Abstract

A surprising property of W/O water-hydrocarbon emulsions is revealed which is manifested during flow in microchannels called the phenomenon of dynamic blocking. Effect essence is emulsion flow through the microchannel section ceases with time despite the constantly acting pressure drop. It was experimentally obtained that the phenomenon is observed during the flow of various emulsions of different compositions. It is shown that the phenomenon manifests itself at high pressure gradients although a partial disruption of the dispersions occurs. The paper suggests a physical mechanism for blocking water-hydrocarbon emulsions in microchannels associated with the interaction of nanoscale shells of microdroplets of water.