Investigating the Performance of OKRA - Natural Mucilage Compounds as Flow Improver in Pipelines Carrying Liquid – Solid Solution
During the transportation of liquids through pipelines, most of the pumping power will be lost or dissipated due to the turbulent mode these liquid are transported within. The addition of viscoelastic polymeric additives to the main flow inside the pipeline was one of the common solutions for such p...
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| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
2012
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://umpir.ump.edu.my/id/eprint/7301/1/CD6703.pdf http://umpir.ump.edu.my/id/eprint/7301/ |
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| Summary: | During the transportation of liquids through pipelines, most of the pumping power will be lost or dissipated due to the turbulent mode these liquid are transported within. The addition of viscoelastic polymeric additives to the main flow inside the pipeline was one of the common solutions for such problem. Most of these additives (polymers) are artificial and not environmentally friendly and it can cause dramatic changes in the apparent physical properties of the transported liquid. The present work introduces a new soluble and environmentally friendly drag reducing agent extracted from the okra pods. Also, the present work introduces two, new insoluble drag reducing agents from natural resources (paddy husk and coconut meat husk). In order to achieve the objectives of this study, an experimental rig consists of different pipe diameters at 0.0127, 0.025 and 0.038 m internal diameter (ID) and section length at 0.5, 1.0, 1.5 and 2.0 m of galvanized iron pipes was built as closed loop circulation system. The particle size of suspended fibers (500 and 800 µm) was prepared using Fritsch Sieve Analysis System technique to enhance the contribution of the findings. The concentrations for suspended fibers are 100, 300 and 500 ppm and okra mucilage concentration at 100, 300, 500, 700 and 1000 ppm. From the drag reduction analysis, the okra-natural mucilage achieved 71 % drag reduction operated at Re equal to 11788 in pipe size equal to 0.0127 m ID at 1.5 m testing length, at 1000 ppm concentration and based on this results, okra-natural mucilage was marked as an efficient drag reducing agent compared to the suspended fibers. Besides, the suspended fibers named paddy husk fibers shows excellent performance as drag reducer which the maximum drag reduction achieved is 32 % operated at Re equal to 35363, particle size at 500 µm, concentration at 500 ppm while coconut meat fibers capable to reduce the drag up to 42 % operated at Re equal to 35363, at the same concentration and particle size of paddy husk fibers. These results take place in pipe diameter of 0.025 m and at 1 m testing length. The combination of okra-natural mucilage at 1000 ppm with paddy husk and coconut meat fibers at the optimum condition (particle size 500 µm, concentration 500 ppm) have produce the 60% and 43% drag reduction at Re equal to 11788 for coconut meat fibers and Re equal to 35363 for coconut meat husk in pipe size equal to 0.0127 m ID at 1.5 m testing length. The highest drag reduction percentage achieved in this research is 71% which means about 71% of power saving could be achieved. The formation of long carbon chain in natural polymers and interaction of fibers suspension among themselves in turbulent flow were identified as sources of drag reduction to occur. The statistical drag reduction correlation was modelled with experimental data using STATISTICA software. As a conclusion, new environmentally friendly drag reducing agents were successfully introduced to replace the existing additives used commercially and its effectiveness was proven in improving the flow. |
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