Molecules, Vol. 26, Pages 6273: Application of CO2-Switchable Oleic-Acid-Based Surfactant for Reducing Viscosity of Heavy Oil

In this study, a CO2-switchable “pseudo”-tetrameric surfactant oleic acid (OA)/cyclic polyamine (cyclen) was prepared by simple mixing and subsequently used to reduce the viscosity of heavy oil. The surface activity of OA/cyclen was explored by a surface tensiometer and a potential for viscosity reduction was revealed. The CO2 switchability of OA/cyclen was investigated by alternately introducing CO2 and N2, and OA/cyclen was confirmed to exhibit a reversible CO2-switching performance. The emulsification and viscosity reduction analyses elucidated that a molar ratio of OA/cyclen of 4:1 formed the “pseudo”-tetrameric surfactants, and the emulsions of water and heavy oil with OA/cyclen have good stability and low viscosity and can be destabilized quickly by introducing CO2. The findings reported in this study reveal that it is feasible to prepare CO2-switchable pseudo-tetrameric surfactants with viscosity-reducing properties by simple mixing, thus providing a pathway for the emulsification and demulsification of heavy oil by using the CO2-switchable “pseudo”-oligomeric surfactants.

Source: Molecules - October 16, 2021 Category: Chemistry Authors: Lulu Liu Shuai He Lu Tang Shu Yang Tao Ma Xin Su Tags: Article Source Type: research