Huang Yueying, Mao Xiaohui, Yang Diling, Qiao Chenyu, Zhang Ling, Wang Jingyi, Zhang Hao, Zeng Hongbo
Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 1H9, Canada.
College of Materials Science and Engineering, Donghua University, Shanghai 201620, PR China.
J Colloid Interface Sci. 2025 Jan 15;678(Pt C):1096-1111. doi: 10.1016/j.jcis.2024.09.101. Epub 2024 Sep 12.
Asphaltenes are primary stabilizers in water-in-oil (W/O) emulsions that cause corrosion and fouling issues. In oil sands industry, oil/water separation processes are generally conducted at high temperatures. A high temperature is expected to impact the interactions between asphaltenes and emulsion breakers (EBs), consequently influencing demulsification performance.
The adsorption and interactions of asphaltenes and a PEO-PPO type EB (Pluronic F68) at the oil-water interface were investigated at various temperatures, using tensiometer, quartz crystal microbalance with energy dissipation (QCM-D), and atomic force microscopy (AFM). The effect of temperature on EB's demulsification performance was explored through bottle tests. Additionally, demulsification mechanisms were studied using direct force measurements with the droplet probe AFM technique.
Dynamic interfacial tension and QCM-D results demonstrate that the PEO-PPO type EB exhibits higher interfacial activity than asphaltenes and can disrupt rigid asphaltene films at the oil-water interfaces. Elevated temperatures accelerate the displacement of adsorbed asphaltenes by EB molecules, leading to sparse interfacial films, rapid droplet coalescence, and improved demulsification efficiency (supported by AFM and bottle test results). This work provides valuable insights into interfacial interactions between asphaltenes and EB at different temperatures, enhancing the understanding of demulsification mechanisms and offering useful implications for the development of efficient EBs to enhance oil/water separation performance.
沥青质是油包水（W/O）乳液中的主要稳定剂，会导致腐蚀和结垢问题。在油砂工业中，油/水分离过程通常在高温下进行。高温预计会影响沥青质与破乳剂（EBs）之间的相互作用，从而影响破乳性能。
使用张力计、带能量耗散的石英晶体微天平（QCM-D）和原子力显微镜（AFM），在不同温度下研究了沥青质与聚环氧乙烷-聚环氧丙烷型破乳剂（普朗尼克F68）在油水界面的吸附和相互作用。通过瓶试探究了温度对破乳剂破乳性能的影响。此外，使用液滴探针AFM技术通过直接力测量研究了破乳机制。
动态界面张力和QCM-D结果表明，聚环氧乙烷-聚环氧丙烷型破乳剂比沥青质表现出更高的界面活性，并且可以破坏油水界面处的刚性沥青质膜。升高的温度加速了EB分子对吸附的沥青质的置换，导致界面膜稀疏、液滴快速聚结以及破乳效率提高（AFM和瓶试结果支持）。这项工作为不同温度下沥青质与破乳剂之间的界面相互作用提供了有价值的见解，增强了对破乳机制的理解，并为开发高效破乳剂以提高油/水分离性能提供了有益的启示。
