Rheological Characterization of Bentonite Suspensions and Oil-In-Water Emulsions Loaded With Bentonite

With stress controlled rheometer we investigate the behavior for different concentrations, of paraffin oil-in-water emulsions, bentonite suspensions as well as charged bentonite emulsions. We were particularly interested in how aging affects the rheological properties. Using a structural model, we correlate the macroscopic experimental results to the fluid microstructure characteristic parameters and we calculate the emulsions and suspensions mean characteristic unit size. The comparison of these mean particle diameters with those obtained by microscopy and light-scattering measurements confirms the soundness of such procedure to estimate the structural characteristics, the effective concentrations and the effective mean particle diameter of oil-in-water emulsions and bentonite suspensions.