COLL 457 |
| Marit-Helen Ese1, Keith L. Gawrys1, P. Matthew Spiecker2, Tianxi Zhang1, and Peter K Kilpatrick3. (1) Department of Chemical Engineering, Department of Chemical Engineering, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695-7905, (2) ExxonMobil Upstream Research Company, ExxonMobil Upstream Research Company, Buffalo Speedway, Houston, TX, TX, (3) Department of Chemical Engineering, North Carolina State University, Box 7905, Raleigh, NC 27695-7905 |
| Water-in-oil emulsions are frequently encountered in the production, transportation, and processing of petroleum fluids. These emulsions are typically very stable and their enhanced viscosity and entrained water and electrolyte pose serious challenges in the large-scale end-of-pipe processing of crudes and petroleum fluids. The vast majority of these water-in-oil emulsions are stabilized by either adsorbed asphaltenic films or lamellar films comprised predominantly of naphthenic acids and their salts. Both types of films manifest similar mechanical and rheological properties and represent an important class of emulsion stabilization mechanism: that of the "third phase" film. The oil-water interface creates a self assembly platform onto which both asphaltenes and naphthenic acids and soaps adsorb under the appropriate conditions. We will define in this paper the conditions which promote this adsorption, we will characterize the precursor aggregates in bulk solution which adsorb, we will quantify the physical properties of the resulting films, and we will describe methods for assessing the strength of the resulting emulsions. Finally, we will describe the interactions of these two mechanisms in which emulsion stability is either enhanced or destroyed. |
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ACS Award in Colloid and Surface Chemistry Symposium Honoring Clay Radke
Division of Colloid and Surface Chemistry |