Abstract
The rheological properties of water-in-waxy crude oil emulsion depend highly on its forming conditions. Among these, the steady apparent viscosity is capable of characterizing its degree of emulsification. Adopting waxy crude oil in the field, we examine the influence of the water cut, the stirring speed, and the stirring time on the steady apparent viscosity of the emulsions formed under various conditions in this study. A model based on the viscous flow entropy generated in emulsion preparation is applied to correlate the steady apparent viscosity with the key parameters. A regression model is constructed for the dependence of the steady apparent viscosity on the viscous flow entropy, the shear rate, the rheological parameters of blank crude oil, and the wax deposition volume.
