Constructing oxygen-based multiple hydrogen bonding sites and delocalized π bonds for efficient oil-water-solid...

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Chemical Engineering
• Petroleum Engineering

Background:

• Separating oil-water emulsions stabilized by solids and natural components is difficult in the petroleum and coal industries.
• Existing demulsifiers often require high temperatures and long treatment times.

Purpose of the Study:

• To synthesize and evaluate a novel interfacially-active nonionic polymer for efficient demulsification.
• To elucidate the mechanism behind the polymer's demulsification performance.

Main Methods:

• Esterification and polymerization to synthesize the interfacially-active polymer.
• Laboratory bottle tests to assess demulsification efficiency at varying temperatures and times.
• Interfacial characterization and molecular dynamics simulations to study the demulsification mechanism.

Main Results:

• The synthesized polymer completely broke silica-asphaltene co-stabilized water-in-heavy oil emulsions at 60 °C within 45 minutes.
• Performance significantly surpassed commercial and reported demulsifiers (requiring >75 °C and >90 minutes).
• Mechanistic studies revealed the polymer's multiple hydrogen bonding sites and delocalized π bonds are key to its effectiveness.

Conclusions:

• The novel polymer efficiently destabilizes complex emulsions through non-covalent interactions and asphaltene solubilization.
• This functional material offers a promising low-carbon solution for separating challenging industrial emulsions.
• The findings provide insights for designing advanced demulsifiers for the petroleum and coal sectors.