Conceptual Study of New Type of Demulsifier for Low Cost Crude Oil Dehydration

With conventional technique for crude oil dehydration, demulsifying agent or "Demulsifier" is used to separate oil, water and emulsion layers at a certain temperature condition. By this method, it leads to demulsifier loss in a crude oil product. The new concept of the dehydration is to recycle and reuse the demulsifer with minimal investment. With this concept, carbonate-based ionic liquids (CBILs) will be used as a demulsifier to separate emulsions and water in oil, resulting in a decrease in OPEX from demulsifier injection. In addition, CBILs represent versatile, green and easy-to-prepare chemicals. Laboratory test results show that the emulsion between oil and water is able to break within 15 minutes at 60°C which is comparable to conventional demulsifier. Moreover, the cost of CBILs is lower than conventional demulsifier. Therefore, this chemical is proved to be more attractive.