Effect of Demulsifier on Water Destabilization in Oil/water Emulsions

Crude oil emulsions commonly exist in the form of water-in oil emulsion. There are natural surface-active fractions such as asphaltenes, resin, naphthenic acid, and porphyrin materialswhich can be adsorbed onto the interface and form a firm film at the oil–water interface resulting in high stability of crude oil emulsions [1]. The demulsification of produced crude oil emulsions is a significant problem in the oil field industry. There are various methods for crude oildemulsification such as electrosedimentation, supersonic demulsification, centrifugation and chemical demulsification [2]. Among the mentioned methods, the Chemical demulsification process has been widely used in oil industry regarding its appropriate lipophilic hydrophilic balance and ability to break the water/oil interface. The efficiency of demulsifier is strictly dependent upon the structure especially head groups and chain length properties. Additionally,the medium parameters mainly affect the demulsification process such as temperature, pH, viscosity, and also the salinity [2]. The process is evaluated using some conventional techniques such as interfacial tensiometry, tensiometry, Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS), and bottle test.The case study of this work is the oil of Omidyie and Ydavaran regions, south in Iran. Enhanced oil recovery (EOR) is often pursued through using promising demulsifiers in industrial projects. Ionic Liquids (IL’s) and some polymers are the promising candidates to improve thedemulsification of water in oil recovery. The findings indicate that IL’s significantly improve the oil recovery.

کلیدواژه ها:

demulsifier ، Ionic liquid ، interfacial tension ، Dynamic Light Scattering ، Enhanced oil recovery