The interfacial material (IM) from four different crude oils with different capabilities to form stable water-in-oil (w/o) emulsion was extracted with the wet silica method and analyzed by different techniques. In the first of a series of papers, we report the use of gel permeation chromatography inductively coupled plasma high-resolution mass spectrometry (GPC ICP HR MS) to analyze the size distributions of sulfur-, vanadium-, and nickel-containing compounds present in the IM. The analysis of replicate samples demonstrated the reproducibility of the wet silica extraction method, and successive extractions of the same crude oil concentrated larger and more insoluble IM aggregates containing S, V, and Ni. The analysis of the IM from different crude oils revealed that there is a similar, selective adsorption of high-molecular-weight compounds containing Ni and V at the w/o interface. Conversely, the sulfur profiles for all of these IMs were unique, and given their widely varying ability to stabilize emulsions, it suggests that these species may play a role in the stability of water-in-crude oil emulsions.

Summary: In this work is discussed an alternative approach to the toughening of epoxy networks by the addition of acrylic block copolymers, composed of rigid and rubbery blocks. Once the reaction is completed, the initial self‐assembly of block copolymers in epoxy thermoset precursors produces rubbery domains: depending on the block copolymer structure and composition, these domains are of the micrometer or the nanometer size. Nanostructures are obtained when the rigid block is a random copolymer of methylmethacrylate and N,N‐dimethylacrylamide. The rubbery domains prevent rapid crack propagation and the highest toughness is obtained with filament‐like microparticles or wormlike micelles.

This work aims at studying the origin of spontaneous emulsification occurring at the oil/water interface. This phenomenon was observed for the five crude oils tested as well as at the interface of an asphaltene toluene mixture and water. The kinetics of appearance of water micro-droplets was slowed down for increasing salt concentrations and the micro-droplet formation ceases when the chemical potential of water they contain is equal to the one of the water in the bulk solution. Nucleation events occur at the oil-water interface and at the solid surface/liquid interface: some water microdroplets are stuck together close to the oil/water interface, others grow in oil and sediment or nucleate at the oil/solid surface. This suggests the following mechanism: water molecules diffuse from the water reservoir into the oil phase, and then create droplets. These droplets are simultaneously fed by hydrosoluble "osmogeneous" species increasing the osmotic pressure, inducing an osmotic pumping of water molecules into micro-droplets WATER OIL

For over a decade, being able to accurately predict the risk of calcium naphthenate deposition has been one of the goals of production chemistry studies for development of new fields. In order to fulfill this challenge, many studies have been performed both within the company and through collaborations in JIPs. These studies have also shown specific behaviours of acidic crude oil / water separation depending on processing conditions. They have also permitted the improved detection and quantification of tetraprotic acids that are one of the main building blocks of these deposits. In this work, we will show how these findings have been incorporated into a workflow used to quantify naphthenate deposition risk. In particular, we will try to illustrate how the "other" naphthenic acids of the crude oil can behave as an efficient natural inhibitor of the deposits, and why, even if tetraprotic acids are detected in quite a large number of oils, only a limited number of fields have faced large scale issues related to calcium naphthenate deposits, due either to "good" process design or good fortune. "Simple" physicochemistry tests turn out to be very powerful tools in order to assess the macroscopic behavior of the naphthenic acids, and their influence on the risk analysis. IntroductionWith the growth of petroleum products consumption, oil companies have to face not only the production of more difficult oils but they also have to develop fields in more and more difficult places (deep off shore, artic, …). There is a great need for flow assurance studies to be as accurate as possible both from a project perspective, in order not to over design for CAPEX concerns, as well as from an operational perspective, to be able to cope with scale issues. These studies should ensure efficient and reliable operation of the installations. When the developments are made on floating units, such as FPSO, the volume and the weight for surface installations have to be limited. As an example, optimizing the footprint of separators while keeping a good efficiency is a much greater need for FPSO than for traditional inland developments. This is also the case with additives as all the logistics involved are more difficult to organize: for example, in the case of acidic oils, limiting the use of acetic acid, to maintain low pH, is desirable both for logisitic and safety issues.