Physical properties of aqueous glycerol solutions

Use of aqueous glycerol solutions provides a convenient approach for investigation of a variety of aspects of two phase flow phenomena in porous media concerned with viscosity. These include the scaling of spontaneous imbibition and the forced displacement of one phase by another such as in waterflooding. Glycerol/water solutions provide variation of aqueous phase viscosity by over three orders of magnitude. Physical properties, commonly needed in studies of multiphase flow in porous media, are reported for aqueous solutions of glycerol. They include density, surface tension (against air), interfacial tension (against three types of refined oil), contact angle (against n-decane), and viscosity. Experimental results were obtained at six temperatures (20, 30, 40, 50, 65 and 80 °C) and five levels of ionic strength of the brine used for adjusting the glycerol/brine mixture. Contact angle measurements against n-decane were made at 20 and 60 °C. Glycerol is miscible with water at all investigated salinities and temperature levels. Density and surface and interfacial tensions against refined oils are very close-to-linear with respect to weight fraction of glycerol. Aqueous glycerol solutions on quartz surfaces exhibited zero contact angle (perfect wetting) against both air and refined oil. Increase in viscosity of glycerol–water mixtures with addition of glycerol is highly non-linear. All viscosity data were fitted exceptionally well by an equation originally developed for colloidal dispersions. Literature data on vapor pressure, refractive index and viscosity are also presented.

► Properties of glycerol/brine mixtures relevant to mobility in multi-phase flow.
► Densities, refractive indexes, vapor pressures.
► Surface and interfacial tensions, contact angle.
► Viscosities of aqueous liquids for variation in temperature and salinity.
► Mathematical model of the effect of composition on aqueous phase viscosity.