Surface Properties and Thermodynamic Parameters of Some Sugar-Based Ethoxylated Amine Surfactants: 1—Synthesis, Characterization, and Demulsification Efficiency

Petroleum sludge formation and its treatment methodologies: a review

Different petroleum operations produce huge amount of oil sludge annually. For instance, US EPA estimates the annual sludge production of each US refinery of 30,000 tons, while the average oily sludge produced from petrochemical industries in China is estimated about 3 million tons per year. In the last year, our center could recover about 30,206 barrels of raw oil from 32,786 barrels of tank bottom sludge (TBS) for different petroleum companies. This sludge causes huge economic losses besides its negative environmental impacts. The accumulation of sludge in the tanks results in reducing the tanks' capacity for storing liquid crude, accelerating the corrosion of the tanks, delay in the production schedule, and disturbing the whole production operation. There are diverse treatment methodologies such as solvent treatment, addition of certain chemicals, and centrifuging. Of course, the environmental regulations and the overall cost limitations are very important in deciding the preferred applicable method(s). Although several works handled the problem of sludge deposition and treatment from different aspects, we intend to introduce a different work. First, composition, formation, types, and properties of TBS were reviewed. Then, environmental and economic problems caused by TBS were revised. At last, different methodologies applied for treatment of oily TBS to recover oil and safe disposal of hazardous remains were investigated focusing on the most straightforward and environmentally friendly protocols. It is expected that this review attracts the experts in petroleum chemistry, and other relevant fields and provides a comprehensive understanding of current sludge control and treatment research.

Biodegradable Polyoxyethylenated Pentaerythritol Quaternary Esters as Oil Spill Dispersants

Four polyoxyethylenated pentaerythritol (PE) ester surfactants have been synthesized. The molecular weights of these surfactants were calculated and evaluated experimentally by GPC and confirmed by calculations based on 1H-NMR. Also, their HLB values were calculated by Griffin formula. The surface tension and thermodynamic properties of the surfactants were obtained from surface tension measurements at different temperatures (298 – 318 K). It was found that the minimum area/surfactant molecule (Amin) for the investigated surfactants increased with increasing the molecular weight of the incorporated ethylene oxide. The thermodynamic parameters of micellization (ΔGmic, ΔHmic and ΔSmic) and that for adsorption (ΔGad, ΔHad and ΔSad) were also calculated. The more negative Gibbs free energy of adsorption values than those of micellization suggest that these surfactants favor adsorption than micellization. This finding is utilized for monitoring their dispersancy power. It was found that the water solubility of the prepared surfactants is correlated to their HLB values. Furthermore, the biodegradability of the prepared compounds was studied at different conditions in order to investigate their usability as oil spill dispersants. The data revealed that PE200-C12 had maximum dispersion efficiency and it was completely biodegraded after 8 days.