30 Rheology of Concentrated Viscous Crude Oil-in-Water Emulsions YEIN MING LEE, SYLVAN G. FRANK, and JACQUES L. ZAKIN
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Department of Chemical Engineering, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210
Economic pipeline transport of viscous crudes as concentrated oil-inwater emulsions has been demonstrated in at least two commercial pipelines. The present study was undertaken to learn more about the rheological characteristics of concentrated emulsions and the effect of such variables as emulsion formulation and preparation techniques, aging, and crude oil viscosity on emulsion properties. Two crude oils were used, a California crude with a viscosity of 24 poise at 25°C and a Canadian crude of 164 poise. Both could be emulsified by the addition of NaOH which reacted with the acids present in the crude. A series of oil-in-water emulsions containing 60% (by volume) of oil were prepared. Concentration of NaOH and NaCl and mixer speed were varied. Emulsion stability was measured as was particle size distribution and viscosity and the effect of aging on the latter two. Emulsions of the heavier crude had viscosities about 600 times smaller than the crude viscosity. With no salt present, moderately stable emulsions of the lower viscosity oil could be prepared at NaOH concentrations as low as 3.0 χ 10-5 moles NaOH/gram oil. In the presence of 1.0% NaCl in the water, emulsions with NaOH contents above 5.0 χ 10-5 were less stable than those with lower NaOH contents. In general average particle diameters decreased as NaOH concentration increased, with slightly lower particle sizes when
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20.0 15.0 5.0 10.0 TOTAL Na+ CONTENT (*E-5 M0LE/GM-0IL)
F i g u r e 10. E f f e c t o f T o t a l Sodium Ion Content Two 60% S h e l l Crude Emulsions w i t h N a C l .
Table I I .
,
E f f e c t of
NaCl Content on E m u l s i o n
.
25
on V i s c o s i t y f o r
Properties
NaCl %
Visco (cp)
Dm microns
4.0 4.0 4.0 4.0 4.0 4.0 4.0 4.0 4.0
1.50 1.00 O.50 O.40 O.30 O.25 O.20 O.10 O.00
25.7 23.0 18.5 18.3 17.4 17.0 18.3 19.3 19.6
3.10 2.84 2.64 2.70 2.70 2.73 2.78 2.80 2.87
O.6212 O.6182 O.6109 O.6105 O.6088 O.6080 O.6107 O.6125 O.6130
3.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 3.0
1.00 O.50 O.40 O.30 O.25 O.20 O.00
20.2 17.0 16.5 16.9 17.3 18.4 19.0
2.96 2.73 2.78 2.82 2.94 2.99 3.10
O.6140 O.6080 O.6069 O.6079 O.6086 O.6107 O.6115
moleSNaOH/ gm-oil χ 10
a
Shah; Macro- and Microemulsions ACS Symposium Series; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 1985.
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486
MACRO- AND MICROEMULSIONS
F i g u r e 11. R e l a t i v e V i s c o s i t y S h e l l Crude E m u l s i o n s .
v s . P a r t i c l e Diameter f o r 60% F r e s h
Shah; Macro- and Microemulsions ACS Symposium Series; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 1985.
30. 4.
5.
LEE ET AL.
Rheology of Crude Ο/ W Emulsions
487
Average p a r t i c l e s i z e and p a r t i c l e s i z e d i s t r i b u t i o n and s a l t c o n c e n t r a t i o n a r e o t h e r v a r i a b l e s which a f f e c t e m u l s i o n v i s c o s i t y . V i s c o s i t i e s c a n be lowered by p r o p e r c o n t r o l o f these v a r i a b l e s . The use o f e q u a t i o n s proposed by Sherman f o r p r e d i c t i n g e m u l s i o n v i s c o s i t i e s from apparent volume f r a c t i o n s and p a r t i c l e diameter of the d i s p e r s e d phase is u s e f u l in a n a l y z i n g the e f f e c t s o f f o r m u l a t i o n and p r e p a r a t i o n v a r i a b l e s and a g i n g on e m u l s i o n viscosities.
Literature Cited
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1.
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Shah; Macro- and Microemulsions ACS Symposium Series; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 1985.
