Chemically induced demulsification of water in crude oil emulsion from East Kalimantan oil fields

Abstract

The application of demulsifiers on dewatering of crude oil emulsions from East Kalimantan oil fields is reported in this work. Two types of experiment were conducted: the bottle test in which emulsion resolution was carried out after demulsification process within the time intervals of 0, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 40, 50, 60, 120 and 180 min at temperature of 40 °C followed by the appearance of separated aqueous layer, and identification of variety of fractions or compounds in crude oils that promote and stabilize these emulsions. Demulsification was successfully obtained by adding PT Pertamina (Persero)’s commercial demulsifier series of Pertadem B-02 and Pertadem B-06. Pertadem B-02 is the best candidate for destabilizing water in oil emulsions. The optimal percentage demulsification efficiency (DE) achieved by Pertadem B-02 was 100% with just concentration of 18 ppm for field A and 97% for field B. Moreover, demulsification activities in the water in oil emulsions by Pertadem B-02 were faster compared to Pertadem B-06. Fractions identifications showed emulsifying agents in crude oil of Field A that promote very unstable emulsions compared to crude oil of Field B from East Kalimantan.