MIX DESIGN FOR ASSESSING THE EFFECT OF COMPOSITION OF OIL EMULSIONS

Abstract

In the process of oil extraction, emulsions are formed very easily due to the lifting and transport mechanisms on the surface, through which there is sufficient agitation to disperse the water in oil in the form of oil-water emulsion stabilized by interfacial activity species present in the raw. The stability of emulsions includes not only the physical aspects that control the phase separation, but also chemical (oxidation, hydrolysis) and microbiological processes. Many times, the success of a process is just the opposite, to control the destabilization of emulsions. Factorial designs, used in research on the behavior of the emulsions do not consider the effect of sample volume as this paper demonstrates the efficiency of the mix design to evaluate the influence of the composition variables on the viscosity of emulsions water in oil. This will show the effect of emulsifier B on the viscosity of an aqueous emulsion of a mixture of crude oil Mesa 30 (80 %) and Cuban crude (20 %), applying the mixture experimental design. The most significant effect on the viscosity of the emulsion is exercised by the emulsifying agent and its interaction with the other two variables (water and oil).
The interaction of emulsifier with water is higher than that of the emulsifier with the oil. The emulsions remain stable for 15 days.