(465b) Demulsification of Non-Ionic Surfactant-Stabilized Emulsions from Enhanced Oil Recovery with Magnetic Nanoparticles

The removal of excess water content in produced oil that contains non-ionic surfactant stabilized emulsion is challenging by conventional chemical treatment. I will describe a new nanoparticle treatment to examine, characterize and demulsify the non-ionic surfactant (C_12-14E₂₂) stabilized emulsions. Crude oil in water (O/W) emulsions were formed and stabilized by surfactant in the upper layer. Emulsion viscosity measurements show that emulsion viscosity is independent of water oil ratio. The effect of temperature on surfactant partition between oleic and aqueous phase was determined. Deemulsification can be achieved by the addition of charged nanoparticles, which can significantly reduce the water content in crude oil.