Demulsification of Water-Containing Crude Oil Driven by Environmentally Friendly SiO₂@CS Composite Materials

Abstract

Relatively low cost, environmental friendly, and high-efficiency silicon dioxide/carbon sphere composite demulsifiers (SiO 2 @CS) were prepared via an in situ hydrothermal−calcination route. They were characterized by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, field-emission scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction. The demulsifiers with different ratios of SiO 2 and CS were systematically investigated. The effect of the temperature, standing time, and dosage of SiO 2 @CS on the demulsification performance was determined by the bottle test. The efficiency reached the highest value of 89.52% when the dosage, temperature, and standing time were 300 mg/L, 70 °C, and 150 min, respectively. Also, the pH value and salinity were inspected. It was encouraging to find that the demulsifier had good acid, alkali, and salt tolerance. Investigations of the wettability, dynamic interfacial tension, and self-assembly of the interfacial film and microexaminations were carried out to probe the possible mechanism. SiO 2 @CS exhibited good adsorption, flocculation, and coalescence abilities in the demulsification process. The current work is beneficial for the further understanding of the demulsification process and also provides a promising demulsifier to deal with the water-in-crude oil emulsion.

Hyperbranched Poly(amido amine) Demulsifiers Using Diaminonaphthalene as the Central Core and Their Demulsification Performance in Oil-in-Water and Water-in-Oil Emulsions

“…It is reported that the lower dynamic IFT was more beneficial to the DE improvement. 13,33 The result is consistent with DE of the polymers. It is concluded that the hyperbranched polymer molecules can effectively penetrate into the interface film to decrease the IFT and enhance the aggregation of water droplets.…”

“…Therefore, it is extremely urgent to develop new efficient methods to separate the oil–water emulsion. − Demulsification is a significant means to solve the separation problem of an oil–water emulsion in the petroleum and petrochemical industry. At present, the demulsification methods include mechanical demulsification, , electric demulsification, , chemical demulsification, and biological demulsification. − …”

Synthesis and Research of Highly Efficient Polyether Demulsifier

“…Therefore, demulsification and removal of water from crude oil are of great significance. At present, demulsification methods include centrifugation, microwave and heat treatment, membrane separation, flocculation, chemical demulsification, biological technology, and so on [8–14] . At present, chemical demulsification is the most commonly used demulsification method [15–17] .…”

“…At present, demulsification methods include centrifugation, microwave and heat treatment, membrane separation, flocculation, chemical demulsification, biological technology, and so on. [8][9][10][11][12][13][14] At present, chemical demulsification is the most commonly used demulsification method. [15][16][17] The chemical demulsifier is a kind of surfactant.…”

Preparation of Carbon‐Based Nanodemulsifiers Derived from ZIF‐8 and their Demulsification Performance for Water‐in‐Oil Emulsions

“…Moreover, the recyclability test indicated that CNTs/ Fe 3 O 4 could be reused four times without significant reduction in light transmittance. Yuan et al [26] prepared an efficient SiO 2 @CS composite demulsifier by in situ hydrothermal calcination using glucose, tetraethyl protosilicate and water as raw materials. The demulsification experiment showed that when the dosage was 300 mg/L and the temperature was 70 °C, the demulsification efficiency of SiO 2 @CS-50 on the emulsion reached 89.52 % within 150 min.…”