Influence of Demulsifier Aging on Its Performance in Heavy Oil Synthetic Emulsions

Cover Page

Cite item

Full Text

Open Access Open Access
Restricted Access Access granted
Restricted Access Subscription Access

Abstract

Flow assurance is one of the main challenges in the oil industry. Many factors can affect the oil fluidity, including the oil °API and the formation of water-in-oil (w/o) emulsions that increase the fluid viscosity. The demulsification process aims to decrease as much as possible the water content in the crude oil. Chemical products known as demulsifiers can be used to aid in this process. In laboratory, the chemicals can be evaluated under temperature and water content conditions similar to those in the oil field. In this work, the effect of demulsifier aging on its performance, simulating oil field storage, was evaluated using synthetic w/o emulsion prepared with a heavy crude oil and brine at 55 000 ppm. The crude oil was characterized and some demulsifier properties were measured along the time. The crude oil was identified as a heavy oil containing 11.6% of asphaltenes, contributing to the w/o emulsion stability. The demulsifier performance increased with aging time, and the results strongly suggested that a mere evaporation of the additive solvent occurs, concentrating its active matter

About the authors

Rita De Cassia P. Nunes

Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Instituto de Macromoléculas, Laboratório de Macromoléculas e Coloides na Indústria do Petróleo

Email: redpessanha@gmail.com
21941598, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Carla Michele F. Silva

Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Instituto de Macromoléculas, Laboratório de Macromoléculas e Coloides na Indústria do Petróleo

Email: petrochem@ips.ac.ru
21941598, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Paulo Cristiano S. Rocha

Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Instituto de Macromoléculas, Laboratório de Macromoléculas e Coloides na Indústria do Petróleo

Email: petrochem@ips.ac.ru
21941598, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Elizabete F. Lucas

Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Instituto de Macromoléculas, Laboratório de Macromoléculas e Coloides na Indústria do Petróleo; Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, COPPE, Programa de Engenharia Metalúrgica e de Materiais, Laboratório de Aditivos Poliméricos para Produção de Petróleo

Author for correspondence.
Email: petrochem@ips.ac.ru
21941598, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; 21941599, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

