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Crude Oil Emulsions - A State-Of-The-Art Review PDF
Crude Oil Emulsions - A State-Of-The-Art Review PDF
A State-Of-The-Art Review
Sunil Kokal, SPE, Saudi Aramco
Fig. 3Viscosities of very tight emulsions at 125F. (Safaniya Fig. 4Relative viscosities of emulsions. (The curves are based
crude emulsions. Data obtained using Haake Rheostress RS- on typical Saudi Arabian crude emulsion viscosities measured
150 rheometer.) using Haake Rheostress RS-150 rheometer.)
Dissolve in the continuous oil phase. lecting the best demulsifier, several sets of tests may be necessary
Diffuse the oil/water interface on the basis that the con- at different values of concentration, temperature, water cut, and
centration of the demulsifier is high enough; however, it should other factors The demulsifier dosages obtained in the laboratory
not be higher than a critical concentration (i.e., critical aggre- are generally greater than those needed in the field. It is highly
gate concentration). recommended that the bottle test be conducted with fresh emul-
Partition into the water phase (partitioning coefficient close sions (i.e., within a few minutes of sampling), as aging of samples
to unity). has a significant effect on demulsifier dosages. During the bottle
Possess a high rate of adsorption at the interface. tests, many other factors should also be noted: color and appear-
Suppress the IFT gradient, thus accelerating the rate of film ance of the emulsion, clarity of the water, sediments in the water,
drainage and promoting coalescence on the basis that the interfa- presence of a rag layer, and loose solids hanging at the interface.
cial activity is high enough. These factors can provide information that may be important dur-
Demulsifier selection and optimization are described in detail ing demulsifier selection.
in Ref. 12. After the bottle tests, two or three promising demulsifiers are
selected for field testing. During the field trials, the screened
chemicals should be tested at various concentrations, operating
Field Applications temperatures, settling times, degrees of clarity of separated water,
The design of emulsion-treating equipment and procedures for a and most importantly, the amount of water and salt remaining in
given field or application requires experience and engineering the produced crude. It is also a good idea to test the chemicals over
judgment. The engineer must rely on laboratory data and data from a period of time (a minimum of 12 days or longer, if possible) to
nearby wells or fields and depend on experience. There is no evaluate the performance and compare with the incumbent-
standard solution available for striking a balance between, for chemical performance. The best demulsifier is the one that pro-
example, the amount of chemical and heat to resolve emulsions. duces the fastest, cleanest separation at the lowest possible cost per
The greater the treatment temperature, the lower the amount of barrel of crude.
demulsifier needed. In general, economic analysis dictates the type Several field studies related to emulsion problems have been
and size of equipment used and the balance between the amount of described in the literature.12,22,26,30 Some of the general guidelines
chemical and heating requirements. In some cases, crude-oil speci- for an emulsion-treatment program include the following:
fications may decide the system to be used for emulsion treatment. Each producing stream is unique and must be evaluated in-
Other factors include internal packing vs. the size of the equip- dividually to determine the best separation strategy. Laboratory
ment; the savings in equipment cost must be balanced against the tests with actual samples are recommended; however, data from
increased capital and operating costs of the packing or coalesc- nearby wells and/or fields can be used as estimates.
ing grids. The planning for future emulsion treatment should begin dur-
Laboratory bottle tests can provide an estimate of treating tem- ing the early design of the separation facility. For example, if water
peratures and retention times that can be used for design and cuts are anticipated to increase, appropriate measures should be
operation. However, the laboratory bottle tests are done under taken in the design phase for increased water handling.
static conditions, and the field usage is dynamic. Demulsifier dos- Operational experience and laboratory work are necessary to
ages, for example, generally are much greater in the static bottle substantiate emulsion concerns and identify solutions. Pilot and
tests than under field conditions. However, laboratory testing is plant tests should determine the actual treatment requirements.
excellent for screening different emulsion samples for relative Bottle tests have limitations in determining dosage, but are good
tightness, evaluating prospective demulsifiers, and evaluating the for screening and trend analysis.
effects of different variables on emulsion resolution.12,26 Treatment capacities can be increased for existing separator trains
To select a demulsifier for a given system, one generally starts by re-engineering and retrofitting. For example, internal packing
with the bottle tests. Representative emulsion samples are taken can be installed in the separator for improving emulsion resolution.
and transferred into several centrifuge tubes. Several demulsifiers For existing systems, record demulsifier and other relevant
(generally from different demulsifier vendors) are added to the operational data (e.g., production rates, water cuts, temperatures,
centrifuge tubes in various amounts, and water-dropout data are and costs) over a period of time. These data can be useful for
collected and analyzed to determine the best demulsifier. For se- analyzing demulsifier dosages (e.g., during the summer and win-