(123d) An Overview of Emulsion Stabilization Mechanisms in Petroleum-Water Mixtures

Emulsions of oil in water, but more typically water in oil, are common in the production, transportation, and refining of petroleum and petroleum products.  While (1) the adsorption and molecular reorganization of asphaltenic aggregates at the oil-water interface is one of the most common methods of forming these stable emulsions, there are a host of other physical and chemical processes that can also either stabilize emulsion or combine with other processes to stabilize emulsion.  Among these are (2) the adsorption of organic acids and their soaps, (3) the adsorption of wax particles, (4) the modification of the rheology of thinning films between emulsion droplets by macromolecules, (5) the adsorption of sub-micron sized inorganic particles such as clays, silica, and iron oxides, and (6) the formation of liquid crystalline films at the oil-water interface.  In this talk, we will review the many means of emulsion and thin film stabilization of emulsions in petroleum-water mixtures, as well as the many physical and chemical means of characterizing both the materials that stabilize these emulsions and the means of characterizing the oil-water interface and the emulsion films themselves.