Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

Surface Active Agents

Surface Active Agents

Surfactants, named for their behavior at interfaces, positively adsorb at the interfaces of two phases, reducing interfacial tension. Their versatility as emulsifiers, detergents, and foaming agents stems from this ability. Surfactants, often termed amphiphiles, share the property of amphipathy, with molecules having both hydrophilic and hydrophobic portions. The hydrophilic part is called the head, and the hydrophobic part, including an elongated alkyl substituent, forms the tail.Surfactants...

Colloids

Colloids

Children at play often make suspensions such as mixtures of mud and water, flour and water, or a suspension of solid pigments in water known as tempera paint. These suspensions are heterogeneous mixtures composed of relatively large particles that are visible to the naked eye or can be seen with a magnifying glass. They are cloudy, and the suspended particles settle out after mixing. On the other hand, a solution is a homogeneous mixture in which no settling occurs and in which the dissolved...

Microbial Bioremediation of Hydrocarbons

Microbial Bioremediation of Hydrocarbons

Bioremediation is an environmentally sustainable process that employs living organisms—primarily microorganisms—to degrade or neutralize pollutants from contaminated environments. In oil spills and hydrocarbon pollution, bioremediation involves the use of hydrocarbon-degrading bacteria to transform toxic compounds into less harmful substances. This approach leverages natural microbial metabolic processes and is considered both cost-effective and ecologically favorable compared to...

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

Uncovering Electron-Transfer Mechanisms of Sulfur Anion Photosensitizers with Intramolecular Charge Transfer.

Journal of the American Chemical Society·2026

Same author

FRE-GAN : Full-resolution efficient convolutional generative adversarial network for retinal vessel segmentation.

Neural networks : the official journal of the International Neural Network Society·2026

Same author

Global Research Trends in Gastric Cancer Epigenetics From 2005 to 2025.

Cureus·2026

Same author

Alternating Current-Promoted Copper Catalysis for the Construction of Alkynyl Thioethers.

The Journal of organic chemistry·2026

Same author

Prognostic value of lncRNA HCG4 in thyroid cancer and its regulatory effect on tumor progression.

Endokrynologia Polska·2026

Same author

PRMT5 Methylates and Stabilizes EphA2 via Inhibiting Its Ubiquitination and Degradation to Promote Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma Stem Cell Properties.

MedComm·2026

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Apr 25, 2026

Studying Surfactant Effects on Hydrate Crystallization at Oil-Water Interfaces Using a Low-Cost Integrated Modular Peltier Device

Studying Surfactant Effects on Hydrate Crystallization at Oil-Water Interfaces Using a Low-Cost Integrated Modular Peltier Device

Published on: March 18, 2020

Study on an Extended Surfactant Heavy Oil Viscosity Reduction Emulsification System.

Hong Yi^1,2, Yueqing Huo^1,2, Xiaochen Liu^1,2

¹China Research Institute of Daily Chemical Industry, Taiyuan, Shanxi 030001, China.

Langmuir : the ACS Journal of Surfaces and Colloids

|April 24, 2026

Summary

Extended surfactants significantly reduce heavy oil viscosity by over 97% through enhanced emulsification. Increasing polyoxypropylene (PO) groups boosts efficacy and reduces emulsion droplet size, aiding heavy oil recovery.

More Related Videos

Enhanced Oil Recovery using a Combination of Biosurfactants

Enhanced Oil Recovery using a Combination of Biosurfactants

Published on: June 3, 2022

Self-Nanoemulsification of Healthy Oils to Enhance the Solubility of Lipophilic Drugs

Self-Nanoemulsification of Healthy Oils to Enhance the Solubility of Lipophilic Drugs

Published on: July 27, 2022

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Apr 25, 2026

Studying Surfactant Effects on Hydrate Crystallization at Oil-Water Interfaces Using a Low-Cost Integrated Modular Peltier Device

Studying Surfactant Effects on Hydrate Crystallization at Oil-Water Interfaces Using a Low-Cost Integrated Modular Peltier Device

Published on: March 18, 2020

Enhanced Oil Recovery using a Combination of Biosurfactants

Enhanced Oil Recovery using a Combination of Biosurfactants

Published on: June 3, 2022

Self-Nanoemulsification of Healthy Oils to Enhance the Solubility of Lipophilic Drugs

Self-Nanoemulsification of Healthy Oils to Enhance the Solubility of Lipophilic Drugs

Published on: July 27, 2022

Area of Science:

Petroleum Engineering
Colloid and Surface Chemistry

Background:

Heavy oil recovery is challenged by high viscosity.
Surfactants are crucial for enhancing oil recovery through emulsification and viscosity reduction.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the viscosity reduction and emulsification properties of fatty alcohol polyoxypropylene polyoxyethylene ether sulfates for heavy oil.
To elucidate the molecular mechanisms behind the viscosity reduction.

Main Methods:

Experimental evaluation of surfactant performance in heavy oil viscosity reduction and emulsification.
Molecular dynamics simulations to analyze interfacial phenomena and molecular interactions.

Main Results:

Extended surfactants achieved over 97% viscosity reduction efficiency.
Increased polyoxypropylene (PO) groups enhanced viscosity reduction and decreased emulsion droplet size.
PO groups promoted self-emulsification and achieved ultralow interfacial tension.

Conclusions:

Extended surfactants, particularly those with more PO groups, are highly effective heavy oil viscosity reducers.
The molecular structure of PO groups is key to their interaction with heavy oil components.
These findings provide guidance for developing novel heavy oil viscosity reducers.