Water and oil permeability of poroelastic potato discs

ABSTRACT

The aim of this study was to determine the permeability of water and oil through porous potato discs by developing an engineering model using Darcy’s law relation, mass balance equation, and poroelasticity relations at temperatures between 25–80°C. A finite element package was used to solve these equations in order to obtain the flow velocity at different pressure levels. The water permeability values were in the range of (2 to 4) × for the temperature range from 70–80°C, and the oil permeability values were in the range of (2 to 12) × for the temperature range from 25–70°C under the applied pressure range of 138 to 345 kPa. The moisture and oil content of the potato discs were measured experimentally both before and after each permeability experiment. An Arrhenius model was used to represent permeability as a function of water or oil content, and temperature. The velocity-pressure gradient data of oil and water through the potato discs exhibited a threshold pressure gradient, which needed to be overcome to initiate fluid flow.

KEYWORDS:

• Permeability
• Porous matrix
• Darcy’s law
• Biopolymer
• Swelling
• Compression, Poroelastic

Nomenclature

Table

Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful to Professor Munir Cheryan for providing the membrane cell column and guidance on its initial setup. The authors would also like to thank Dr. Chris J. Koh for providing valuable suggestions for helping to improve this manuscript.

Funding

This work was partially funded by Pepsi Co. Inc.; however, the views and statements included in this manuscript are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent position or policy of Pepsi Co. Inc.

Additional information

Funding

This work was partially funded by Pepsi Co. Inc.; however, the views and statements included in this manuscript are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent position or policy of Pepsi Co. Inc.