COMPARATIVE STUDY OF NATURAL PLANT-BASED DEMULSIFIERS FOR CRUDE OIL EMULSIONS
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Abstract
The study focuses on the formulation and comparing efficiency of plant-based demulsifiers as sustainable substitutes of disintegrating water-in-oil emulsions during crude oil processing. The objective of the study is to determine the efficiency of the selected natural materials in the demulsification process like clove extract, coconut oil and orange and banana peels combined, besides evaluating the effect of external forces on the work of the demulsifier like diesel dilution and magnetic fields. Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) was used to determine chemical composition of each bio-extract and functional groups to develop a relationship between the structure and activity in terms of emulsion destabilization. The quantitative information about the performance trends was gained with the help of experimental data during a
70-minute period of treatment, which was analyzed using the standard deviation statistics (which
are tabulated in the appendix). Findings showed that all the natural demulsifiers were highly
interfacially active due to the presence of surface-active compounds, including phenolics, flavonoids, terpenes, and fatty acids, which influence the interfacial activity of the natural demulsifiers through their ability to destabilize the interfacial films and induce droplet coalescence. The clove extract recorded the greatest demulsification efficiency among all samples that can be explained by its high phenolic concentration and good amphiphilicity. It was found that diesel dilution and magnetic treatment can affect, but not change much of the demulsification behavior, which proves that intrinsic chemical composition is a stronger factor, compared to extrinsic factors. All in all, the research proves that the natural plant demulsifiers have a promising potential to substitute the traditional chemical demulsifiers in the process of crude oil treatment and to provide similar or better results at less environmental and economic expenses. The results highlight the promise of green demulsification technologies as an important measure to achieve sustainable production and processing of petroleum.
70-minute period of treatment, which was analyzed using the standard deviation statistics (which
are tabulated in the appendix). Findings showed that all the natural demulsifiers were highly
interfacially active due to the presence of surface-active compounds, including phenolics, flavonoids, terpenes, and fatty acids, which influence the interfacial activity of the natural demulsifiers through their ability to destabilize the interfacial films and induce droplet coalescence. The clove extract recorded the greatest demulsification efficiency among all samples that can be explained by its high phenolic concentration and good amphiphilicity. It was found that diesel dilution and magnetic treatment can affect, but not change much of the demulsification behavior, which proves that intrinsic chemical composition is a stronger factor, compared to extrinsic factors. All in all, the research proves that the natural plant demulsifiers have a promising potential to substitute the traditional chemical demulsifiers in the process of crude oil treatment and to provide similar or better results at less environmental and economic expenses. The results highlight the promise of green demulsification technologies as an important measure to achieve sustainable production and processing of petroleum.
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