THE POTENTIAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL FRIENDLY CHEMICALS IN SEPARATING WATER - IN - OIL (W/O) EMULSIONS

A heavy crude oil has been increasingly important sources of hydrocarbons in many parts of the world, in which transportation of this heavy crude oil to refinery can be a problem. During the lifting, transportation and processing of oil, frequently emulsio ns either water - in - oil (w/o) or oil - in - water (o/w) are created. Formation of these emulsions during oil production is a costly problem, both in terms of chemicals used and due to production losses. The traditional methods of eliminating these emulsions, ut ilize high heat and chemicals which forces the emulsion to separate into water, hydrocarbons and solids are disadvantageous from both economic and environmental perspectives. In this study, the potentials of an environmental friendly chemicals in demulsifi cation of crude oil emulsions was investigated. The study begun with some characterization studies to provide understandings of fundamental issues. Results obtained from this study, will expose the capability and potentials of environmental friendly chemic als in demulsification of water - in - crude oil emulsions