Development of Local Demulsifier For Water - In- Oil Emulsion Treatment

Abstract

Separation of water from oil before transportation or refining is very essential for economic and operational reasons. Several methods in use have suffered from drawbacks such as high costs of production and environmental concerns. The need to develop a cost effective and efficient demulsifier in treating crude oil emulsions without compromising quality and environmental safety is a major concern to the oil industry worldwide. Hence, this study aims at developing and formulating cheap and environmentally safe demulsifier from plant extracts. Single plant screening of two groups of plant samples; A, B, C (Calotropis procera: dry and fresh extract and Citrus limonum: fresh extract) and D, E, F (Jathropha curcas: dry and fresh extract and Thevetia ferifolia: fresh extract) using bottle test and centrifuge methods was conducted at 70⁰C for 300 seconds. The effect of modifier (ether, ethylacetate, ethylene glycol, ethanol and buthanol) was determined using the same methods. The optimum concentrations in g/ml for combination of oil and water-soluble demulsifier was determined using prediction profiler plot. Model formulation was based on 2³ full factorial (custom) experimental design for the two groups and the final product was compared with commercial demulsifier; product code W054 in emulsion treatments.