Polyether Demulsifier Complexes for Efficient Demulsification of Water-in-Heavy Oil Emulsions
In the production process of the heavy oil industry, efficiently demulsifying water-in-heavy oil (W/HO) emulsions can effectively prevent the negative effects of emulsion corrosion on equipment, increase costs, reduce oil quality, and pollute the environment. Herein, polyether demulsifier complexes...
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2025-06-01
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| author | Jing Li Xiao Xia Jinlong Gao Hao Chen Jun Ma |
| author_facet | Jing Li Xiao Xia Jinlong Gao Hao Chen Jun Ma |
| author_sort | Jing Li |
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| description | In the production process of the heavy oil industry, efficiently demulsifying water-in-heavy oil (W/HO) emulsions can effectively prevent the negative effects of emulsion corrosion on equipment, increase costs, reduce oil quality, and pollute the environment. Herein, polyether demulsifier complexes (PDC) were obtained by compounding fatty alcohol nonionic polyether (FAP) with perfluoropolyether (PFPEA, [CF<sub>3</sub>O(CF<sub>2</sub>CF<sub>2</sub>O)<sub>n</sub>CF<sub>3</sub>]) through a simple physical blending method. The experimental results demonstrate that PDC exhibited outstanding demulsification performance for W/HO emulsions across varying temperatures: At 60 °C and 400 ppm dosage, PDC achieved complete dehydration (100%) within just 2 min, showing significantly faster demulsification kinetics compared to FAP and PFPEA. Even at the reduced temperature of 40 °C, PDC maintained effective demulsification capability, achieving complete phase separation within 6 min. These findings collectively establish PDC’s superior demulsification efficiency for W/HO emulsions, with particularly remarkable performance under challenging low-temperature conditions. Research on the demulsification mechanism indicates that PDC achieves efficient demulsification performance due to the synergistic effect the synergistic effect of FAP and PFPEA to effectively destroy the non-covalent bonds (hydrogen and π–π stacking) of interfacially active asphaltenes (IAA) at the oil–water interface, thereby achieving demulsification of W/HO emulsion. PDC with outstanding demulsification ability exhibits significant potential for practical applications in heavy crude oil–water emulsion treatment, and this work can provide insights for developing new composite demulsifiers for petroleum production. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-abcfd01fd57f45d69eeef5303a3edced |
| institution | Matheson Library |
| issn | 1420-3049 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-06-01 |
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| series | Molecules |
| spelling | doaj-art-abcfd01fd57f45d69eeef5303a3edced2025-06-25T14:13:31ZengMDPI AGMolecules1420-30492025-06-013012255010.3390/molecules30122550Polyether Demulsifier Complexes for Efficient Demulsification of Water-in-Heavy Oil EmulsionsJing Li0Xiao Xia1Jinlong Gao2Hao Chen3Jun Ma4Department of Chemical Engineering, Textile and Clothing, Shaanxi Polytechnic Institute, Xianyang 712000, ChinaDepartment of Chemical Engineering, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Guizhou University, Guiyang 550025, ChinaDepartment of Chemical Engineering, Textile and Clothing, Shaanxi Polytechnic Institute, Xianyang 712000, ChinaChina Tianchen Engineering Corporation, Tianjin 300400, ChinaDepartment of Chemical Engineering, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Guizhou University, Guiyang 550025, ChinaIn the production process of the heavy oil industry, efficiently demulsifying water-in-heavy oil (W/HO) emulsions can effectively prevent the negative effects of emulsion corrosion on equipment, increase costs, reduce oil quality, and pollute the environment. Herein, polyether demulsifier complexes (PDC) were obtained by compounding fatty alcohol nonionic polyether (FAP) with perfluoropolyether (PFPEA, [CF<sub>3</sub>O(CF<sub>2</sub>CF<sub>2</sub>O)<sub>n</sub>CF<sub>3</sub>]) through a simple physical blending method. The experimental results demonstrate that PDC exhibited outstanding demulsification performance for W/HO emulsions across varying temperatures: At 60 °C and 400 ppm dosage, PDC achieved complete dehydration (100%) within just 2 min, showing significantly faster demulsification kinetics compared to FAP and PFPEA. Even at the reduced temperature of 40 °C, PDC maintained effective demulsification capability, achieving complete phase separation within 6 min. These findings collectively establish PDC’s superior demulsification efficiency for W/HO emulsions, with particularly remarkable performance under challenging low-temperature conditions. Research on the demulsification mechanism indicates that PDC achieves efficient demulsification performance due to the synergistic effect the synergistic effect of FAP and PFPEA to effectively destroy the non-covalent bonds (hydrogen and π–π stacking) of interfacially active asphaltenes (IAA) at the oil–water interface, thereby achieving demulsification of W/HO emulsion. PDC with outstanding demulsification ability exhibits significant potential for practical applications in heavy crude oil–water emulsion treatment, and this work can provide insights for developing new composite demulsifiers for petroleum production.https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/30/12/2550polyether demulsifier complexesinterfacially active asphaltenesdemulsificationwater-in-heavy oil emulsions |
| spellingShingle | Jing Li Xiao Xia Jinlong Gao Hao Chen Jun Ma Polyether Demulsifier Complexes for Efficient Demulsification of Water-in-Heavy Oil Emulsions Molecules polyether demulsifier complexes interfacially active asphaltenes demulsification water-in-heavy oil emulsions |
| title | Polyether Demulsifier Complexes for Efficient Demulsification of Water-in-Heavy Oil Emulsions |
| title_full | Polyether Demulsifier Complexes for Efficient Demulsification of Water-in-Heavy Oil Emulsions |
| title_fullStr | Polyether Demulsifier Complexes for Efficient Demulsification of Water-in-Heavy Oil Emulsions |
| title_full_unstemmed | Polyether Demulsifier Complexes for Efficient Demulsification of Water-in-Heavy Oil Emulsions |
| title_short | Polyether Demulsifier Complexes for Efficient Demulsification of Water-in-Heavy Oil Emulsions |
| title_sort | polyether demulsifier complexes for efficient demulsification of water in heavy oil emulsions |
| topic | polyether demulsifier complexes interfacially active asphaltenes demulsification water-in-heavy oil emulsions |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/30/12/2550 |
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