Tuning of properties of alkyl phenol formaldehyde resins in petroleum demulsifiers. 2. Interfacial dilatational properties

• Published in: Petroleum science and technology Vol. 35; no. 11; pp. 1124 - 1129
• Main Authors: Velásquez, Ingrid, Anton, Nicolas, Sykora, Juan, Pereira, Juan C.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Abingdon Taylor & Francis 03-06-2017; Taylor & Francis Ltd
• Subjects: alkyl phenol formaldehyde resins; Asphaltenes; Biochemistry, Molecular Biology; Crude oil; Dehydration; demulsifiers; Ethoxylation; interfacial rheology; Life Sciences; Modulus of elasticity; Monolayers; Phenol formaldehyde; Phenol formaldehyde resins; Phenols; Polymers; Properties (attributes); Resins; Viscoelasticity; alkyl phenol formaldehyde resins, asphaltenes, demulsifiers, interfacial rheology, polymers
• ISSN: 1091-6466; 1532-2459
• DOI: 10.1080/10916466.2017.1310883

In the context of the study of crude oil dehydration, two hydrophilic ethoxylated phenol formaldehyde polymeric resins with different degrees of ethoxylation 10 (PR_A) and 20 (PR_B) were studied at the oil/water interface. Viscoelastic properties of model monolayers were obtained by frequency sweep tests, using a drop tensiometer and axisymmetric drop shape analysis. Overall, a significant gap was measured between the values of elastic modulus of PR_A and PR_B monolayers, and the experimental data showed a good correlation with the Lucassen and Van den Tempel model. These results indicate that interfacial intramolecular interaction appear stronger for resin PR_B likely related to its hydrophobic structure favoring surface active properties. On the other hand, PR_B has shown a better ability than PR_A to destabilize crude oil monolayers and better demulsifying properties, counteracting the effect of asphaltenes as stabilizers. This study allows a better understanding of the demulsifying properties of such resins.