Studying demulsification mechanisms of water-in-crude oil emulsions using a modified thin liquid film technique

Yang, Fan; Tchoukov, Plamen; Qiao, Peiqi; Ma, Xinrui; Pensini, Erica; Dąbroś, Tadeusz; Czarnecki, Jan; Xu, Zhenghe

doi:10.1016/j.colsurfa.2017.12.056

Cited by 42 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 40 publications

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“…To date, many researchers (Yang et al 2018;Adewunmi and Kamal 2019;Biniaz et al 2016) had demonstrated the demulsification mechanisms of water-in-crude-oil emulsion as well as of crude-oil-in-water emulsions (Martínez-Palou et al 2013;Tao et al 2015). The studies of both types of emulsions are in mutual understanding of the emulsion stability formation and future needs to break the emulsion.…”

Section: Demulsification Mechanismsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A critical review of development and demulsification mechanisms of crude oil emulsion in the petroleum industry

Raya

Saaid

Ahmed

et al. 2020

J Petrol Explor Prod Technol

151

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The need for efficient demulsification process to treat emulsions in the petroleum industry is well acknowledged. For decades, numerous researches have been conducted to examine mechanisms of emulsification and demulsification. Untreated emulsion has both technical and commercial implications in the industry, especially in terms of treatment facilities, refining and transportation. Effective treatment is needed to ensure optimum production of hydrocarbons. The present paper is to review reported works on the formation of petroleum emulsions, demulsification treatments, characteristics of fit-for-purpose demulsifiers as well as research trends in emulsion treatment. Crude oils are naturally combined with natural surfactants having high tendency to form stable emulsion. The stable emulsion must be treated well to meet industrial requirements since crudes with a high volume of stable emulsion have a less value. Therefore, fundamental studies on natural surfactants, which contribute to the emulsion stability, are analyzed for the effective separation of emulsions into oil and water. This would involve the assessment of various reported mechanisms for the emulsification and right formulation for effective demulsification.

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Section: Demulsification Mechanismsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A critical review of development and demulsification mechanisms of crude oil emulsion in the petroleum industry

Raya

Saaid

Ahmed

et al. 2020

J Petrol Explor Prod Technol

151

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…However, to date, little research has focused on this aspect of EC behavior. 35 Our previous study revealed that asphaltene films exhibit micron-scale mechanical heterogeneities, suggesting that asphaltenes form a complicated structure at the water-oil interface. 45 Lin et al also report that heterogeneity in the interfacial structure influences the rheology of the interfacial layer.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…[26][27][28][29][30] These demulsifiers are usually amphiphilic, and can weaken or displace asphaltene interfacial films formed at the water-oil interface. 13,[31][32][33][34][35][36] Here, we focus on ethylcellulose (EC), which has been studied as a model demulsifier in simple bottle tests, 37,38 micropipette experiments, 39 microfluidic experiments, 40 contact angle measurements, 41,42 atomic force microscopy (AFM) 36 and molecular dynamics simulation. 43 It has been observed that as EC concentration increases the mutually repulsive asphaletene-coated emulsion drops can be driven to adhere and even coalesce.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of Ethylcellulose on the Rheology and Mechanical Heterogeneity of Asphaltene Films at the Oil–Water Interface

et al. 2019

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Asphaltenes are surface-active molecules that exist naturally in crude oil. They adsorb at the water-oil interface and form viscoelastic interfacial films that stabilize emulsion droplets, making water-oil separation extremely challenging. There is thus a need for chemical demulsifiers to disrupt the interfacial asphaltene films, and thereby facilitate water-oil separation. Here, we examine ethycellulose (EC) as a model demulsifier and measure its impact on the interfacial properties of asphaltene films using interfacial shear microrheology. When EC is mixed with an oil and asphaltene solution, it retards the interfacial stiffening that occurs between the oil phase in contact with a water phase. Moreover, EC introduces relatively weak regions within the film. When EC is introduced to a pre-existing asphaltene film, the stiffness of the films decreases abruptly and significantly. Direct visualization of interfacial dynamics further reveals that EC acts inhomogeneously, and that relatively soft regions in the initial film are seen to expand. This mechanism likely impacts emulsion destabilization, and provides new insight to the process of demulsification.

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“…A good number of conventionally available techniques have been under investigation for the treatment of water produced in the oil fields, including, but not limited to, de-emulsification [6], gravity separation [7], membrane separation [8], floatation [9], adsorptive separation [10], air flotation [11], and bioprocesses [12]. However, the reports regarding the treatment of ASP flooding-produced water are rare in the literature.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

De-Emulsification and Gravity Separation of Micro-Emulsion Produced with Enhanced Oil Recovery Chemicals Flooding

Khan

Ullah

et al. 2021

Energies

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The present study investigates the effect of TiO2 nanoparticles on the stability of Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR)-produced stable emulsion. The chemical precipitation method is used to synthesize TiO2 nanoparticles, and their properties were determined using various analytical characterization techniques such as X-ray Diffraction (XRD), High-Resolution Transmission Electron Microscopy (HRTEM), and Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FESEM). The effect of TiO2 nanoparticles is evaluated by measuring oil/water (o/w) separation, rag layer formation, oil droplet size, and zeta potential of the residual EOR produced emulsion. The laser scattering technique is used to determine the o/w separation. The results showed that spherical-shaped anatase phase TiO2 nanoparticles were produced with an average particle size of 122 nm. The TiO2 nanoparticles had a positive effect on o/w separation and the clarity of the separated water. The separated aqueous phases’ clarity is 75% and 45% with and without TiO2 nanoparticles, respectively. Laser scattering analysis revealed enhanced light transmission in the presence of TiO2 nanoparticles, suggesting higher o/w separation of the ASP-produced emulsion. The overall increase in the o/w separation was recorded to be 19% in the presence of TiO2 nanoparticles, indicating a decrease in the stability of ASP-produced emulsion. This decrease in the stability can be attributed to the improved coalescence’ action between the adjacent oil droplets and improved behavior of o/w interfacial film. An observable difference was found between the oil droplet size before and after the addition of TiO2 nanoparticles, where the oil droplet size increased from 3 µm to 35 µm. A similar trend of zeta potential is also noticed in the presence of TiO2 nanoparticles. Zeta potential was −13 mV to −7 mV, which is in the unstable emulsion range. Overall, the o/w separation is enhanced by introducing TiO2 nanoparticles into ASP-produced stable emulsion.

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Studying demulsification mechanisms of water-in-crude oil emulsions using a modified thin liquid film technique

Cited by 42 publications

References 40 publications

A critical review of development and demulsification mechanisms of crude oil emulsion in the petroleum industry

A critical review of development and demulsification mechanisms of crude oil emulsion in the petroleum industry

Effect of Ethylcellulose on the Rheology and Mechanical Heterogeneity of Asphaltene Films at the Oil–Water Interface

De-Emulsification and Gravity Separation of Micro-Emulsion Produced with Enhanced Oil Recovery Chemicals Flooding

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