Effect of pH on the Stability of Water in Heavy Crude Oil Emulsions Stabilized by Saponin and RhamnolipidBiosurfactants

Document Type : Research Article

Authors

Department of Chemical Engineering, Ahar Branch, Islamic Azad University, Ahar, I.R. IRAN

Abstract

Biosurfactants are used widely in the oil and petroleum industries such as the production, transportation, and storage process of oil. This application of biosurfactants is due to the biodegradability of these biomaterials. This study investigated the effect of pH on stabilized water-in-oil emulsions using rhamnolipid and saponin biosurfactants. The phase separation was determined by measuring the volume of the water phase separated. The obtained results showed the introduction of HCl significantly affects the stability of emulsions stabilized by rhamnolipid and saponin but had no significant effect on the mixture of biosurfactant contents because of the synergistic effect. Also, the results showed that the maximum separation yield for rhamnolipid, saponin, and mixed biosurfactants at pH=1 and after 1 hour of sonication was 61, 57, and 20%, respectively. The water droplet sizes of the emulsion after sonication and before phase separation at pH of 5, 3, and 1 were around 100, 200, and 1000 µm for 40–60% of w/o emulsion stabilized by the mixture of rhamnolipid and saponin biosurfactants using DLS analysis. The results demonstrate that at low pHs the dramatic instability of w/o emulsion was obtained and significantly increased the rate of the Ostwald ripening process and coalescence rate of water droplets.

