Probing the interfacial forces and surface interaction mechanisms in petroleum production processes

Despite the advances that have been made in renewable energy over the past decade, crude oil or petroleum remains one of the most important energy resources to the world. Petroleum production presents many challenging issues, such as the destabilization of complex oil–water emulsions, fouling phenomena on pipelines and other facilities, and water treatment. These problems are influenced by the molecular forces at the oil/water/solid/gas interfaces involved in relevant processes. Herein, the authors present an overview of recent advances on probing the interfacial forces in several petroleum production processes (e.g., bitumen extraction, emulsion stabilization and destabilization, fouling and antifouling phenomena, and water treatment) by applying nanomechanical measurement technologies such as a surface forces apparatus (SFA) and an atomic force microscope (AFM). The interaction forces between bitumen and mineral solids or air bubbles in the surrounding fluid media determine the bitumen liberation and flotation efficiency in oil sands production. The stability of complex oil/water emulsions is governed by the forces between emulsion drops and particularly between interface-active species (e.g., asphaltenes). Various oil components (e.g., asphaltenes) and emulsion drops interact with different substrate surfaces (e.g., pipelines or membranes), influencing fouling phenomena, oil–water separation, and wastewater treatment. Quantifying these intermolecular and interfacial forces has advanced the mechanistic understanding of these interfacial interactions, facilitating the development of advanced materials and technologies to solve relevant challenging issues and improve petroleum production processes. Remaining challenges and suggestions on future research directions in the field are also presented.

• Record URL:
  • https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eng.2022.06.012
• Record URL:
  • http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2095809922004969
• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/issn/20958099
• Supplemental Notes:
  • © 2022 THE AUTHORS. Published by Elsevier LTD on behalf of Chinese Academy of Engineering and Higher Education Press Limited Company. Abstract reprinted with permission of Elsevier.
• Authors:
  • Yang, Diling
  • Peng, Xuwen
  • Peng, Qiongyao
  • Wang, Tao
  • Qiao, Chenyu
  • Zhao, Ziqian
  • Gong, Lu
  • Liu, Yueliang
  • Zhang, Hao
  • Zeng, Hongbo
• Publication Date: 2022-11

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Web
• Features: Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: pp 49-61
• Serial:
  • Engineering
  • Volume: 18
  • Issue Number: 0
  • Publisher: Elsevier
  • ISSN: 2095-8099
  • Serial URL: https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/engineering

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Colloids; Emulsions; Petroleum engineering; Production methods; Surface phenomena; Surface tension
• Subject Areas: Energy;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01861821
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Oct 20 2022 10:23AM