Chemical Emulsification Of Nigerian Heavy Oil
Abstract
The inviability of the conventional methods of reducing the heavy oil viscosity by heating or dilution with organic solvent or light crude that is in short supply or uneconomic, and transporting the mixture over a long distance prompted this study. The work investigated the in situ enhanced recovery by modifying the intrinsic high viscosity of Agbabu Heavy Oil 2,166cP and specific gravity 1.0874 at ambient temperature through chemical means and the study of the stability of o/w emulsion produced. A 23 Yates’ factorial experimental design analysis was carried out on the sample to determine the chemical formulation and combinations that will yield optimum o/w emulsion from NaOH concentration (0.1-1.0M), NaCl concentration (1-4wt %), and temperature (30-80oC). Optimum yield of Agbabu heavy oil in the form of concentrated oil-in-water emulsion was produced at 30oC temperature, 0.1M NaOH concentration, and 1wt% NaCl concentration indicating the effect of their levels on emulsion formation and viscosity. The investigated o/w emulsion behaved almost Newtonian with viscosity ranges from 31.07 to 372.86cP depending on the rate of shear.
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