Single Bubble Breakage in Oil Under Stirring Conditions

Abstract

An experimental study on single bubble breakage in the stirred tank in oil as a continuous phase was carried out for a range of stirring speeds (220 to 430 rpm). The results are compared with bubble breakage in water that was conducted by Hasan et al. (2021) to investigate the effect of physical properties of the continuous phase on the breakage rate. The breakage events in the impeller were captured and analyzed using a high speed camera. It was found that the breakage rate represented by breakage probability and the number of produced daughter bubbles (fragments) are directly proportional to the stirring speed. The breakage probability and the number of produced daughter bubbles in oil were noticeably lower than that in water indicating the role the continuous phase viscosity plays in reducing the breakage rate.