Work

An Improved Method for Measuring the Distribution of Water Droplets in Crude Oil Based on the Optical Microscopy Technique

Year: 2024

Type: article

Abstract: The distribution of water droplets in crude oil is one of the key issues involved in the processes of oil extraction and transportation, and these water droplets might also be habitats for microorganisms in oil reservoirs. However, it is still a challenge to observe and measure the distribution of water droplets in crude oil quickly and directly. In this work, an improved method based on the optical microscopy technique is introduced, which is named the Plate Pressing (PP) method and can observe and determine the distribution of water droplets in crude oil directly. The reliability of this method was verified by comparing the results with those of a computed tomography (CT) scan, indicating that the PP method can measure the distribution of water droplets accurately. Meanwhile, the total number and size distribution of water droplets in three crude oil samples from different oilfields were obtained by the PP method, which consolidated the idea that the PP method is capable of determining the distribution of the water droplets in crude oil directly and is suitable for the statistical analysis of water droplets in multiple samples of crude oil.

Source: Laboratories

DOI: 10.3390/laboratories2010001

Authors: Qiaohui Wang, Yifan Liu, Lei Zhou, Shizhong Yang, Jidong Gu, Bozhong Mu

Institutions: East China University of Science and Technology, State Key Laboratory of Bioreactor Engineering, Guangdong Technion-Israel Institute of Technology

Language: English

Topic: Petroleum Processing and Analysis

Subfield: Analytical Chemistry

Field: Chemistry

Domain: Physical Sciences

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $1,137

Funders: Natural Science Foundation of Shanghai, National Natural Science Foundation of China, Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities