U.S. patent application number 13/832529 was filed with the patent office on 2014-07-24 for method of breaking oil-water micellar emulsions.
This patent application is currently assigned to Chevron U.S.A. Inc.. The applicant listed for this patent is Varadarajan Dwarakanath, Ronald David Hobbs, Taimur Malik, Fan-Sheng Teddy Tao, Sophany Thach. Invention is credited to Varadarajan Dwarakanath, Ronald David Hobbs, Taimur Malik, Fan-Sheng Teddy Tao, Sophany Thach.
Application Number | 20140202927 13/832529 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 51206905 |
Filed Date | 2014-07-24 |
United States Patent
Application |
20140202927 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Tao; Fan-Sheng Teddy ; et
al. |
July 24, 2014 |
METHOD OF BREAKING OIL-WATER MICELLAR EMULSIONS
Abstract
A method is disclosed for enhancing the separation of oil-water
micellar emulsion, such as those found in production fluid.
Specifically, an embodiment of the invention is separating oil and
water phases in recovered production fluid by adding an ionic salt
such as sodium chloride, calcium chloride, sodium carbonate, sodium
bicarbonate, and/or a high-molecular weight alcohol, such as
2-ethyl hexanol or decanol, to the production fluid. The production
fluid may include fluids produced from an enhanced oil recovery
method.
Inventors: |
Tao; Fan-Sheng Teddy;
(Missouri City, TX) ; Hobbs; Ronald David;
(Wharton, TX) ; Dwarakanath; Varadarajan;
(Houston, TX) ; Malik; Taimur; (Houston, TX)
; Thach; Sophany; (Houston, TX) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Tao; Fan-Sheng Teddy
Hobbs; Ronald David
Dwarakanath; Varadarajan
Malik; Taimur
Thach; Sophany |
Missouri City
Wharton
Houston
Houston
Houston |
TX
TX
TX
TX
TX |
US
US
US
US
US |
|
|
Assignee: |
Chevron U.S.A. Inc.
San Ramon
CA
|
Family ID: |
51206905 |
Appl. No.: |
13/832529 |
Filed: |
March 15, 2013 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
61756310 |
Jan 24, 2013 |
|
|
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
208/188 |
Current CPC
Class: |
C10G 33/04 20130101;
B01D 17/047 20130101; C10G 2300/1033 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
208/188 |
International
Class: |
C10G 1/04 20060101
C10G001/04 |
Claims
1. A method of separating fluids produced from a chemical enhanced
oil recovery flooding process, comprising: a) receiving a
production fluid from a chemical enhanced oil recovery flooding
processes comprising an oil-water micellar emulsion; b) adding a
chemical compound to the production fluid, the chemical compound
being selected from the group consisting of an ionic inorganic salt
and a C.sub.4-C.sub.10 alcohol; and c) separating the production
fluid to produce an oil product and a water product.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the oil product has a basic
sediment and water content of less than 1%.
3. The method of claim 1, wherein the water product has an oil
content of less than 1000 ppm, less than 500 ppm, or less than 300
ppm.
4. The method of claim 1, wherein the ionic organic salt is sodium
chloride, calcium chloride, sodium carbonate, sodium bicarbonate,
or a mixture thereof.
5. The method of claim 1, wherein the C.sub.4-C.sub.10 alcohol is
2-ethyl hexane, decanol, or a mixture thereof.
6. The method of claim 1, further comprising mixing the production
fluid and the one or more chemical compounds prior to separating
the production fluid.
7. The method of claim 1, further comprising adding a demulsifying
agent to the production fluid.
8. The method of claim 1, wherein the production fluid is separated
in a wash tank.
9. The method of claim 8, wherein the production fluid resides in
the wash tank for at least 6 hours, at least 7 hours, or at least 8
hours.
10. The method of claim 1, wherein the production fluid is
separated in a pressure vessel.
11. The method of claim 1, further comprising heating the
production fluid to 100.degree. F., at least about 125.degree. F.
at least about 150.degree. F., at least about 175.degree. F., at
least about 200.degree., at least about 225.degree. F., or at least
about 250.degree. F., or at least 275.degree. F.
12. The method of claim 1, wherein the added chemical compound
comprises at least about 0.25%, 0.5%, about 1.0%, about 1.5%, or
about 2.0% by weight of the production fluid.
13. The method of claim 1, wherein steps a-c are performed
off-shore.
14. The method of claim 1, wherein the chemical compound is in
solution.
15. The method of claim 1, wherein the chemical compound is sodium
chloride provided in the form of seawater.
16. The method of claim 15, wherein the seawater comprises at least
0.5%, at least 0.75%, at least 1.0%, at least 1.25%, at least 1.5%,
at least 1.75%, at least 2.0%, at least 2.25%, at least 2.5%, at
least 2.75%, at least 3.0%, or at least 3.5% sodium chloride.
17. The method of claim 1, wherein the chemical compound is sodium
chloride provided in the form of waste brine.
18. The method of claim 17, wherein the waste brine is waste brine
from water treatment, waste brine from a boiler blow down, or waste
brine from a water softener.
19. The method of claim 1, further comprising processing the
production fluid to remove a gas product.
20. The method of claim 1, wherein the production fluid further
comprises at least one of a surfactant and a polymer.
21. A method of separating an oil-water micellar emulsion the
method comprising: a) receiving a production fluid comprising an
oil-water micellar emulsion; b) adding waste brine or sea water to
the production fluid; and c) separating the production fluid to
produce an oil product and a water product.
22. The method of claim 21, wherein the waste brine is from a water
treatment processes.
