Bottle Test Method Research Articles

Research and Application of a New Demulsifier for the Processing of Produced Liquid in Chanqing Gasfield

In view of the serious emulsification existing in Changqing condensate gas emulsion, the unclear oil-water interface and the poor application effect of demulsifier used in the field, it is urgent to study an efficient demulsifier. In this paper, PM and XP-1221 two kinds of demulsifiers are used to solve the emulsification problem. The PM demulsifier was compounded with XP-1221 chemical demulsifier to solve the emulsification problem of Changqing condensate. The effect of temperature and demulsifier concentration on demulsification performance was studied by bottle test method. The results showed that XP-1221 and PM could be effectively combined. The demulsification efficiency was high and the dehydrated water was clear. Studies have shown that XP-1221 has a good synergistic effect with PM. The suitable ratio of the composite demulsifier is 1:1, and the demulsifier effect of the demulsifier can meet the requirements of the oil field demulsifier. The composite demulsifier can meet the requirements of current oilfield demulsifiers.

MPEG grafted alkylated carboxymethyl chitosan as a high-efficiency demulsifier for O/W crude oil emulsions

Three kinds of novel environmentally benign and high-efficiency crude oil demulsifiers were prepared using methoxy polyethylene glycol (MPEG) to modify alkylated carboxymethyl chitosan (ACMC). Structures of the demulsifiers were confirmed using FT-IR and 1H NMR, and the relationship between surface tension and concentration was tested. Demulsification performance was investigated using the bottle test method with oil-in-water (O/W) emulsions that were prepared in lab conditions. The demulsification efficiency was as high as 79.1 %–84.9 %, and the possible mechanism of the demulsification process is discussed. Results show that MPEG-grafted ACMC (MPEG-ACMC) has a promising application as a demulsifier for dealing with emulsified O/W crude oil.

Evaluation of a naturally derived waste brown oil extract for demulsification of crude oil emulsion

Conventional methods of eliminating water from crude oil such as the chemical injection have both economic and environmental impacts; thus, this study proposed an economic and environmentally friendly demulsifier. The bottle test method was used to study the performance of the natural extract and commercial demulsifier on a crude oil sample. The GC-MS profile of the extract was in agreement with previous reports on composition of oil extracted from rice bran using hexane, ultrasound assisted extraction and conventional solvent extraction with ethanol. Varying degrees of saturated and unsaturated fatty acids as well as retention times as observed, was a function of total time of scanning, according to NIST08 library of mass spectra. The performance of the demulsifier was expressed in terms of percentage of water separated from 100 ml samples of the oil samples. For both the demulsifiers, the performance increased with increase in volume of the demulsifier, separation time and operating temperature. The extracted demulsifier performed better than the chemical demulsifier under all the experimental conditions adopted in this study. Based on the parametric evaluation, it was observed the results from software corroborated the results obtained from experiments in terms of the observations of the combined effect of temperature and volume which showed the most significant influence on demulsification of the emulsified crude. The highest efficiency of the bio-demulsifier was obtained with a volume of 5 mL of the extract, at a temperature of 70°C and separation time of 60 min. A water separation efficiency of 85.6% was obtained as compared to the chemical demulsifier, which gave an efficiency of 80.2%.

Comparative Study of Cashew Nut Shell Liquid and a Commercial Demulsifier for Treating Crude Oil Emulsions

Cashew Nut Shell Liquid (CNSL), a natural phenolic liquid extracted from locally sourced raw materials, and Phasetreat-4633 (a commercial demulsifier) were diluted with xylene and butanol and used as demulsifiers in the treatment of crude oil emulsions. Laboratory simulated crude oil emulsions dosed with different concentrations of CNSL and PT-4633 were the basis for comparison of demulsifier performance via the bottle test method.
 Different factors affecting demulsification efficiency such as; water content, demulsifier concentration, and solvent type were investigated at 10%, 30%, and 50% water content. The data obtained showed that the rate of water separation increases with increasing concentration and water content of the demulsifiers and emulsion respectively. Among the demulsifier-solvent combination employed in this study, Phasetreat-4633 in butanol recorded the most efficient water separation with optimal (100%) separation recorded after 5 minutes at 40 ppm and 50 ppm concentration, 50% water content and 60℃.
 From the obtained results, the investigated demulsifiers have great potential with butanol as a solvent in the resolution of crude oil emulsions in shorter times. This behavior can be attributed to the synergetic effect of butanol as a solvent. Hence, butanol can be regarded as a better solvent substitute to xylene, due to its attributive synergetic effect, low cost and toxicity levels, unlike xylene which is more toxic and expensive.

