Studies of Water-In-Oil Emulsions and Techniques to Measure Emulsion Treating Agents

摘要

This paper summarizes studies to determine the physics ofwater-in-oil emulsion formation, the development of procedures to form emulsions, the measurement of emulsion stability and the development oflaboratory effectiveness tests for water-in-oil emulsion breakers and inhibitors. Studies of analytical means for characterizing emulsions show that the measurement ofwater in emulsion using Karl-Fischer titration is accurate and rapid. This method is limited by the characteristic of emulsions to contain a significant amount of excess water. Methods to remove this water have been investigated. These include use ofsorbents and centrifugation. Both have limitations that suggest these methods do not have potential for further development. Viscosity has been found to be a very reliable method of characterizing emulsions. Viscosity measurements are somewhat subject to errors resulting fromthe incorporation of excess water, however, not to the degree of direct water analysis. Conductivity was investigated as a technique to study emulsions. The findings are that stable emulsions show little difference in conductivity from unstable emulsions. Emulsion stability was studied using emulsions formed in three apparatuses. For laboratory purposes, an emulsion is generally defined as being stable if it retains.most ofits water over a 5-.day period and shows little reappearance of the starting oil. Based on tests and previous experience in the laboratory, visual criteria have been developed to gauge whether an emulsion is stable or not. These criteria include the characteristic red colour of an emulsion, appearance of water and appearance of black oil on the emulsion surface.