Experimental investigation on using CO_(2)/H_(2)O emulsion with high water cut in enhanced oil recovery

CO_(2) emulsions used for EOR have received a lot of interest because of its good performance on CO_(2)mobility reduction.However,most of them have been focusing on the high quality CO_(2) emulsion(high CO_(2) fraction),while CO_(2) emulsion with high water cut has been rarely researched.In this paper,we carried out a comprehensive experimental study of using high water cut CO_(2)/H_(2)O emulsion for enhancing oil recovery.Firstly,a nonionic surfactant,alkyl glycosides(APG),was selected to stabilize CO_(2)/H_(2)O emulsion,and the corresponding morphology and stability were evaluated with a transparent PVT cell.Subsequently,plugging capacity and apparent viscosity of CO_(2)/H_(2)O emulsion were measured systematically by a sand pack displacement apparatus connected with a 1.95-m long capillary tube.Furthermore,a high water cut(40 vol%) CO_(2)/H_(2)O emulsion was selected for flooding experiments in a long sand pack and a core sample,and the oil recovery,the rate of oil recovery,and the pressure gradients were analyzed.The results indicated that APG had a good performance on emulsifying and stabilizing CO_(2) emulsion.An inversion from H_(2)O/CO_(2) emulsion to CO_(2)/H_(2)O emulsion with the increase in water cut was confirmed.CO_(2)/H_(2)O emulsions with lower water cuts presented higher apparent viscosity,while the optimal plugging capacity of CO_(2)/H_(2)O emulsion occurred at a certain water cut.Eventually,the displacement using CO_(2)/H_(2)O emulsion provided 18.98% and 13.36% additional oil recovery than that using pure CO_(2) in long sand pack and core tests,respectively.This work may provide guidelines for EOR using CO_(2) emulsions with high water cut.

Effects of Different Heavy Crude Oil Fractions on the Stability of Oil-in-water Emulsions —— Isolation of functional fractions from heavy crude oil and study of their properties

The functional fractions (acid, basic, amphoteric and neutral fractions) are isolated from the Liaohe Du-84 heavy crude oil and Shengli Gudao Kenxi heavy crude oil by ion-exchange chromatography, but the conventional fractions (saturates, aromatics, resins and asphaltenes) are also isolated from the heavy crude oil. These components have been characterized by spectroscopic methods (FT-IR), namely acid number, basic nitrogen number, ultimate analysis and molecular weight measurements using vapor pressure osmometry (VPO). The ion-exchange chromatography method based on separation by a functional group induces a little change on the nature of the crudes and reasonable mass balances can be easily obtained.

Experimental measurements of water content in crude oil emulsions by terahertz time-domain spectroscopy

We measured the water content （0.01% 0.25% w/w） in crude oil emulsions using terahertz time-domain spectroscopy （THz-TDS）. To improve the precision and range of the measurements, we used 1 and 10 mm thick quartz cells. The experiments were performed at 20 ℃ and the THz wave was transmitted vertically to the samples and detected on the other side. The experimental results suggest linear relation for the THz absorption coefficient and the water content of the crude oil emulsions in the observed range. The linear dependence facilitates high-precision measurements of the water content of crude oil. This suggests the potential of THz-TDS in determining the water concentration in crude oil and borehole fluid identification.

Experimental investigation of the effects of various parameters on viscosity reduction of heavy crude by oil-water emulsion

The effects of water content, shear rate, temperature, and solid particle concentration on viscosity reduction （VR） caused by forming stable emulsions were investigated using Omani heavy crude oil. The viscosity of the crude oil was initially measured with respect to shear rates at different temperatures from 20 to 70℃. The crude oil exhibited a shear thinning behavior at all the temperatures. The strongest shear thinning was observed at 20℃. A non-ionic water soluble surfactant （Triton X-100） was used to form and stabilize crude oil emulsions. The emulsification process has significantly reduced the crude oil viscosity. The degree of VR was found to increase with an increase in water content and reach its maximum value at 50 % water content. The phase inversion from oil- oil emulsion occurred at 30 in-water emulsion to water-in- % water content. The results indicated that the VR was inversely proportional to temperature and concentration of silica nanoparticles. For water-in-oil emulsions, VR increased with shear rate and eventually reached a plateau at a shear rate of around 350 s^-1. This was attributed to the thinning behavior of the continuous phase. The VR of oil-in-water emulsions remained almost constant as the shear rate increased due to the Newtonian behavior of water, the continuous phase.

