Studying the Factors Affecting De-Emulsification of Crude Oil

Abstract

The paper deals with highly stable emulsions. It is concentrated on de-emulsification of crude oil. In the petroleum industry, de-emulsification is an important and urgent task that is typically required for the treatment of crude oil. This work, suggests method using coupling device integrated centrifuge with chemical to strengthen the de-emulsification efficiency. A number of de-emulsification runs were conducted to determine how centrifuge and chemical components affected the effectiveness of de-emulsifying crude oil and the separation of water, Different types of de-emulsifiers the (ethylene glycol, choline chloride and ethyl cellulose), were used with different concentration of de-emulsifiers, de-emulsification time in centrifuge and centrifugal speed. Also studied at the same time. Studies on the de-emulsification of crude oil were conducted at room temperature. As the concentration of de-emulsifiers was increased, crude oil's de-emulsification efficiency rose , centrifuge time and centrifugal speed ,with de-emulsifier type effect on de- emulsification ,which reached maximum (85.9%,84.4% and 74.07%) at rate 4% of ethylene glycol, choline chloride and ethyl cellulose respectively ,at 60 min and 4000 rpm . This method provides higher water separation from crude oil emulsion and quicker method.