Treatment of crude oil emulsion using coconut oil and its derivative as green demulsifiers

Crude oil emulsion is an uncontrollable process that mostly happened at the oil rig during drilling or recovery of oil. Emulsion creates problems at the oil refinery and can cause corrosion in the processing equipment and pipeline. Demulsification is a method used to separate water in the crude oil emulsion where the demulsifier can break interfacial surface of the water droplets to coalesce with each other. Chemical demulsifier is conventionally used by industries as it promises good and fast separation in water-in-oil emulsion. However, chemical demulsifiers may increase water toxicity and become harmful to the aquatic lives if discharged to the water resources. Therefore, the use of green demulsifier is important for industries to reduce the impact to environment. The ability of coconut oil and its derivative, coco betaine as green demulsifiers was investigated in the present study. Effects of different parameters such as temperature (25–70 °C), demulsifier dosage (1–4 ml) and ratio of additive-to-demulsifier (0:1, 1:2, 1:1, 2:1, 1:0) have been studied to examine their impacts on the performance of demulsifiers. Bottle test method was used to analyse the separation of water in crude oil. Results revealed that coco betaine has better performance as a green demulsifier (≈35% of water separation) compared to the coconut oil (<5% of water separation) in treating the crude oil emulsion.

EFFECTS OF ADDING LOCAL MATERIALS ON DEMULSIFIER PERFORMANCE FOR OIL-WATER EMULSIONS

Emulsions are a mixture of two kinds of immiscible fluids. Emulsions often occur during the production process. The emulsion should be broken down into oil and water phases so as not to disrupt oil processing. Emulsion stability is influenced by temperature, salinity, ph, and concentration of aspalten content. In general, this emulsion problem is often overcome by using demulsifier, while in this study using the addition of local materials on the demulsifier. The purpose of this study is to analyze the effect of the addition of local materials on the performance of demulsifier by looking at the factors that affect. This research was conducted in the laboratory using a bottle test method by using light oil available in the laboratory and some local materials such as Citrus Limon, and Citrus Hystrix which used as formulation. This study was conducted on several different temperatures, ph, and salinity conditions. Based on the results of the study, the addition of local ingredients to the demulsifier performance is effective in separating oil-water emulsions. In the research, the most effective formulation in the separation is DL (5 ml) formulation at 70˚C with 1000 ppm salinity.

Experimental research on amphiphilic polymer/organic chromium gel for high salinity reservoirs

Polymer gel has been widely used as a plugging agent for blocking the thief zones and improving the oil production. However, the performance of conventional polymer gel is unsatisfactory in high salinity conditions because of its rapid syneresis. In this work, an amphiphilic polymer gel was formulated by crosslinking salt resistant amphiphilic polymer with organic chromium, which had very low syneresis under high salinity (NaCl 80,000 mg/L) and temperature (85 °C) conditions. Together with low syneresis gelling mechanism proposal, the static and dynamic properties of the formulated gel were evaluated in terms of bulk gel stability, gelation time, and gel strength, on the effect of polymer and crosslinker concentration, salinity, temperature, storage and loss modulus and plugging rate. Bottle test method and breakthrough vacuum method were used to determine the gelation time and gel strength and sand pack tube experiment was done to analyze the plugging behavior. The result showed that the formulated gel with 3000 mg/L polymer and 0.3 wt% crosslinker ensures a good gelling code F and gel strength of 0.037 MPa with a gelling time of 4 h with 93% bulk gel stability up to 60 days and has better plugging rate. Therefore, it can be concluded that amphiphilic polymer gel with low polymer concentration can be more effective for high salinity reservoirs.

