Novel Star Polymeric Nonionic Surfactants as Crude Oil Emulsion Breakers

Abstract

AbstractThe principle focus of this work is to address the issues associated with the existence of water in crude oil, especially corrosion, scaling, viscosity, and catalyst suppression problems. This work aims to prepare star polymer nonionic surfactants based on (2Z,2′Z,2″Z)‐4,4′,4″‐((nitrilotris(ethane‐2,1‐diyl))tris(oxy))tris(4‐oxobut‐2‐enoic acid) to be used as demulsifiers. To achieve this aim, maleic anhydride was reacted with triethanolamine followed by esterification with the polyethylene oxide polypropylene oxide copolymer (PPO‐PEO 5000) and silicone polyether (ABIL B 8843). The chemical structure of the prepared compounds was assessed using gel permeation chromatography (GPC), Fourier transform infrared (FT‐IR), and 1H NMR. Demulsifier performance was determined by quantifying surface tension (ST), dynamic interfacial tension and interfacial rheology, partition coefficient (PC), and relative solubility number (RSN). The efficacy of the prepared emulsion breakers on asphaltenic crude oil emulsion was examined using the bottle test. The research results demonstrated that the prepared breaker based on the silicone polymer was more efficient in breaking the asphaltenic crude oil emulsion than a block copolymer and EO/PO‐based copolymers at 1500 ppm and after 120 min.