Treatment of oil/water emulsion by polyethylene glycol ultrafiltration membrane

Polyethylene glycol(PEG) membranes with different molecular mass cut-offs were used to treat oil/water emulsion, and the effects of experimental conditions including pressure, temperature and different opera- ting modes on permeate flux and removal rate of chemical oxygen demand (COD_ Cr) were studied. The results show that the permeate flux of ultrafiltration membrane is influenced by pressure and temperature; practical pressure is chosen to be 0.30.7MPa for the PEG with molecular mass cut-offs of 8000 and 0.71.0 MPa for the PEG with molecular mass cut-offs of 2500; and the practical temperature is chosen to be 2532℃. Different operating modes of ultrafiltration also influence the permeate flux and removal rate of COD_ Cr. The ultrafiltration membrane of intermittent cross-flow operating mode is easier to be influenced by blocky polarization and contamination than that of sequential cross-flow operating mode. Removal rate of COD_ Cr in intermittent cross-flow and sequential cross-flow condition can be maintained at about 93%.

Effects of Different Heavy Crude Oil Fractions on the Stability of Oil-in-water Emulsions—the film properties of heavy crude functional components and water system

A series of π-A isotherms are drawn to study the film properties of the components with Langmuir-Blodgett technique. The effects of the aromaticity of spread solvents and pH value on the air/water film formed by the components are investigated. Acid fraction and asphaltene can form stable two-dimensional insoluble films on an air/water surface. The surface film pressure of acid fraction and asphaltene is higher and more stable than that of the other fractions. The surface film pressure of the fraction increases evidently under the basic condition (pH=12). The results show that the interfacial activity of acid fraction and asphaltene is superior to that of the other fractions and the basic condition is favorable to the stability of the O/W emulsion.

Characterization of water-in-crude oil emulsions in oil spill response

The formation of water in crude oil emulsions occurs when crude oils are spilled into sea. The water in crude oil emulsions significantly change the properties of the spilled crude oils and in turn influence the choices made relating to oil spill countermeasures. The water in crude oil emulsions were characterized using various techniques in this study. The environmental scanning electron microscopy observation of water droplets in the emulsions is also presented. It is a powerful tool in emulsion observations.

Separation of Oil Phase from Dilute Oil/Water Emulsion in Confined Space Apparatus

A miniature process for separating the oil phase from dilute oil/water emulsion is developed.This process applies a confined space apparatus,which is a thin flow channel made of two parallel plastic plates.The space between the two plates is rather narrow to improve the collisions between oil droplets and the plate surface.Oil droplets have an affinity for the plate surface and thus are captured,and then coalesce onto the surface.The droplet size distribution of the residual emulsion resulted from the separation process is remarkably changed.The oil layer on the plate weakens the further separation of oil droplets from the emulsion.Three types of plate materials,polypropylene(PP),polytetrafluoroethylene(PTFE) and nylon 66,were used.It is found that PP is the best in terms of the oil separation efficiency and nylon 66 is the poorest.The interaction between droplets in the emulsion and plate surface is indicated by the spreading coefficient of oil droplet on the plate in aqueous environment,and the influences of formed oil layer and plate material on the separation efficiency are discussed.

Impact of sesame lignan on physical and oxidative stability of flaxseed oil-in-water emulsion

Recent studies have shown that the highly susceptibility to oxidation ofα-linolenic acid(ALA)enriched emulsion delivery system was harmful for human health which limited their incorporation into functional food.Impacts of natural sesamol(SOH)and sesamin(SES)on stability of flaxseed oil-in-water emulsion were investigated.Results showed that SOH indicated higher antioxidant activity and significantly prolonged the time of emulsion oil-off by retarding oil droplet aggregation in a dose dependent manner throughout storage.Moreover,SOH showed substantial extended lag phase of lipid oxidation products,especially for secondary oxidation products(thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances,TBARS),with a maximum reduction of 70%with 800 M dosage.The antioxidative efficiency of SOH might relate to its strong ability of scavenging free radical and chelate transition metal.Furthermore,SOH significantly enhanced interfacial barrier property and reduced permeation rate of peroxyl radical across emulsion interface by hydrogen bonds between sugar groups of saponin molecules and SOH.However,no obvious change in barrier property of emulsion was observed in SES.SOH improved physicochemical property of flaxseed oil-in-water emulsion with higher antioxidant activity and stronger interfacial barrier property,so that it could be serve as plant-based antioxidant in oil-in-water emulsion delivery system.

