Recent Advances in Heavy Oil Emulsion Treatment
The challenge of removing emulsified water and dispersed fine solids from heavy oil is dealt with by a combination of mechanical and thermal treatments aided by the addition of surfactants and solvent. We present some recent developments in the characterization and treatment of heavy oil emulsions, including the optimization of surfactant (demulsifier) selection and the influence of solvent composition on emulsion stability. Reasons for various degrees of decontamination with surfactants and solvent treatment are discussed. Also, a new method of determining the droplet size distribution, which is based on the theory of hindered settling, is presented This technique can complement more traditional ways of measuring droplet size distributions based on microscopy and light scattering, which can fail for optically opaque heavy oil systems.
T. Dabros H.A. Hamza
CANMET Energy Technology Centre-Devon, Alberta, Canada
国际会议
首届世界重油大会(The Technical Sessions of the First World Heavy Oil Conference)
北京
英文
683-689
2006-11-12（万方平台首次上网日期，不代表论文的发表时间）