Emulsions and its Related Problems in Production Units, Formulation of a Water-kerosene Emulsion Demulsifier

Crude oil generally is blended with water. The water creates many problems and increases the cost of oil production. The produced water must be separated from oil. Water in crude oil exists either as free water which settles out rapidly or in the form of an emulsion. A normal oil field emulsion is a dispersion of water droplets in oil. Emulsions can be difficult to treat and may cause several operational problems in wet-crude handling facilities and gas/oil separating plants. Emulsions can create high-pressure drops in flow lines, lead to an increase in demulsifier use, and sometimes cause trips or upsets in wet-crude handling facilities. In present study a blend of chemicals have been investigated which seems can be effective for Demulsification process and it can be used as a demulsifier. The Demulsification effects of heavy aromatic nafta, isopropanol, xylene, naphthalene, ethylbezene were studied using water-kerosene emulsion. A blend of heavy aromatic nafta, isopropanol, naphthalene, ethylbezene demonstrated a 78% separation of water from a stable water-kerosene emulsion.