Research status and analysis of stabilization mechanisms and demulsification methods of heavy oil emulsions

Abstract

Oil plays an indispensable role in the ever-increasing global energy economy. Over the past 20 years, oil demand has steadily increased from 60 to 84 million barrels per day. 1 With the explosive expansion of consumption and industry in emerging countries like China and India in the early years of the 21st century, the global average annual growth rate of demand for crude oil has grown to 3.4%. 2 The reduction in conventional oil and gas resources has led to the promotion, development, and utilization of unconventional resources, particularly heavy oil and oil sands. Heavy oil accounts for half of the world's crude oil reserves, and Canada has the world's largest heavy oil and bituminous production, with approximately 1 trillion and 700 billion barrels of heavy oil and asphalt, respectively. 3,4 Crude oil from reservoirs usually consists of a series of hydrocarbons, such as olefins, naphthenic hydrocarbons, aromatic compounds, phenols, carboxylic acids, and some impurities (such as water, sediments, and a small amount of

Emulsions in Bitumen Froth Treatment and Methods for Demulsification and Fines Removal in Naphthenic Froth Treatment: Review and Perspectives

“…101,103 Literature reports on the achievement of better separation efficiency in some cases when more than one demulsifier is used in the emulsion treatment. 96,104 summarizes the performance and mechanisms of action of different demulsifiers used in the treatment of oil sands and w/ o emulsions.…”

“…Commercial demulsifiers used in the oil sands industry are often formulated with polymeric chains of ethylene and propylene oxides of alcohol, amino compounds, alkyl phenols, and resinous compounds with hydroxyl acceptor groups. , Propylene oxide (PO)–polymeric ethylene oxide (EO) block polymers, poly­(alkylene glycols), cardanol-based polymers, and alkylphenol resin alkoxylates are commercial emulsion breakers extensively used in the chemical treatment of the NFT process. , Literature reports on the achievement of better separation efficiency in some cases when more than one demulsifier is used in the emulsion treatment. , Table summarizes the performance and mechanisms of action of different demulsifiers used in the treatment of oil sands and w/o emulsions.…”

Influence of aggregate chemical composition on the demulsification rate of emulsified asphalt

“…However, the low demulsification speed of emulsified asphalt, particularly early in the process, restricts the use of emulsified asphalt mixtures (Baoju et al, 2022). The demulsification process of emulsified asphalt is determined by a range of factors, such as aggregate properties (Xu et al, 2017;Wang et al, 2021), the types and dosage of emulsified asphalt (Jin et al, 2013;Li and Wang 2014;Xiao et al, 2019;Li et al, 2021), temperature (Baoju et al, 2022), additives (Jiang et al, 2021), pH (Fajun et al, 2020), oil-water interface tension (Tao et al, 2015), and various combinations of materials and construction characteristics (Baoju et al, 2022). The aggregate typically accounts for more than 90% of the weight of the asphalt mixture (Pan et al, 2017).…”

Nucleation and Growth of Gas Hydrates in Emulsions of Water in Asphaltene-Containing Oils

“…Asphaltenes are a typical component of crude oils and are known as natural surfactants. 41 The asphaltenes present in crude oil can be adsorbed on the water droplet surface and alter the interfacial property, resulting in the change in hydrate nucleation and growth in the subsea multiphase pipelines. To date, the effects of asphaltenes on hydrate formation in water-in-oil emulsions are not clear.…”

“…However, Stoporev et al reported that asphaltenes promoted hydrate nucleation in water-in-oil emulsions for C 1 –C 3 mixed hydrate and methane hydrate. Asphaltenes are a typical component of crude oils and are known as natural surfactants . The asphaltenes present in crude oil can be adsorbed on the water droplet surface and alter the interfacial property, resulting in the change in hydrate nucleation and growth in the subsea multiphase pipelines.…”