The use of surfactants as drag-reducing agents (DRAs) has received significant attention in oil–gas transportation due to their ability to enhance liquid drainage efficiency and reduce operational costs. This work experimentally examines the performance of an anionic sodium lauryl sulphate (SLS) surfactant as a DRA in horizontal two-phase flow through experimental studies focusing on three key aspects, (1) changes in flow patterns, (2) drag reduction (DR%), and (3) liquid holdup reduction (HLR%), with the aim of identifying optimal SLS concentrations for achieving stable and efficient multiphase pipeline flow. The results illustrate that adding SLS shifts the slug flow toward more stable stratified wavy and plug flow patterns, as well as a newly emerging bubbly flow pattern. This in turn significantly decreases the pressure gradient (PG), achieving a maximum DR% of 71% and 83% at 100 and 200 ppm, respectively. In addition, as the SLS concentration increases, the liquid draining efficiency increases, achieving maximum holdup reductions of 69% and 85% at 100 and 200 ppm, respectively.
Al-Shajalee et al. (Tue,) studied this question.
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