DEVELOPMENT AND APPLICATION OF WATER-IN-OIL EMULSIONS FOR ZINC HOT ROLLING

ＤＥＶＥＬＯＰＭＥＮＴＡＮＤＡＰＰＬＩＣＡＴＩＯＮＯＦＷＡＴＥＲ－ＩＮ－ＯＩＬ ＥＭＵＬＳＩＯＮＳＦＯＲＺＩＮＣＨＯＴＲＯＬＬＩＮＧＪｉａｎｇ；ＪｉａｎｃｈｕｎＭａｏ；Ｄａｈｅｎｇ（ＤｅｐａｒｔｍｅｎｔｏｆＭａｃｈｉｎｅＥｎｇｉｎｅｅｒｉｎｇ，Ｃｅｎ...

Study on Viscoelastic Behaviors of Waxy Crude Water-in-Oil Emulsion

Emulsion of waxy crude oil is one of the common states in the subsea pipeline. At low temperatures in offshore environment, waxy crude oils with water could form the crude oil emulsion gel of oil-in-water emulsion. Thus, the waxy crude oil emulsion viscoelastic behavior for deep sea transportation and restarting pipeline safety is particularly important. By means of MASIII HAAKE rheometer which is produced by German company, waxy crude oil emulsion viscoelastic behavior is explored at different volumetric water contents and different shear stresses. By analyzing the rate of change of shear rate in the initial stage, the influence rules of viscoelastic properties were summarized, with the change of volumetric water content and the applied shear stress and based on the experimental results, the law of emulsion is explained from the micro level. It is proposed that brittle fracture exists between wax crystals, and flexible fracture was found in the interaction between water droplets and wax crystals.

Influences of water treatment agents on oil-water interfacial properties of oilfield produced water

The emulsion stability of oilfield produced water is related to the oil-water interfacial film strength and the zeta potential of the oil droplets. We investigated the effects of water treatment agents （corrosion inhibitor SL-2, scale inhibitor HEDP, germicide 1227, and flocculant polyaluminium chloride PAC） on the stability of oilfield produced water. The influence of these treatment agents on oil-water interfacial properties and the mechanism of these agents acting on the oilfield produced water were studied by measuring the interfacial shear viscosity, interfacial tension and zeta electric potential. The results indicated that the scale inhibitor HEDP could increase the oil-water interfacial film strength, and it could also increase the absolute value of the zeta potential of oil droplets. HEDP played an important role in the stability of the emulsion. Polyaluminum chloride （PAC） reduced the stability of the emulsion by considerably decreasing the absolute value of the zeta potential of oil droplets. Corrosion inhibitor SL-2 and germicide 1227 could decrease the oil-water interfacial tension, whereas they had little influence on oil-water interfacial shear viscosity and oil-water interfacial electricity properties.

Zwitterionic monolayer grafted ceramic membrane with an antifouling performance for the efficient oil-water separation

Enormous demands on the separation of oil/water(O/W)emulsions in various industries,such as petrochemical,food and pharmaceutical industries,are looking for high performance and energy-efficient separation methods.Ceramic membranes have been used to deal with O/W emulsions,for its outstanding characteristics of easy-operation,high-flux,and long-term stability.However,membrane fouling is still a challenge in the industrial application of ceramic membranes.Herein,antifouling ceramic membranes were fabricated by grafting zwitterions on the membrane surface via an environment-friendly two-step grafting method,which improves the antifouling property and permeability.Successful grafting of such zwitterion on the ceramic surface was assessed by the combination of FTIR and XPS characterization.More importantly,the hydration can be formed by electrostatic interactions layer on the modified membrane,which was confirmed by TGA characterization.The antifouling performance of prepared zwitterionic ceramic membranes in the separation of O/W emulsions was systematically tested.The results suggested that zwitterion can significantly improve the flux of ceramic ultrafiltration membrane,and can also improve antifouling property dramatically by reducing the irreversible fouling in the separation of O/W emulsions.Therefore,zwitterionic ceramic membranes hold promising potentials as an antifouling,highly efficient and green method in the practical purification of the O/W emulsions.

Development and applications of solids-free oil-in-water drilling fluids

The increasing application of near balanced drilling technology to low-pressure and depleted fractured reservoirs requires the use of low-density drilling fluids to avoid formation damage. Solidsfree oil-in-water （O/W） emulsion drilling fluid is one type of low-density drilling fluid suitable for depleted fractured reservoirs. In this paper, the solids-free O/W drilling fluid was developed and has been successfully used in the Bozhong 28-1 oil and gas field, by which lost circulation, a severe problem occurred previously when drilling into fractured reservoir beds, was controlled, thereby minimizing formation damage. The O/W emulsion drilling fluid was prepared by adding 20% （by volume） No. 5 mineral oil （with high flash point, as dispersed phase） into seawater （as continuous phase）. Surfactant HTO-1 （as a primary emulsifier） and non-ionic surfactant HTO-2 （as a secondary emulsifier） were added into the drilling fluid system to stabilize the emulsion; and YJD polymer was also added to seawater to improve the viscosity of the continuous phase （seawater）. The drilling fluid was characterized by high flash point, good thermal stability and high stability to crude oil contamination.

