Aromatic Polyol Polyester Demulsifiers for Crude Oil Treatment
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current demulsifiers for crude oil treatment are costly and do not offer superior water drop performance or minimize residual emulsions effectively, leading to corrosion issues in refining processes.
Innovation Solution
Aromatic polyol polyester demulsifiers are synthesized by reacting high molecular weight, low hydroxyl number polyols with aromatic di-acids, using catalysts like titanium acetylacetonates, which are solubilized without sublimation or degradation, resulting in enhanced demulsification performance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional demulsifiers are used for crude oil treatment, then the cost is high, but the water drop performance and residual emulsion minimization are insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the molecular weight parameter of the polyol component, using high molecular weight polyols (MW 2000-5000) with low hydroxyl numbers (30-70 mg KOH/g) to synthesize demulsifiers that achieve superior water drop performance (50 ml in 60 minutes) and minimal residual emulsion (0-4.0 thief grindout values), resolving the contradiction between performance and manufacturing cost
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates composite demulsifier molecules by combining high molecular weight polyol backbones with aromatic acid moieties (such as isophthalic acid, terephthalic acid, or phthalic acid), resulting in a composite structure that delivers both cost-effectiveness and superior demulsification performance compared to conventional demulsifiers
2Reliability
If high molecular weight polyols are used to synthesize demulsifiers, then water drop performance improves, but the synthesis process complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and eliminates the need for complex vacuum systems by using a continuous nitrogen purge method that effectively removes water and low molecular weight by-products during polycondensation, simplifying the synthesis apparatus while maintaining high conversion and producing demulsifiers with superior performance
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces nitrogen gas as an intermediary medium that serves multiple functions: it carries away water vapor and low molecular weight by-products, maintains an inert atmosphere to prevent oxidation, and enables the use of simpler continuous flow reactor design, thereby reducing synthesis process complexity while achieving high-performance demulsifiers
3Productivity
If nitrogen purge is used to remove water during synthesis, then conversion increases, but low molecular weight diols are lost
Solution Approach 1:
The patent optimizes the nitrogen flow rate parameter to a specific range that is sufficient to remove water and drive the polycondensation reaction to high conversion but not so high as to strip away low molecular weight diols, thereby achieving both high productivity and minimal material loss
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs a controlled nitrogen purge regime that operates in a balanced manner throughout the synthesis process, maintaining optimal conditions for water removal while preserving low molecular weight diols that contribute to the final demulsifier performance, thus resolving the contradiction between conversion rate and substance loss
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The method achieves superior water drop performance and minimizes residual emulsions, with 300 ppm and 400 ppm concentrations showing zero residual emulsion values and 50 ml water drop values over 60 minutes, outperforming conventional demulsifiers.
Implementation Method 1
an aromatic di-acid that can be solubilized into the polyol, such that minimal or no sublimation or degradation occurred during the reaction process
Implementation Method 2
The synthesis reaction may also incorporate a catalyst
Implementation Method 3
demulsifiers are added to the oil/water emulsion and migrate to the oil/water interface, where they rupture or weaken the rigid film, and enhance water droplet coalescence
Implementation Method 4
The nitrogen bath removes distillable by-products from the mixture
Data Source
AI summary
A method of demulsifying crude oil, said method comprising the step of reacting an amount of crude oil with a polyester demulsifier, therein the demulsifier is used in quantities from 0.0001% to 5% (1-50,000 ppm), preferably 0.0005% to 2% (5-20,000 ppm), more preferably 0.0008% to 1% (8-10,000 ppm) and most preferably 0.001 to 0.1 wt. % polymer (10-1,000 ppm) related to the oil fraction of the utilized emulsion.