, N.; Abubakar, A.: Experimental and neural network modelling of polymer drag reduction in 180o bends. Results Mater. 1, 100012 (2019)
Kulmattova, D.: Turbulent drag reduction by additives. University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam (2013)
Al-Wahaibi, T.; et al.: Experimental investigation on the performance of drag reducing polymers through two pipe diameters in horizontal oil-water flows. Exp. Therm. Fluid Sci. 50, 139–146 (2013)
Hameed, A.M.; Hamied, R.S.; Shnain, Z.Y.: Drag-reducing agent for aqueous liquid flowing in turbulent mode through pipelines. Al-Khwarizmi Eng. J. 10(2), 15–22 (2014)
Toms, B.: Some observations on the flow of linear polymer solutions through straight tubes at large Reynolds numbers. Int. Cong. Rheol. 2, 135–141 (1948)
Edomwonyi-Otu, L.C.: Drag reduction in oil-water flows. University College London, London (2015)
Al-Wahaibi, T.; Smith, M.; Angeli, P.: Effect of drag-reducing polymers on horizontal oil–water flows. J. Pet. Sci. Eng. 57(3–4), 334–346 (2007)
Al-Yaari, M.; Soleimani, A.; Abu-Sharkh, B.; Al-Mubaiyedh, U.; Al-Sarkhi, A.: Effect of drag reducing polymers on oil–water flow in a horizontal pipe. Int. J. Multiph. Flow 35(6), 516–524 (2009)
Edomwonyi-Otu, L.C.; Chinaud, M.; Angeli, P.: Effect of drag reducing polymer on horizontal liquid-liquid flows. Exp. Therm. Fluid Sci. 64, 164–174 (2015)
Edomwonyi-Otu, L.C.; Angeli, P.: Effects of polymer addition on pressure drop and interfacial waves in horizontal oil–water flows. Pet. Technol. Dev. J. 2(July), 41–48 (2014)
Edomwonyi-Otu, L.C.: Distortion of velocity profiles of water flow with heavy molecular weight polymers. Transf. Phenom. Fluid Heat Flows VII. J. Defect Diffus. Forum 392, 228–238 (2019)
Al-Sarkhi, A.: Drag reduction with polymers in gas-liquid/liquid-liquid flows in pipes: a literature review. J. Nat. Gas Sci. Eng. 2(1), 41–48 (2010)
Edomwonyi-Otu, L.C.; Angeli, P.: Separated oil-water flows with drag reducing polymers. Exp. Therm. Fluid Sci. 102, 467–478 (2019)
Wang, Y.; Yu, B.; Zakin, J.L.; Shi, H.: Review on drag reduction and its heat transfer by additives. Adv. Mech. Eng. 2011, 1–17 (2011)
Zakin, J.L.; Myska, J.; Chara, Z.: New limiting drag reduction and velocity profile asymptotes for nonpolymeric additives systems. AIChE J. 42(12), 3544–3546 (1996)
Edomwonyi-Otu, L.C.; Simeoni, M.; Angeli, P.; Campolo, M.: Synergistic effects of drag reducing agents in pipes of different diameters. Niger. J. Eng. 22(2), 1–5 (2016)
Lumley, J.L.: Drag Reduction in turbulent flow by polymer additives. J. Polym. Sci. Macromol. Rev. 7(1), 263–290 (1973)
Lumley, J.L.: Drag reduction by additives. Annu. Rev. Fluid Mech. 1, 367 (1969)
Tabor, M.; De Gennes, P.G.: A cascade theory of drag reduction. Europhys. Lett. 2(7), 519–522 (1986)
Little, R.C.; Hansen, R.J.; Hunston, D.L.; Kim, O.; Patterson, R.L.; Ting, R.Y.: The drag reduction phenomenon, observed characteristics, improved agents, and proposed mechanisms. Ind. Eng. Chem. Fundam. 14, 283–296 (1975)
Virk, P.S.: Drag reduction fundamentals. AlChE J. 21(4), 625–656 (1975)
Berman, N.S.: Drag reduction by polymers. Annu. Rev. Fluid Mech. 10, 47–64 (1978)
Moussa, T.; Tiu, C.; Sridhar, T.: Effect of solvent on polymer degradation in turbulent-flow. J. Nonnewton. Fluid Mech. 48(3), 261–284 (1993)
Sifferman, T.R.; Greenkorn, R.A.: Drag reduction in three distinctly different fluid systems. Soc. Pet. Eng. J. 21, 663–669 (1981)
Han, W.J.; Dong, Y.Z.; Choi, H.J.: Applications of water-soluble polymers in turbulent drag reduction. Process 5(24), 1–27 (2017)
Tracy, M.A.; Pecora, R.: Dynamics of rigid and semirigid rodlike polymers. Annu. Rev. Phys. Chem. 432, 525–557 (1992)
Gimba, M.M.; Edomwonyi-Otu, L.C.; Yusuf, N.; Abubakar, A.: Drag reduction with polymer mixtures in pipes of different diameter. Arid Zo. J. Eng. Technol. Environ. 15(3), 792–801 (2019)
Deshmukh, S.R.; Singh, R.P.: Drag reduction effectiveness, shear stability and biodegradation resistance of guar gum-based graft copolymers. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 33, 1963–1975 (1987)
Abdulbari, H.A.; Shabirin, A.; Abdurrahman, H.N.: Bio-polymers for improving liquid flow in pipelines-A review and future work opportunities. J. Ind. Eng. Chem. 20(4), 1157–1170 (2014)
Ling, F.W.M., Abdulbari, H.A.: Drag Reduction in Natural Polymeric Additives in PDMS Microchannel: Effect of Types of Additives. In: MATEC Web of Conferences 111: FluidsChE 2017, 2017, p. 01001.
