Chemical demulsification of water-in-crude oil emulsions

Abstract

Demulsification (emulsion breaking) is necessary in many practical applications such as the petroleum industry, painting and waste-water treatment in environmental technology, Chemical demulsification is the most widely applied method of treating water-in-crude oil emulsions and involves the use of chemical additives to accelerate the emulsion breaking process. The effect of chemical demulsification operations on the stability and properties of water-in-crude oil emulsions was assessed experimentally. In this regard, Amine Demulsifier, Polyhydric Alcohol, Acid and Polymeric demulsifiers were used. Using samples of w/o, the data presented for several commercial-type demulsifiers show a strong connection (correlation) between good performance (fast coalescence) and the demulsifiers. The relative rates of water separation were characterized via beaker tests. The amine group demulsifiers promoted best coalescence of droplets. In contrast, polymeric demulsifier group is the least in water separation. © 2007 Asian Network for Scientific Information.