Palm oil fuel ash (POFA) as a demulsifier for crude oil emulsions: Performance and mechanism

The petroleum industry is greatly in need of smart and cheap demulsifiers to break heavy crude oil emulsions. This study investigates the performance of palm oil fuel ash (POFA) as a demulsifier of crude oil emulsions produced during hydrocarbon exploration. Highly stable water-in-oil (W/O) emulsions having water:oil ratio of 7:3 were prepared under room temperature (25 °C) at a mixing speed of 1500 rpm. Demulsification performance of various concentrations of POFA (1 wt% to 9 wt%) was performed using the bottle test method at 60 °C and 80 °C. Experimental results show that POFA can effectively break the emulsion and separates water/oil into phases. The emulsion containing 3 wt% POFA exhibited the highest water/oil separation with demulsification efficiencies (DEs) of 99.28% and 99.71% at 60 °C and 80 °C, respectively. Additionally, a comparison between POFA and a commercial demulsifier (poloxamer - 407) showed that POFA can compete favorably with demulsifiers regularly applied in oil fields. Optical electron microscope analysis revealed the morphology of water and oil phases after emulsion separation. Results from the rheological measurements established the capacity of POFA to be able to destabilize the natural emulsifiers existing at the water/oil interface. Interfacial tension results show that POFA particles have a strong tendency to diminish the water/oil interfacial films. An investigation of the demulsification mechanism reveals that silica in POFA plays a critical role in the breaking of stable crude oil emulsions. Certainly, POFA will be a promising demulsification material for separating or removing water from all forms of emulsions produced in the oil fields.

Size exclusion chromatography reveals a key parameter of demulsifiers for enhanced water separation from crude oil emulsions

Demulsifier is used in gas oil separation plants for the separation of water from crude oil emulsion. One of the important parameters for the enhancement of performance is the optimization of demulsifier formulation with respect to oil composition and produced water chemistry. The consistency in the quality of the formulation is essential to obtain the best separation of water throughout the production period of crude oil. The industry accepted method to optimize formulations is the bottle test method. However, this method remains laborious, time-consuming, imprecise, and requires access to fresh crude oil, which is not convenient from a practical viewpoint. Instead, routine physical and chemical properties are monitored to ensure the consistency of the demulsifier quality. It was, however, observed that there was a significant influence on the performance of a demulsifier from different batches with very close physical and chemical properties. Therefore, we developed a method using size exclusion chromatography to determine the molecular weight distribution of demulsifier base material, in this case, alkoxylated alkylphenol-formaldehyde resin. It was found that all the samples contained two well-separated species with one low molecular weight of about 2700 g/mol and other one with high molecular weight of about 15000 g/mol. The variation in the content of low and high molecular weight species was identified to be a key parameter significantly influencing the separation performance. It is apparent from this study that size exclusion chromatography could provide some additional insights on demulsifier intermediate chain length dispersity which could be correlated to actual separation performance.

Optimization of chemical demulsifications of water in crude oil emulsions

The instability of the water in crude oil emulsion and separation of the dispersed water as free water are influenced by the emulsion properties and the operating parameters during the demulsification process. This study aims to relate these properties/operating parameters to the amount of separated water. Steps were taken to determine and validate the optimal separations that can be achieved. Six operating parameters were identified through sensitivity analyses to have an energetic effect on percentage water separation. The bottle test method was used on two different samples of water in oil synthetic emulsions (sample A and B from different Nigerian oil fields). Response surface methodology central composite design (RSMCCD) was used to design the experiment, and generate the desired regression equations/models. Results show that optimum percentage water separations of 93 and 95% (V/V) were achieved with the emulsions A and B respectively using the combination of the optimal variables derived from the model equations. These were improvements from percentage water separations of 80 and 83% (V/V) achieved using the two crude oil samples in their naturally occurring state when the properties of the emulsions were not enhanced to their determined optimal operating conditions.

