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Characterization of Solids from Oilfield Emulsions

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 March 2018

Richard W. Cloud*
Affiliation:
Nalco Company, NapervilleIllinois
Rebecca L. Ramsey
Affiliation:
Nalco Energy Services, Sugar LandTexas
Robert A. Pultz
Affiliation:
Nalco Energy Services, Sugar LandTexas
Michael K. Poindexter
Affiliation:
Nalco Energy Services, Sugar LandTexas

Extract

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Production of crude oil is generally accompanied by several other product phases, namely water, gas and solids. Pressure drops across chokes, concomitant gas evolution (due to pressure drops) and turbulence caused by various pipeline configurations can create difficult-to-resolve emulsions. Natural crude oil surfactants and solids exacerbate the problem further by migrating to the newly created oil-water interface and stabilizing the unwanted emulsions. Once the fluids arrive at the production facilities, a variety of vessels are employed to separate the oil, gas and water. Depending on the wettability of the solids, they will exit via one or both of the liquid phases. In a worse case scenario, the solids will accumulate at the oil-water interface.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Microscopy Society of America 2005

References

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