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Temperature-responsive salt-resistant poly(sulfobetaine methacrylate)-based emulsifiers for heavy oils
Ziqi Wu1, Junjie Fan1, Jianwen Hu1
1School of Materials Science and Engineering, China University of Petroleum (East China), Qingdao, Shandong 266580, China.
Summary
New temperature-responsive emulsifiers, poly(styrene-co-butyl acrylate)-graft-chitosan (CS-PSBMA), enable stable emulsions at high temperatures and demulsification at low temperatures, ideal for oilfield applications.
Area of Science:
- Polymer Chemistry
- Colloid and Surface Science
- Petroleum Engineering
Background:
- Conventional emulsifiers lack thermal stability, limiting their use in high-temperature, high-salt oilfield environments.
- Existing emulsifiers often fail at elevated temperatures, leading to demulsification and operational challenges in oil extraction.
Purpose of the Study:
- To synthesize and evaluate novel temperature-responsive emulsifiers for enhanced oil recovery (EOR).
- To investigate the performance of poly(styrene-co-butyl acrylate) (PSBMA) and chitosan-graft-PSBMA (CS-PSBMA) in forming stable emulsions under harsh conditions.
Main Methods:
- Synthesis of PSBMA and CS-PSBMA emulsifiers.
- Preparation and stability testing of emulsions across varying temperatures, salt concentrations, and water-to-oil ratios.
- Assessment of emulsification and demulsification behavior in diverse oil phases, including heavy oils.
Main Results:
- Both emulsifiers formed stable emulsions between 60-80 °C and demulsified between 20-40 °C.
- CS-PSBMA demonstrated superior emulsion stability, temperature responsiveness (UCST), and significantly enhanced salt resistance.
- Emulsions remained stable with monovalent salts up to 2 mol/L and divalent salts up to 3 mol/L, outperforming existing technologies.
Conclusions:
- The synthesized temperature-responsive emulsifiers, particularly CS-PSBMA, offer a viable solution for high-temperature emulsification and low-temperature demulsification in oilfield operations.
- CS-PSBMA's exceptional stability in high-salt conditions makes it highly promising for enhanced oil recovery applications.
- These novel emulsifiers can withstand harsh reservoir conditions, improving heavy oil recovery efficiency.
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