Effect of pH and salinity on stability and dynamic properties of magnetic composite amphiphilic demulsifier molecules at the oil-water interface

Wastewater contaminated with oils, fats, lubricants, and petroleum products is a growing environmental concern due to potential toxicity to aquatic organisms and the environment. Magnetic composites with unique structures and interfacial properties represent ideal candidates for water treatment. In this research, we designed and synthesized iron oxide@poly(methylmethacrylate-acrylic acid-divinylbenzene) P(MMA-AA-DVB)/Fe3O4, magnetic composite microspheres with raspberry and Janus like surface morphologies. The performance of synthesized magnetic composite microspheres as demulsifier was determined at different pH and salt contents of the emulsion. The stability of emulsion and demulsification procedure were studied using bottle test method followed by optical microscopy to investigate the emulsified water droplet size in the oil phase. Results showed that magnetic composite microspheres are very effective in the neutral and basic medium and the acidic environment stabilize the emulsions. These microspheres also presented high demulsification efficiency even at high salt content in the emulsion. Furthermore, magnetic composite microspheres showed excellent environment-friendly nature with amphiphilic properties and do not contaminate the separated water as the separating chemicals (demulsifiers) contamination with separated water is a serious environmental issue.

The utilization of citrus hystrix and citrus limon as an organic demulsifier formulation

During the production process, emulsion problems often occur. The emulsion is water dispersed in the oil phase. Emulsions are a problem that needs to be surmounted by a demulsification mechanism to separate the water phase from the oil. It is transformed into a chemical compound that is expected can be emulsion blocking or usually known as demulsifier. Environmental issues need to be assessed as result of commercial demulsifier usage generally formulated from chemical active compounds that difficult to decipher the environment. Organic demulsifier is one of the best solutions to prevent environmental pollution without diminishing its main functions of emulsion breaker. Bottle test method is an empirical test in which a number of potential demulsifier formulas with various variations are added to a series of tubes or bottles. Organic demulsifier can be divided into 4 formulas that consisting of organic such as Citrus Hystrix, Citrus Limon, and Liquid Soap as supporting materials. Furthermore, there is a comparative formulas derived from the commercial demulsifier and base case condition of the oil emulsion without any addition. Based on temperature test, concentration test, and the effectiveness of each formula that obtained optimal condition appropriate higher demulsification efficiency. Based on the research, optimal condition of organic demulsifier is formula 2 (5 mL, 70°C) derived from the mixture of Citrus Limon and liquid soap, with demulsification efficiency amount 23 mL (92%). The result obtained from the organic and local material can increase emulsion breakdown process effectiveness compared by commercial demulsifier and base case condition.

Influence of the Aggregation State of Asphaltenes on Structural Properties of the Model Oil/Brine Interface

With the continuous exploitation of heavy oil resources, the stability of heavy oil emulsions and further its demulsification technology are receiving more and more attention. One of the most important elements that affect the stability of heavy oil emulsion is asphaltenes. Under this background, the effect of the aggregation state of asphaltenes on the structure-related properties of the model oil/brine water interface is investigated in this study, and further the relation between the structural properties of the interface and the macroscopic stability of the emulsion is studied. It is observed through the dynamic light scattering experiment that there is an abrupt increase in the particle size of the asphaltene aggregates at the concentration of 100 ppm, indicating the enhancement of the aggregation degree above this concentration. The higher level of aggregation changes the adsorption kinetics of the asphaltenes at the interface, causing a slower descending rate of the diffusion coefficient. Meanwhile, although the interfacial viscoelastic experiment demonstrates that the interfacial dilational modulus is increased with the addition of asphaltenes, the rising trend becomes gentle and the loss angle hardly changes at the concentrations above 100 ppm, indicating that the cross-linked structure in the interfacial film changes slightly with the addition of asphaltenes. In addition, it is found through the interface contraction experiment that no crumpling appears at the interfacial film at concentrations below 100 ppm. At the concentrations above 100 ppm, the crumpling of the interfacial film is observed. However, the contraction and expansion processes are reversible. Finally, it is proven with a bottle test method that there is a positive correlation between the macroscopic stability of the emulsion and the interfacial dilational modulus.

