Demulsifiers, or emulsion breakers, are a class of
specialty chemicals used to separate
emulsions, for example, water in oil. They are commonly used in the processing of
crude oil
Petroleum, also known as crude oil, or simply oil, is a naturally occurring yellowish-black liquid mixture of mainly hydrocarbons, and is found in geological formations. The name ''petroleum'' covers both naturally occurring unprocessed crude ...
, which is typically produced along with significant quantities of saline water. This water (and salt) must be removed from the crude oil prior to
refining
{{Unreferenced, date=December 2009
Refining (also perhaps called by the mathematical term affining) is the process of purification of a (1) substance or a (2) form. The term is usually used of a natural resource that is almost in a usable form, b ...
. If the majority of the water and salt are not removed, significant
corrosion problems can occur in the refining process.
Demulsifiers are typically based on the following chemistry:
* Acid catalysed
phenol-formaldehyde resins
* Base catalysed phenol-formaldehyde resins
* Epoxy resins
*
Polyethyleneimine
Polyethylenimine (PEI) or polyaziridine is a polymer with repeating units composed of the amine group and two carbon aliphatic ''CHCH'' spacers. Linear polyethyleneimines contain all secondary amines, in contrast to branched PEIs which contain pr ...
s
*
Polyamine
A polyamine is an organic compound having more than two amino groups. Alkyl polyamines occur naturally, but some are synthetic. Alkylpolyamines are colorless, hygroscopic, and water soluble. Near neutral pH, they exist as the ammonium derivatives. ...
s
* Di-
epoxides
*
Polyols
*
dendrimer
The above are usually ethoxylated (and/or propoxylated) to provide the desired degree of water/oil solubility.
The addition of
ethylene oxide increases water solubility,
propylene oxide decreases it.
Commercially available demulsifier formulations are typically a mixture of two to four different chemistries, in carrier solvent(s) such as
xylene,
heavy aromatic naphtha (HAN),
Isopropanol
Isopropyl alcohol (IUPAC name propan-2-ol and also called isopropanol or 2-propanol) is a colorless, flammable organic compound with a pungent alcoholic odor. As an isopropyl group linked to a hydroxyl group (chemical formula ) it is the simple ...
,
methanol
Methanol (also called methyl alcohol and wood spirit, amongst other names) is an organic chemical and the simplest aliphatic alcohol, with the formula C H3 O H (a methyl group linked to a hydroxyl group, often abbreviated as MeOH). It is a ...
,
2-Ethylhexanol
2-Ethylhexanol (abbreviated 2-EH) is an organic compound with formula CHO. It is a branched, eight-carbon chiral alcohol (chemistry), alcohol. It is a colorless liquid that is poorly soluble in water but soluble in most organic solvents. It is prod ...
or
diesel.
Demulsifiers are manufactured by chemical manufacturers including:
*
Arkema
Arkema S.A. is a publicly listed, multi-national manufacturer of specialty materials, headquartered in Colombes, near Paris, France. It has three specialty materials segments (or divisions); adhesives, advanced materials and coatings. A furthe ...
*
Baker Hughes
Baker Hughes Company, organized in Delaware and headquartered in Houston, is one of the world's largest oil field services companies. The company provides products and services for oil well drilling, formation evaluation, completion, productio ...
*
BASF
* ChampionX
*
Clariant
Clariant AG is a Swiss multinational speciality chemicals company, formed in 1995 as a spin-off from Sandoz. The company is focused on four business areas: care chemicals (consumer and industrial); catalysis; natural resources (oil & mining, mine ...
*
Dow Chemical Company
The Dow Chemical Company, officially Dow Inc., is an American multinational chemical corporation headquartered in Midland, Michigan, United States. The company is among the three largest chemical producers in the world.
Dow manufactures plastic ...
*
Lubrizol
*
Nouryon
PureChem ServicesCES
* SI Group
* Solvay
* Stepan
* Starborn Chemical
References
[{{cite web , url=http://www.petrofann.com/ , title=Home , website=petrofann.com]
Chemical mixtures