Keywords

Main Subjects


[1] Martínez-Palou R., de Lourdes Mosqueira M., Zapata-Rendón B., Mar-Juárez E., et al., Transportation of Heavy and Extra-heavy Crude Oil by Pipeline: A Review, Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering, 75(3-4): 274-282. (2011).
[2] Sjöblom, J., Aske N., Auflem I.H., Brandal Ø., et al., Our Current Understanding of Water-In-Crude Oil Emulsions.: Recent Characterization Techniques and High Pressure Performance, Advances in Colloid and Interface Science, 100: 399-473 (2003).
[3] Bouyer E., Mekhloufi G., Huang N., Rosilio V., et al., β-Lactoglobulin, Gum Arabic, and Xanthan Gum for Emulsifying Sweet Almond Oil: Formulation and Stabilization Mechanisms of Pharmaceutical Emulsions, Colloids and Surfaces A: Physicochemical and Engineering Aspects., 433: 77-87 (2013).
[4] Okushima S., Nisisako T., Torii T. Higuchi T., Controlled Production of Monodisperse Double Emulsions by Two-Step Droplet Breakup in Microfluidic Devices, Langmuir, 20(23): 9905-9908 (2004).
[5] Xu J.-H., Ge X.-H., Chen R. Luo G.-S., Microfluidic Preparation and Structure Evolution of Double Emulsions with two-Phase Cores, RSC Advances, 4(4): 1900-1906 (2014).
[6] Hajimohammadi R. Johari-Ahar S., Synergistic Effect of Saponin and Rhamnolipid Biosurfactants Systems on Foam Behavior, Tenside Surfactants Detergents,. 55(2): 121-126 (2018).
[7] Hajimohammadi R., Amani H., Soltani H., Synergistic Effect of Rhamnolipid and Saponin Biosurfactants on Removal of Heavy Metals from Oil Contaminated Soils, Tenside Surfactants Detergents, 57(2): 109-114 (2020).
[8] Olajire A.A., A Review of Oilfield Scale Management Technology for Oil and Gas    Production. Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering, 135: 723-737 (2015).
 [9] Khormali A., Koochi M.R., Varfolomeev M.A., Ahmadi S., Experimental Study of the Low Salinity Water Injection Process in the Presence of Scale Inhibitor and Various Nanoparticles, Journal of Petroleum Exploration and Production Technology, 1-14  (2022).
[10] Talegaonkar S., Azeem A., Ahmad F.J., Khar R.K., et al., Microemulsions: A Novel Approach to Enhanced Drug Delivery, Recent Patents on Drug Delivery & Formulation, 2(3): 238-257. (2008).
[11] Kogan, A., Garti N., Microemulsions as Transdermal Drug Delivery Vehicles, Advances in Colloid and Interface Science, 123: 369-385 (2006).
[12] Umar A.A., Saaid I.B.M., Sulaimon A.A., Pilus R.B.M., A Review of Petroleum Emulsions and Recent Progress on Water-In-Crude Oil Emulsions Stabilized by Natural Surfactants and Solids, Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering165: 673-690 (2018).
[13] Goodarzi F., Zendehboudi S., A Comprehensive Review on Emulsions and Emulsion Stability in Chemical and Energy Industries, The Canadian Journal of Chemical Engineering, 97(1): 281-309 (2019).
[14] Chu L.Y., Utada A.S., Shah R.K., Kim J.W., et al., Controllable Monodisperse Multiple Emulsions, Angewandte Chemie, 119(47): 9128-9132 (2007).
[15] Shetty C., Nikolov A., Wasan D., Bhattacharyya B., Demulsification of Water in Oil Emulsions Using Water Soluble Demulsifiers, Journal of Dispersion Science and Technology, 13(2): 121-133 (1992).
[16] Wu J., Xu Y., Dabros T., Hamza H., Effect of EO and PO Positions in Nonionic Surfactants on Surfactant Properties and Demulsification Performance, Colloids and Surfaces A: Physicochemical and Engineering Aspects, 252(1): 79-85 (2005).
[17] Guzmán-Lucero D., Flores P., Rojo T., Martínez-Palou R., Ionic Liquids as Demulsifiers of Water-in-Crude Oil Emulsions: Study of the Microwave Effect, Energy & fuels, 24(6): 3610-3615 (2010).
[18] Fortuny M., Oliveira C.B., Melo R.L., Nele M., et al., Effect of Salinity, Temperature, Water Content, and pH on the Microwave Demulsification of Crude Oil Emulsions, Energy & fuels, 21(3): 1358-1364 (2007).
[19] Ahmadi S., Khormali A., Khoutoriansky F.M. Optimization of the Demulsification of Water-In-Heavy Crude Oil Emulsions Using Response Surface Methodology, Fuel, 323: 124270 (2022).
[20] Roshan N., Ghader S., Rahimpour M.R., Application of the Response Surface Methodology for Modeling Demulsification of Crude Oil Emulsion Using a Demulsifier, Journal of Dispersion Science and Technology, 39(5): 700-710 (2018).
 [21] Daaou M., Bendedouch D., Water pH and Surfactant Addition Effects on the Stability of an Algerian Crude Oil Emulsion, Journal of Saudi Chemical Society, 16(3): 333-337 (2012).
[22] Binks B.P., Murakami R., Armes S.P., Fujii S., Effects of pH and Salt Concentration on Oil-in-Water Emulsions Stabilized Solely by Nanocomposite Microgel Particles. Langmuir, 22(5): 2050-2057 (2006).
[23] Moradi M., Alvarado V. Huzurbazar S., Effect of Salinity on Water-In-Crude Oil Emulsion: Evaluation Through Drop-Size Distribution Proxy. Energy & Fuels, 25(1): 260-268 (2011).
[24] Kime B., Barminas J., Nkafamiya I. Akinterinwa A., Extraction and Evaluation of a Saponin-Based Surfactant from Balanites Aegyptiaca Plant as an Emulsifying Agent, Int. J. Innov. Sci. Eng. Technol., 2: 733-737 (2015).
[25] Ghorbani M., Hosseini M., Najafpour G. Hajimohammadi R., Synthesis and Characterization of Rhamnolipid Biosurfactant Produced by Pseudomonas Aeruginosa PTCC 1340 for Emulsification of Oil Sludge in Oil Storage Tank, Arabian Journal for Science and Engineering,: 1-8 (2021).
[26] Soberón-Chávez, G., F Lépine., Déziel E., Production of Rhamnolipids by Pseudomonas Aeruginosa, Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology, 68(6): 718-725 (2005).
[27] Raynel G., Marques D.S., Al-Khabaz S., Al-Thabet M., Oshinowo L., A New Method to Select Demulsifiers and Optimize Dosage at Wet Crude Oil Separation Facilities, Oil & Gas Science and Technology–Revue d’IFP Energies Nouvelles, 76: 19 (2021).
[28] Udoh T., Vinogradov J., Experimental Investigations of Behaviour of Biosurfactants in Brine Solutions Relevant to Hydrocarbon Reservoirs, Colloids and Interfaces, 3(1): 24 (2019).
[29] Sadouk Z., Hacene H. Tazerouti A., Biosurfactants Production from Low Cost Substrate and Degradation of Diesel Oil by a Rhodococcus Strain, Oil & Gas Science and Technology-Revue de l'IFP, 63(6): 747-753 (2008).
[30] Jafari S.M., Assadpoor E., He Y. Bhandari B., Re-Coalescence of Emulsion Droplets During High-Energy Emulsification, Food Hydrocolloids, 22(7): 1191-1202 (2008).
[31] Jiao J., D Burgess.J., Ostwald Ripening of Water-In-Hydrocarbon Emulsions, Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, 264(2): 509-516 (2003).
[32] Sotomayor-Gerding D., Morales E., Rubilar M., Comparison between Quinoa and Quillaja saponins in the Formation, Stability and Digestibility of Astaxanthin-Canola Oil Emulsions. Colloids and Interfaces, 6(3): 43 (2022).
[33] Beattie J.K. Djerdjev A.M., The Pristine Oil/Water Interface: Surfactant‐Free Hydroxide‐Charged Emulsions, Angewandte Chemie International Edition, 43(27): 3568-3571 (2004).
[34] Tagavifar M., Jang S.H., Sharma H., Wang D., Chang L.Y., Mohanty K., Pope G.A., Effect of pH on Adsorption of Anionic Surfactants on Limestone: Experimental Study and Surface Complexation Modeling, Colloids and Surfaces A:  Physicochemical and Engineering Aspects, 538: 549-558 (2018).
[35] Babapoor A., Hajimohammadi R., Jokar S.M., Paar M., Biosensor Design for Detection of Mercury in Contaminated Soil Using Rhamnolipid Biosurfactant and Luminescent Bacteria, Journal of Chemistry, 1: 32-40 (2020).
[36] Touzouirt S., Hadjsadok A., Belhadji L., Ahmed Zaid T., Rheological Study of a Pickering Emulsion Stabilized by Algerian Clay Particles, Iranian Journal of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering (IJCCE), 41(1): 346-351 (2022).