English

Crude oil emulsions constitute a major challenge in oil field operations. To resolve this challenge, many researchers have studied crude oil emulsion demulsification patterns in the presence of various demulsifiers. Research is ongoing for discovery of locally sourced biodegradable and inexpensive demulsifiers. The aim of this research is to demusify heavy crude oil emulsion, using locally sourced biodegradable citrus concentrates. The effects of juice concentrates have therefore been studied from three citrus fruit varieties lime, grape and orange on emulsion produced from Basra heavy crude oil. Oil-in-water emulsions were produced from a mixture of heavy crude oil and deionized water in a ratio of 1:100. The mixture was mixed at 13,000 rpm for 5 min. The emulsion formed was mixed with various volumes of juice concentrate (0.05 to 2.0 mL) at 13,000 rpm for 1 min. Demulsification patterns were monitored for a period of 60 min at 5 min interval using the bottle test method. Results show that lime concentrate used at the experimental volumes proved to be an effective demulsifier. Grape concentrate stabilized the emulsion at lower concentrate volumes, but higher volumes resulted in the production of two different emulsions with the less dense emulsion having chocolate colour, showing a typical case of emulsion inversion to water-in-oil (W/O). The orange concentrate caused water in oil emulsion whose stability increased with increasing concentrate volume to be formed. In conclusion, the lime concentrate could be used in breaking crude oil emulsions while the grape and the orange concentrates may be used as emulsifiers in oil spill clean-up or in food and cosmetic Industries. Key words: Demulsifier, emulsion, emulsifier, grape, lime, orange.

Identifikasi Potensi Jeruk Purut Sebagai Demulsifier Untuk Memisahkan Air Dari Emulsi Minyak di Lapangan Minyak Riau

Emulsion stability is an indicator that needs to be controlled to prevent the degradation of petroleum quality. Emulsion breakdown is one of the mechanisms to separate the water phase from oil. It is transformed into a chemical compound that is expected to function as emulsion blocking or commonly known as a demulsifier. An organic demulsifier is one of the right ideas in preventing environmental pollution without diminishing its main function as an emulsion breaker. The bottle test method is one of the most commonly used methods in demulsification tests. Testing using this method is done by inserting the prepared emulsion into the bottle, then it will be placed into a waterbath under certain temperature conditions for several hours. This test will be done by looking at the demulsification that occurs every 30 minutes. From the testing of temperature, concentration, and effectiveness of the formulated formula, an optimal condition is obtained based on the highest demulsification efficiency. Based on the research, optimal condition of organic demulsifier formula is (3ml, 80˚C) with 7 ml demulsification efficiency. The results obtained from organic material formulations have not been able to increase the effectiveness of emulsion-breaking processes compared to commercial demulsifiers and basecase conditions (20 ml).

Surfactant Stabilized Oil-in-Water Nanoemulsion: Stability, Interfacial Tension, and Rheology Study for Enhanced Oil Recovery Application

Nanoemulsions are kinetically stable biphasic dispersion of two immiscible liquids typically stabilized by an emulsifier with droplet sizes in the range of 10–200 nm. Present work deals with the formulation and characterization of stable oil-in-water nanoemulsions using nonionic surfactant (Tween 40) and light mineral oil for their application in enhanced oil recovery. The stability study of the nanoemulsions formed by high energy and low energy method was accomplished by bottle testing method. The emulsions were characterized in terms of droplet size, morphology and inner structure, surface charge, interfacial tension, and rheology. Droplet sizes of 18–31 nm obtained by dynamic light scattering analysis and surface charge values above −35 mV obtained by ζ potential measurement prove the higher kinetic stability of the formed emulsions. Cryo-TEM micrographs reveal the surface morphology and inner structure of nanoemulsions. A miscibility test was performed to determine the dissolving ability of the nanoem...

Retraction of “Stability Analysis of Xanthan–Cr(III)–Clay Nanocomposite Gel: An Experimental Investigation”

Injection of gel polymers is a possible method to prevent unwanted water production in hydrocarbon reservoirs. Gel polymers have different types but the stable form of them is more pleasant. In this experimental study, a nanocomposite gel polymer was prepared by xanthan (as polymer), chromium acetate (III) (as cross-linker), montmorillonite nano-clay (as additive), and formation water (as solvent). Effects of some parameters such as polymer and cross-linker concentrations, percentage of montmorillonite nano-clay, and formation water were investigated on nanocomposite gel structure. The results illustrate that nanocomposite gel will gain higher stability by increasing polymer and cross-linker concentrations and also by increasing nano-clay percentage. For more investigation of stability, syneresis test, and rate of evaporation test were applied by the bottle testing method. According to the results, for all samples, the optimum percent of montmorillonite is 5%. In order to examine the effect of produced na...

