Work

Viscosity reduction of water-in-oil emulsion by phase inversion: surfactants performance and characterization

Year: 2024

Type: article

Abstract: The phase inversion technique has received attention in the petroleum industry in order to decrease energy consumption. Crude oil emulsions with model brine solutions containing 1.5% wt NaCl and 1.0 wt.% surfactants were produced and evaluated on electrical conductivity, kinetic stability, microstructure and rheology. It was found that phase inversion occurred in the range of 20-40 wt.% of brine. Emulsions having 10-40 wt.% of brine and Triton-X-100 manifested lower phase separation than without surfactant or with Tween 80, while oil-in-water emulsions having 50 and 60 wt.% of brine and Triton-X-100 achieved the lowest value of viscosity. Thus, these results elucidate the influence of selected parameters on emulsions properties aiming to improve mobility and flowability by phase inversion of high viscous water-in-oil emulsion.

Source: Latin American Journal of Energy Research

DOI: 10.21712/lajer.2024.v11.n2.p10-22

Authors: Yuri Nascimento Nariyoshi, Ana Paula Meneguelo, Rejane De Castro Santana

Institutions: Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo, Universidade Federal de Viçosa

Language: English

Topic: Petroleum Processing and Analysis

Subfield: Analytical Chemistry

Field: Chemistry

Domain: Physical Sciences

Open Access status: diamond

Funder: Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa e Inovação do Espírito Santo

Award: G4155656720