References

  1. Farah M.A. Petróleo e seus derivados: definição, constituição, aplicação, especificações, caracterização, Rio de Janeiro: LTC, 2012.
  2. Gauto M. Petróleo e Gás - Princípios de exploração, produção e refino. Porto Alegre: Bookman, 2016.
  3. Díaz-Prada C.A., Guarin-Arenas F., Gonzalez-Barbosa J.-E., Garcia-Chinchilla C.-A., de Jesus Cotes-Leon E., Rodriguez-Walteros C. // Optimization of electrical submersible pump artificial lift system for extraheavy oils through an analysis of bottom dilution scheme. CTF - Cienc. Tecn. Fut. 2010. V. 4. № 1. P. 63-73. https://doi.org/10.29047/01225383.439
  4. Boyd J., Parkinson C., Sherman P. Factors affecting emulsion stability, and the HLB concept // J. Colloid and Interface Sci. 1972. V. 41. № 2. P. 359-370. https://doi.org/10.1016/0021-9797(72)90122-1
  5. Friberg S.E. Emulsion Stability. In: Emulsions - a fundamental and practical approach, sjöblom // J. (ed.). NATO ASI Series. V. 363. Dordrecht: Springer. 1992. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-2460-7_1
  6. Maia Filho D.C., Ramalh, J.B.V.S., Spinelli L., Lucas E.F. Aging of water-in-crude oil emulsions: effect on water content, droplet size distribution, dynamic viscosity and stability // Colloids Surf. A: Physicochem. Eng. Asp. 2012. V. 396. P. 208-212. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.colsurfa.2011.12.076
  7. Maia Filho D.C., Ramalho J.B.V.S., Lucas G.M.S., Lucas E.F., Aging of water-in-crude oil emulsions: Effect on rheological parameters // Colloids Surf. A: Physicochem. Eng. Asp. 2012. V. 405. P. 73-78. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.colsurfa.2012.04.041
  8. Goodarzi F. and Zendehboudi S., A comprehensive review on emulsions and emulsion stability in chemical and energy industries // Can. J. Chem. Eng. 2018. V. 97. № 1. P. 281-309. https://doi.org/10.1002/cjce.23336
  9. Yudina N.V., Loskutova Y.V., Nebogina N.A., Water-in-oil emulsions in paraffinic and resinous oils // Petrol. Chemistry. 2022. V. 62. № 2. P. 183-190. https://doi.org/10.1134/S0965544122060068
  10. Gafonova O.V. and Yarranton H.W. The stabilization of water-in-hydrocarbon emulsions by asphaltenes and resins // J. Colloid Interface Sci. 2001. V. 241. № 2. P. 469-478. https://doi.org/10.1006/jcis.2001.7731
  11. Nebogina N.A., Prozorova I.V., Savinykh Yu.V., Yudina N.V. The influence of natural surfactants on the stabilization of oil-water emulsion // Petrol. Chemistry. 2010. V. 50. № 2. P. 158-163. https://doi.org/10.1134/S0965544110020131
  12. Petrov S.M., Ibragimova D.A., Abdelsalam Ya.I.I., Kayukova G.P., Influence of rock forming and catalytic additives on transformation of highly viscous heavy oil // Petrol. Chemistry. 2016. V. 56. № 1. P. 21-26. https://doi.org/10.1134/S0965544116010059
  13. Orrego-Ruí, J.A. and Ruiz F., Finding a relationship between the composition and the emulsifying character of asphaltenes through FTICR-MS. // CTF - Cienc. Tecn. Fut. 2018. V. 8. № 1. P. 45-52. https://doi.org/10.29047/01225383.90
  14. Gorbacheva S.N. and Ilyin S.O. Structure, rheology and possible application of water-in-oil emulsions stabilized by asphaltenes // Colloids Surf. A: Physicochem. Eng. Asp. 2021. V. 618. P. 126442. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.colsurfa.2021.126442
  15. Yudina N.V., Nebogina N.A., Prozorova, I.V. Composition of the resin-asphaltene components in the interfacial layers of water-in-oil emulsions // Petrol. Chemistry. 2021. V. 61. № 5. P. 568-575. https://doi.org/10.1134/S0965544121060050
  16. Glagoleva O.F. and Kapustin V.M., Improving the efficiency of oil treating and refining processes (review) // Petrol. Chemistry. 2020. V. 60. № 11. P. 1207-1215. https://doi.org/10.1134/S0965544120110092
  17. Ramalho J.B.V.S., Lechuga F.C., Lucas E.F. Effect of the structure of commercial poly(ethylene oxide-β-propylene oxide) demulsifier bases on the demulsification of water-in-crude oil emulsions: Elucidation of the demulsification mechanism // Quim. Nova. 2010. V. 33. № 8. P. 1664-1670. https://doi.org/10.1590/S0100-40422010000800009
  18. Ferreira B.M.S., Ramalho J.B.V.S., Lucas E.F., Demulsification of W/O emulsions by microwave radiation: Effect of aging, demulsifier addition and selective heating /// Energy Fuels. 2013. V. 27. № 2. P. 615-621. https://doi.org/10.1021/ef301110m
  19. Pacheco V.F., Ferreira L.S., Lucas E.F., Mansur C.R.E., Destabilization of petroleum emulsions: Evaluation of the influence of the solvent on additives // Energy Fuels. 2015. V. 5. P. 1659-1666. https://doi.org/10.1021/ef101769e
  20. Hajivand P. and Vaziri A., Optimization of demulsifier formulation for separation of water from crude oil emulsions // Braz. J. Chem. Eng. 2015. V. 32. P. 107-118. https://doi.org/10.1590/0104-6632.20150321s00002755
  21. Kang W., Yin X., Yang H., Zhao Y., Huang Z., Hou X., Sarsenbekuly B., Zhu, Z., Wang P., Zhang X., Geng J., Aidarova S. Demulsification performance, behavior and mechanism of different demulsifiers on the light crude oil emulsions // Colloids Surf. A: Physicochem. Eng. Asp. 2018. V. 545. P. 197-204. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.colsurfa.2018.02.055
  22. Saad M.A., Kamil M., Abdurahman N.H., Yunus R.M., Awad O.I. An overview of recent advances in state-of-the-art techniques in the demulsification of crude oil emulsions // Processes. 2019. V. 7. P. 470. https://doi.org/10.3390/pr7070470
  23. Society for Testing and Materials, ASTM D4377-00 // Standard test method for water in crude oils by potentiometric Karl Fischer Titration. West Conshohocken, 2011.
  24. Silva J.C., Maravilha T.S.L., Nunes R.C.P., Lucas E.F. Polymers in the production of crude oil: IV. Extraction of asphaltenes fraction using Soxhlet // J. Mater. Educ. 2019. V. 41. № 5-6. P. 149.
  25. Garreto M.S.E., Gonzalez G., Ramos A.C., Lucas E.F. Looking for a model solvent to disperse asphaltenes // Chem.Chem.Technol. 2010. V. 4. № 4. P. 317-323. https://doi.org/10.23939/chcht04.04.317
  26. Vieira L.C., Buchuid M.B., Lucas E.F., Effect of pressure on the crystallization of crude oil waxes. II. Evaluation of crude oils and condensate // Energy Fuels. 2010. V. 24. № 4. P. 2213-2220. https://doi.org/10.1021/ef900761t
  27. Oliveira L.M.S.L., Nunes R.C.P., Ribeiro Y.L.L., Ribeiro D.M., Coutinho D.A., Azevedo J.C.M., Luca E.F. Wax behavior in crude oils by pour point analyses // J. Braz. Chem. Soc. 2018. V. 29. № 10. P. 2158-2168. https://doi.org/10.21577/0103-5053.20180092
  28. American Society for Testing and Materials, ASTM D97-17b, Standard Test Method for Pour Point of Petroleum Products. West Conshohocken, 2017.
  29. Oliveira L.M.S.L., Nunes R.C.P., Pessoa L.M.B., Reis L.G., Spinelli L.S., Lucas E.F., Influence of the chemical structure of additives poly(ethylene-co-vinyl acetate)-based on the pour point of crude oils // J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2020. V. 137. P. 48969. https://doi.org/10.1002/app.48969
  30. American Society for Testing and Materials, ASTM D4052, Standard Test Method for Density, Relative Density, API Gravity of Liquids by Digital Density Meter. West Conshohocken, 2018.
  31. American Society for Testing and Materials, ASTM D664-18e2, Standard Test Method for Acid Number of Petroleum Products by Potentiometric Titration. West Conshohocken, 2018.
  32. Silva J.C. et al. Tratamento de óleo - desemulsificação. Eds. E.F. Lucas, L.S. Ferreira, B.F. Alves. Procedimentos experimentais de avaliação de aditivos poliméricos para a indústria do petróleo. Editora UFRJ: Rio de Janeiro (on press), 2022.

Supplementary files

Supplementary Files
Action
1. JATS XML
Download

Copyright (c) 2023 Russian Academy of Sciences