Effect of Branched and Straight Chained Alcohols on Performance of Crude oil Demulsifiers

Abstract

Unwanted crude oil emulsions occur in many stages of oil production,  transportation, and processing. The huge cost resulting from corrosion of transport system and production facilities, because of the presence of water is a major challenge to the oil industry and the global economy. However, the addition of alcohols to demulsifiers has been reported to enhance their efficiency in removing water from emulsions. There is therefore the need to identify the best type of alcohols and optimize this process of addition.  Consequently in this work, the effect of different straight and branched chain alcohols on the performance enhancement of demulsifiers was investigated using four different crude oil emulsion samples. The results showed that straight alcohols performed better when compared to branched chain alcohols under all conditions of temperature. This may be due to their slow mobility particularly in stable emulsions.

Keywords: Crude Oil, Emulsion, Emulsifiers, Demulsifiers, Alcohols