瓶试法探究聚醚型破乳剂对SZ36-1原油乳状液脱水率的影响

针对绥中36-1油田破乳困难的问题，我们对6种类型、15种非离子型聚醚破乳剂，包括(壬基酚)酚醛树脂聚醚、双酚(A)酚醛胺树脂聚醚、(苯酚)酚醛胺树脂聚醚、丙二醇聚醚、十八醇聚醚和多胺聚醚进行筛选破乳试验。采用瓶试法，在破乳温度为70℃，破乳剂浓度为150 mg/L条件下，利用自制的原油模拟乳状液对缔合聚合物驱采出液的破乳效果与聚醚型破乳剂的结构关系进行了探索。实验结果表明，合成聚醚型破乳剂的起始剂类型、破乳剂中PO/EO的比值以及破乳剂的结构类型对模拟乳状液的脱水率均有影响。 In order to solve the problem of demulsification in SZ36-1 oilfield, we started a series of demulsification tests with 15 different non-ionic demulsifiers including (nonylphenol) phenolic resin polyether, bisphenol (A) phenolic amine resin polyether, (phenol) phenolic amine resin polyether, propylene glycol polyether, octadecyl alcohol polyether and polyamine polyether. The experimental conditions were 70˚C for demulsification temperature and 150 mg/L for demulsifier concentration by using the bottle testing method. Then the results showed that the dewatering rate of the simulated emulsion was affected not only by the ratios of PO/EO, but also by the type of initial agents.

Application of the response surface methodology for modeling demulsification of crude oil emulsion using a demulsifier

ABSTRACTThe main objective of this research is to determine the capability of four surface-active compounds namely poly(ethylene glycol) distearate, N,N-dimethyldodecylamine N–oxide solution, polyoxyethylene (10) tridecyl ether, and polyethylene glycol sorbitan monooleate as demulsifier agents in breaking water-in-crude oil emulsion through the bottle test method. The influence of temperature, concentration, water content, and pH on demulsification efficiency of the studied demulsifiers was investigated via the response surface methodology (RSM) and the central composite design method (CCD) was applied to design the experiments. The optimum values of input variables to obtain the maximum water separation efficiency were determined based on the developed model by analyze of variance (ANOVA). The R-squared values demonstrate that the developed models could appropriately predict the experimental results of all demulsifier agents.

Optimum demulsifier formulations for Nigerian crude oil-water emulsions

The formation of crude emulsion during oil production and processing is a challenge of significant proportions to the oil producers. Studies show that about two third of Nigerian crude oil production is in form of water in oil emulsion. For economic and operational reasons, it is necessary to separate the water completely from the crude oil before transportation or refining.Efficiency of separation of crude emulsions is of major importance to producers. To this end, this study primarily seeks to investigate the formulation of effective demulsifier that can be used to achieve this aim; and in so doing, the optimal separation efficiency attainable by this demulsification process is determined. Six different samples of water and oil soluble demulsifiers were used on two different samples of synthetic emulsion (sample I and II (both water in oil emulsion) from different Nigerian oil fields). The bottle test method was used to determine the percentage water separation for each crude oil emulsion/chemicals (demulsifiers) mixture. The concentrations of the combined six chemicals (demulsifier samples A–F) in the mixture were related to the percentage water separation using response surface methodology central composite design (RSMCCD).Results show that the optimum concentrations of demulsifiers A–F are 59 ppm/39 ppm/29 ppm/20 ppm/29 ppm/13 ppm respectively for crude oil sample I. While 54 ppm/40 ppm/25 ppm/21 ppm/29 ppm/8 ppm respectively were observed as optimum concentration for crude oil II. The combination of these chemical was observed to return better performance than the existing commercial demulsifiers with percentage water separation of 92% and 94% compared to percentage water separation of 87% and 90% returned by one of the currently available demulsifier used in the petroleum industry for crude oil A and B respectively. Hence, the need to carry out optimization analyses on different emulsified crude oil cannot be over-emphasize.