Kinetics of formation of polysaccharide-covered micrometric oil droplets under mechanical agitation

Study on the kinetics of formation process of emulsion of heavy oil and its functional group components

Enhanced oil recovery (EOR) by in situ formation of oil-in-water emulsion in heavy oil cold production technology has received growing interest from the petroleum industry. We present an experimental study of emulsification of model oils prepared by heavy oil and its functional group compositions dissolved into toluene brought into contact with a surfactant solution. The effects of functional group composition, emulsifier concentration, temperature, pH and stirring speed on the emulsification rate of heavy oil was investigated. A second-order kinetic model characterizing the temporal variation of conductivity during the emulsification has been established. The results show that acidic and amphoteric fractions exhibit higher interfacial activity, larger emulsification rate constant and faster emulsification rate. With the increase of emulsifier concentration, the emulsification rate constant increase to the maximum value at a concentration of 0.05 mol/L before decreasing. Temperature increase benefits the emulsification rate and the activation energy of the emulsification process is 40.28 kJ/mol. Higher pH and stirring speed indicate faster emulsification rate. The heterogeneity of emulsions limits the accuracy of dynamic characterization of the emulsification process and the determination method of emulsification rate has always been controversial. The conductivity method we proposed can effectively evaluates the emulsification kinetics. This paper provides theoretical guidance for an in-depth understanding of the mechanism and application of cold recovery technology for heavy oil.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon-emulsifier protein produced by Aspergillus brasiliensis (niger) in an airlift bioreactor following an electrochemical pretreatment

An emulsifier protein (EP) was produced and easily separated from oil-contaminated water as an economical substrate when Aspergillus brasiliensis, pretreated in a solid state culture with a controlled electric field, was used in an airlift bioreactor. The hydrocarbon-EP comprised 19.5% of the total protein, its purification enhanced the specific emulsifying activity (EA) seven times. The influence of operational conditions (pH and salt concentration) on the EA were assessed to characterise the emulsion stability. The EA was increased by 19% in alkaline environments (pH 7-11), but it was not affected by the presence of salt (0-35 g L^-1). On the other hand, preheating the EP samples (60 °C) enhanced the EA by 2.5 times. Based on analysis of its EA, this EP can be applied as a bioremediation enhancer in contaminated soils.