Effect of Alkali on Daqing Crude Oil/Water Interfacial Properties

Alkaline-surfactant-polymer （ASP） flooding using sodium hydroxide as the alkali component to enhance oil recovery in Daqing Oilfield, northeast China has been successful, but there are new problems in the treatment of produced crude. The alkali added forms stable water-in-crude oil emulsion, hence de-emulsification process is necessary to separate oil and water. The problems in enhanced oil recovery with ASP flooding were investigated in laboratory by using fractions of Daqing crude oil. The oil was separated into aliphatics, aromatics, resin and asphaltene fractions. These fractions were then mixed with an additive-free jet fuel to form model oils. The interfacial properties, such as interfacial tension and interracial pressure of the systems were also measured, which together with the molecular parameters of the fractions were all used to investigate the problems in the enhanced oil recovery. In our work, it was found that sodium hydroxide solution reacts with the acidic hydrogen in the fractions of crude oil and forms soap-like interfacially active components, which accumulate at the crude oil-water interface.

Preparation of Hollow Calcium Silicate Microparticles by Simple Emulsion

Hollow calcium silicate microparticles were prepared by mixing a water-in-oil (W/O) emulsion containing silicate ions in aqueous phase with an oil phase containing a calcium/di-2-ethylhexyl phosphoric acid (D2EHPA) complex. The inorganic precipitation reaction at the oil-water interface was accelerated by using a simple W/O emulsion. Hollow microparticles were obtained when the mole ratio of D2EHPA and calcium in the oil phase was nearly 2:1. The shell formation of the par-ticles depended on the acceleration of the precipitation reaction, which could be accomplished by controlling the concentrations of the calcium and silicate ions.

Robust superhydrophobic polyurethane sponge functionalized with perfluorinated graphene oxide for efficient immiscible oil/water mixture, stable emulsion separation and crude oil dehydration

In recent years, graphene oxide(GO), prepared by the modified Hummers’ method, and its derivatives have become a focus of research owing to their outstanding physical and chemical properties and low cost. Drawing inspiration from the mussel protein,a facile and environmentally-friendly method was employed to fabricate superhydrophobic/superoleophilic reduced graphene oxide(rGO) derivative. The preparation comprises two steps: coating GO nanosheets with polydopamine(PDA) and subsequent reaction with 1H,1H,2H,2H-perfluorodecanethiol. Due to the excellent adhesive ability of PDA, the resulting f PDA modified rGO nanosheets(rGO-f PDA) were firmly immobilized onto polyurethane(PU) sponge skeleton by a simple drop-coating method. The as-prepared rGO-f PDA functionalized sponge exhibited superhydrophobic behavior with a water contact angle of 162°±2°, high organic adsorption capacity, recyclability and stable oil/water separation behavior under different acidic/alkaline conditions. Due to its facile fabrication technique and outstanding properties, the superhydrophobic-superoleophilic PU-rGOf PDA sponge holds great promise as an oil adsorbent for cleaning up large-scale pollution of oil and organic solvents, and dehydrating crude oil.

Efficient demulsification of ultralow-concentration crude oil-in-water emulsion by three-dimensional superhydrophilic channels

Efficient extraction of crude oil,the major energy resource of current concern and high demand worldwide,is of paramount importance in both energy and environmental fields.However,it remains a great challenge to separate the crude oil-in-water emulsions with an ultralow oil content of<200 ppm.Here,the three-dimensional and superwetting channels are developed by coating titanium foams with anodic TiO_(2) nanotube arrays.The channels render superhydrophilic and underwater superoleophobic feature,which enables rapid formation of water channels that expel the oil droplets.A high separation efficiency of ∼96.8% and low total organic carbon content of ∼6 ppm are thus achieved for the ultralow-concentration crude oil-in-water emulsions.The pressure and time dependence of the separation process is systematically studied with a critical pressure of 12.25 kPa.Such a high performance is close to the theoretical limit imposed by the ultralow concentration,and shows obvious advances over either organic membranes or inorganic frameworks.