Abstract:
Petroleum emulsions of the water-in-oil type present serious problems to the producer, the transporter and the refiner of petroleum. They occur in most of the oil field of the world. This paper presents a technique for the resolution of emulsions of western oil field of India. The study comprised of fixing the different parameters such as homogenizing time, water/oil ratio, rotational speed of the mixer which yield stable emulsions. In order to get an idea of surface activity, the IFT of the crude oil was measured against water. Apart from this, the stable emulsions was investigated for the effect of elevated temperature, change in the pH of the water phase, electrolyte, chemical surfactants and ultrasonic energy on the destabilising effect of the emulsion.