A review of the interfacial stability mechanism of aging oily sludge: Heavy components, inorganic particles, and their synergism

Oily sludge is widely produced in the processes of petroleum exploitation, storage, transportation, and refining, and becomes more stable during aging. The interfacial stability of aging oily sludge hinders the recovery and disposal of oil resources. This review summarizes the interfacial film stability of aging oily sludge, which occurs through the formation of viscoelastic and rigid bilayer interfacial films between heavy components (asphaltenes and resins) and inorganic particles. The bilayer interfacial films enhance interfacial film strength and hinder the aggregation of droplets, contributing to the formation of a stable and high-viscosity oil-water-solid three-phase mixture. Recent demulsification technologies for reducing the stability of interfacial films have been classified as follows: removing heavy components, changing asphaltene aggregate structure, and reducing inorganic particle content. More efficient demulsification technologies are expected to be developed by deeply analyzing the microstructure and interfacial properties of asphaltenes and resins, as well as comprehensively studying the complex interactions among various components. This review constructs a bridge between the stability mechanism and the corresponding destabilization methods, which would promote future studies in aging oily sludge treatment.

Interfacial sciences in unconventional petroleum production: from fundamentals to applications

With the ever increasing demand for energy to meet the needs of growth in population and improvement in the living standards, in particular in developing countries, the abundant unconventional oil reserves (about 70% of total world oil), such as heavy oil, oil/tar sands and shale oil, are playing an increasingly important role in securing global energy supply.

Oilfield solids and water-in-oil emulsion stability

Model water-in-hydrocarbon emulsions consisting of toluene, heptane, water, asphaltenes, and native solids were used to investigate the role of native solids in the stability of oilfield emulsions. The solids were recovered from an oil-sands bitumen, a wellhead emulsion, and a refinery slop oil. The solids were clay platelets and fell into two size categories: (1) fine solids 50 to 500 nm in diameter and (2) coarse solids 1 to 10 microm in diameter. Emulsions stabilized by fine solids and asphaltenes were most stable at a 2:1 fractional area ratio of asphaltenes to solids. It appears that when the asphaltene surface coverage is high, insufficient solids remain to make an effective barrier. When the solids coverage is high, insufficient asphaltenes remain on the interface to immobilize the solids. Treatments that weaken the interface, such as toluene dilution, are recommended for emulsions stabilized by fine solids. Emulsions stabilized by coarse solids were unstable at low solids concentrations but became very stable at solids concentrations greater than 10 kg/m(3). At low concentrations, these solids may act as bridges between water droplets and promote coalescence. At high concentrations, layers of coarse solids may become trapped between water droplets and prevent coalescence. Treatments that flocculate the solids, such as heptane dilution, are recommended for emulsions stabilized by high concentrations of coarse solids. It is possible that emulsions containing both types of solids may require more than one treatment, or even process step, for effective water resolution.

Rheology of asphaltene-toluene/water interfaces

The stability of water-in-crude oil emulsions is frequently attributed to a rigid asphaltene film at the water/oil interface. The rheological properties of these films and their relationship to emulsion stability are ill defined. In this study, the interfacial tension, elastic modulus, and viscous modulus were measured using a drop shape analyzer for model oils consisting of asphaltenes dissolved in toluene for concentrations varying from 0.002 to 20 kg/m(3). The effects of oscillation frequency, asphaltene concentration, and interface aging time were examined. The films exhibited viscoelastic behavior. The total modulus increased as the interface aged at all asphaltene concentrations. An attempt was made to model the rheology for the full range of asphaltene concentration. The instantaneous elasticity was modeled with a surface equation of state (SEOS), and the elastic and viscous moduli, with the Lucassen-van den Tempel (LVDT) model. It was found that only the early-time data could be modeled using the SEOS-LVDT approach; that is, the instantaneous, elastic, and viscous moduli of interfaces aged for at most 10 minutes. At longer interface aging times, the SEOS-LVDT approach was invalid, likely because of irreversible adsorption of asphaltenes on the interface and the formation of a network structure.