Venugopal, K.N.; Abhilash, M.: Study of hydration kinetics and rheological behaviour of Guar Gum. Int. J. Pharmacautical Sci. Res. 1, 28–30 (2010)
Robert, M.; Vancko, J.: Effects of a drag reducing agent on pressure drop and flow regime transitions in multiphase horizontal low pressure pipelines. Water 1, 35–40 (1997)
Mahmoud, N.M.: Physico-chemical study of Guar Gum. University of Khartoum, Khartoum (2000)
Abdulbari, H.A.; Kamarulizam, S.N.B.; Rosli, M.Y.; Gupta, A.: Introducing slag powder as drag reduction agent in pipeline: an experimental approach. Sci. Res. Essays 7(18), 1768–1776 (2012)
Mowla, D.; Naderi, A.: Experimental study of drag reduction by a polymeric additive in slug two-phase flow of crude oil and air in horizontal pipes. Chem. Eng. Sci. 61(5), 1549–1554 (2006)
Ram, P.S.; Pal, S.; Krishnamoorthy, S.; Adhikary, P.; Ali, A.S.: High-technology materials based on modified polysaccharides. J. Pure Appl. Chem. 81, 525–547 (2009)
Animasaun, I.L.; Ibraheem, R.O.; Mahanthesh, B.; Babatunde, H.A.: A meta-analysis on the effects of haphazard motion of tiny/nano-sized particles on the dynamics and other physical properties of some fluids. Chinese J. Phys. 60, 676–687 (2019)
Shah, N.A.; Animasaun, I.L.; Ibraheem, O.R.; Babatunde, H.A.; Sandeep, N.; Pop, I.: Scrutinization of the effects of grashof number on the flow of different fluids driven by convection over various surfaces. J. Mol. Liq. 249, 980–990 (2018)
Yusuf, N.; Al-Wahaibi, Y.; Al-Wahaibi, T.; Al-Ajmi, A.; Olawale, A.S.; Mohammed, I.A.: Effect of oil viscosity on the flow structure and pressure gradient in horizontal oil—water flow. Chem. Eng. Res. Des. 90(8), 1019–1030 (2012)
Hanratty, T.J.; Al-Sarkhi, A.: Effect of drag-reducing polymers on annular gas—liquid—flow in a horizontal pipe. Int. J. Multiph. Flow 27, 1151–1162 (2001)
Abdallah, N.M.; Edomwonyi-Otu, L.C.; Yusuf, N.; Baba, A.: Investigating the effectiveness of Aloe Vera in drag reduction. Arid Zo. J. Eng. Technol. Environ. 15(2), 248–258 (2019)
Dosumu, A.I.; Edomwonyi-Otu, L.C.; Abubakar, A.; Yusuf, N.: Drag reduction performance of natural gums in oil-water flows through pipes of different diameters. Res. J. Eng. Environ. Sci. 4(1), 17–26 (2018)
Acknowledgement
The authors wish to acknowledge the technical and financial support of the Department of Chemical Engineering and the members of the Multiphase Flows and Separation Systems Research Group, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria.
Funding
This work was crowd-funded by the Department of Chemical Engineering and members of the Multiphase Flow and Separation Systems Research Group, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Dosumu, A.I., Edomwonyi-Otu, L.C., Yusuf, N. et al. Guar Gum as Flow Improver in Single-Phase Water and Liquid–Liquid Flows. Arab J Sci Eng 45, 7267–7273 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13369-020-04429-2
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13369-020-04429-2