To destroy water-oil emulsions, high heating temperatures, increased dosages of the demulsifier, and a long settling time are required. These methods are characterized by high operational and capital costs, the metal intensity of the process, as well as the unstable effect in the separation of emulsions. Therefore, urgent tasks are the improvement of existing and the development of new effective methods for the separation of stable emulsions. A promising direction for the separation of oil-water emulsions is the use of ultrasonic exposure. It is known that under the influence of acoustic waves between particles there are attractive and repulsive forces, oscillations. At present, ultrasound is widely used to accelerate the processes of dissolution, emulsification, and preparation of suspensions. Ultrasonic vibrations provide ultra-fine dispersion, repeatedly increasing the interfacial surface of the components. It is established that ultrasonic waves contribute to reversal processes - the separation of components into separate phases.
The article proposes an alternative way to increase the speed of separation of the emulsion, which is based on acoustic exposure to the emulsion.
In the laboratory of the Gubkin University conducted tests determined the separation efficiency depending on the type of emulsion, oil viscosity, temperature, emitter power, the presence of a demulsifier, and so on. Based on the results of the research, the positive effect of ultrasonic radiation on the separation of oil-water emulsions was determined. The threshold values of acoustic exposure are determined in order to prevent cavitation effects. The joint use of demulsifiers with ultrasound was studied and a reduction in separation time compared with gravity settling was revealed. From a practical point of view, the use of acoustic methods will increase the productivity of existing facilities, as well as dramatically reduce the capital costs of equipping primary oil treatment facilities at new facilities onshore and offshore.
References
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