Electrorheological Behavior of Crude Oil and Synthetic Reference Fluid Emulsions

The current work describes and compares the characteristics of water-in-oil emulsions prepared from a North Sea acidic crude oil and a synthetic reference fluid. The reference fluid was developed with the main purpose of mimicking electrostatic destabilization of crude oil emulsions based on comparison of emulsion viscosities, mean droplet sizes, droplet size distributions, and separation rates. Emulsions of both fluids were destabilized by means of electrostatic forces under application of alternating current electric fields, and similar viscosities before and after the treatment were confirmed. Differences in coalescence mechanisms were registered as a result of different chemical composition, types, and concentrations of interfacially active species.