MPEG grafted alkylated carboxymethyl chitosan as a high-efficiency demulsifier for O/W crude oil emulsions

Abstract

Three kinds of novel environmentally benign and high-efficiency crude oil demulsifiers were prepared using methoxy polyethylene glycol (MPEG) to modify alkylated carboxymethyl chitosan (ACMC). Structures of the demulsifiers were confirmed using FT-IR and ¹H NMR, and the relationship between surface tension and concentration was tested. Demulsification performance was investigated using the bottle test method with oil-in-water (O/W) emulsions that were prepared in lab conditions. The demulsification efficiency was as high as 79.1 %-84.9 %, and the possible mechanism of the demulsification process is discussed. Results show that MPEG-grafted ACMC (MPEG-ACMC) has a promising application as a demulsifier for dealing with emulsified O/W crude oil.

Keywords: (ACMC); (MPEG); 1-bromobutane (Pubchem CID: 8002); 1-bromohexane (Pubchem CID: 8101); 1-bromooctane (Pubchem CID: 8140); Alkylated; Carboxymethyl chitosan; Chitosan (Pubchem CID: 129662530); Demulsification efficiency; Methoxy polyethylene glycol; Surface tension; acetone (Pubchem CID: 180); isopropanol (Pubchem CID: 3776); potassium hydroxide (Pubchem CID: 14797); sodium chloroacetate (Pubchem CID: 23665759); succinic anhydride (Pubchem CID: 7922); triethylamine (Pubchem CID: 8471).