Effect of the Structure of Commercial Poly(ethylene Oxide-b-propylene Oxide) Demulsifier Bases on the Demulsification of Water-in-crude Oil Emulsions: Elucidation of the Demulsification Mechanism
نویسندگان
چکیده
Water-in-crude oil emulsions are formed during petroleum production and asphaltenes play an important role in their stabilization. Demulsifiers are added to destabilize such emulsions,however the demulsification mechanism is not completely known. In this paper, the performances of commercial poly(ethylene oxide-b-propylene oxide) demulsifiers were studied using synthetic water-in-oil emulsions and model-systems (asphaltenes in organic solvent). No change in the asphaltene aggregate size induced by the demulsifier was observed. The demulsification performance decreased as the asphaltene aggregate size increased, so it can be suggested that the demulsification mechanism is correlated to the voids between the aggregates adsorbed on the water droplets surface.
منابع مشابه
Population Balance Equation Modeling of Crude Oil Demulsification Considering Demulsifier: Modification of Collision Frequency Function Based on Thermodynamic Model
A theoretical model is developed to consider the effect of demulsifier agent on demulsification of water-in-crude oil emulsion. A thermodynamic approach is considered to correlate the critical micelle concentration of a demulsifier to the collision frequency function in population balance equation (PBE). Based on the proposed correlation, the collision frequency function is modified to account ...
متن کاملOptimization of Demulsifier Formulation for Separation of Water from Crude Oil Emulsions
In this study, various water-soluble and oil-soluble demulsifiers were selected for separation of water from crude oil emulsions and their productivity measured using the Bottle-test method at 70 °C and 10 ppm concentration. The best ones among 23 demulsifiers examined through the screening process were fatty alcohol ethoxylate, triethanol amine and urea from the water-soluble group and Basoror...
متن کاملFeasibility of low frequency ultrasound for water removal from crude oil emulsions.
The feasibility of indirect application of low frequency ultrasound for demulsification of crude oil was investigated without using chemical demulsifiers. Experiments were performed in an ultrasonic bath with frequency of 35 kHz. Synthetic emulsions with water content of 12%, 35% and 50% and median of droplet size distribution (DSD), median D(0.5), of 5, 10 and 25 μm were prepared from crude oi...
متن کاملBreaking of Oil -Water Emulsion for the Improvement of Oil Recovery Operations in the Niger Delta Oilfields
Emulsified water is generally present in crude oil as a result of mixing occurring during production operations. The formation of emulsion leads to problems in production and also transportation. Therefore the need to break oil/water emulsions system through demulsification process using chemical surfactants for improved oil recovery operations. Selected cationic surfactants were effective in s...
متن کاملExperimental Investigation of Polyvinylpyrrolidone for Application as a Demulsifier for Water-in-Oil Emulsion
Emulsification of produced immiscible mixed liquid of oil and water is a problem frequently recognized in surface production facilities in oil fields. The formed emulsions are required to be demulsified to avoid the negative consequences on piping and processing equipment. Nowadays, chemical demulsification is a preferable method to avoid or retard emulsification during the process of oil treat...
متن کامل