23. The method of claim 21, wherein the waste brine is from a
boiler blowdown.
24. The method of claim 21, wherein the waste brine is from a water
softening process.
Description
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0001] The present disclosure generally relates to a method for
separating production fluids into oil and water phases. In
particular cases, the present disclosure concerns a method of using
a chemical compound, such as an ionic salt (e.g., sodium chloride,
calcium chloride, sodium carbonate, sodium bicarbonate) and/or a
high-molecular weight alcohol (e.g., 2-ethyl hexanol, decanol), to
separate the tight micellar oil-water emulsions in produced fluids,
such as those produced from chemically enhanced oil recovery
methods.
BACKGROUND
[0002] Reservoir systems, such as petroleum reservoirs, typically
contain fluids such as water and a mixture of hydrocarbons such as
oil and gas. To produce the hydrocarbons from the reservoir,
different mechanisms can be utilized such as primary, secondary or
tertiary recovery processes.
[0003] In a primary recovery process, hydrocarbons are displaced
from a reservoir due to the high natural differential pressure
between the reservoir and the bottomhole pressure within a
wellbore. The reservoir's energy and natural forces drive the
hydrocarbons contained in the reservoir into the production well
and up to the surface. Artificial lift systems, such as sucker rod
pumps, electrical submersible pumps or gas-lift systems, are often
implemented in the primary production stage to reduce the
bottomhole pressure within the well. Such systems increase the
differential pressure between the reservoir and the wellbore
intake; thus, increasing hydrocarbon production. However, even with
use of such artificial lift systems only a small fraction of the
original-oil-in-place (OOIP) is typically recovered using primary
recovery processes as the reservoir pressure, and the differential
pressure between the reservoir and the wellbore intake declines
overtime due to production. For example, typically only about
10-20% of the OOIP can be produced before primary recovery reaches
its limit, either when the reservoir pressure is so low that the
production rates are not economical, or when the proportions of gas
or water in the production stream are too high.
[0004] In order to increase the production life of the reservoir,
secondary or tertiary recovery processes can be used. Secondary
recovery processes include water or gas well injection, while
tertiary methods are based on injecting additional chemical
compounds into the well. Typically in these processes, fluids are
injected into the reservoir to maintain reservoir pressure and
drive the hydrocarbons to producing wells. An additional 10-50% of
OOIP can be produced in addition to that produced during primary
recovery. While secondary and tertiary methods of oil recovery can
further enhance oil production from a reservoir, care must be taken
in choosing the right processes and injection fluid for each
reservoir, as some methods may cause formation damage or
plugging.
[0005] A well-known tertiary recovery process is surfactant-polymer
(SP) flooding. Polymers are used to increase the viscosity of a
fluid, thereby leading to a reduced mobility ratio and to improved
sweep efficiency. The most commonly used polymer for
surfactant-polymer flooding is polyacrylamide (PAM) in its anionic
form, hydrolyzed polyacrylamide (HPAM). Surfactants are used to
lower the interfacial properties of the reservoir, thereby reducing
capillary forces and increasing the efficiency of the displacement
of oil. A wide variety of surfactants exist, but the most widely
used are petroleum sulfonates. The compositions of chemicals used
in enhanced oil recovery (EOR) processes may vary depending on the
type, environment, and composition of the reservoir formation.
[0006] In the enhanced oil recovery process, the addition of
surfactants, polymers, co-solvents and electrolytes improves oil
recovery significantly. However, since surfactants can produce
tight micellar oil-water micro-emulsions and these emulsions are
further stabilized with polymer, it is difficult to separate EOR
produced fluids into oil and water phases. Traditional demulsifying
chemicals, generally provided from specialty chemical companies, do
not effectively break such micro-emulsions unless they are used in
very high concentrations; 1000 to 2000 ppm, for example, compared
with the normal concentrations of 25-100 ppm in non-EOR separation
applications.
SUMMARY
[0007] Aspects of the invention include a method of separating
fluids produced from chemically enhanced oil recovery methods. A
general embodiment of the disclosure is a method of separating
fluids produced from a chemical enhanced oil recovery flooding
process, comprising: receiving a production fluid from a chemical
enhanced oil recovery flooding processes comprising an oil-water
micellar emulsion, b) adding a chemical compound to the production
fluid, the chemical compound being selected from the group
consisting of an ionic inorganic salt, a C.sub.4-C.sub.10 alcohol,
or a combination thereof, and c) separating the production fluid to
produce an oil product and a water product. In embodiments of the
disclosure, the oil product has a basic sediment and water content
of less than 1%. The water product may have an oil content of less
than 1000 ppm, less than 500 ppm, or less than 300 ppm.
Additionally, embodiments of the disclosure further include mixing
the production fluid and the one or more chemical compounds prior
to separating the production fluid. An additional demulsifying
agent may also be added to the production fluid. Steps a-c may be
performed off-shore or on-shore. In embodiments of the invention,
the chemical compound is a solid or is in solution. The method may
further comprise heating the production fluid to 100.degree. F., at
least about 125.degree. F., at least about 150.degree. F., at least
about 175.degree. F., at least about 200.degree., at least about
225.degree. F., or at least about 250.degree. F., or at least
275.degree. F. The added chemical compound may comprise at least
about 0.25%, 0.5%, about 1.0%, about 1.5%, about 2.0%, at least
about 3.0%, at least about 4.0%, or at least about 5.0% by weight
of the production fluid. The production fluid may be processed to
remove a gas product. In embodiments of the disclosure, the
production fluid further comprises at least one of a surfactant and
a polymer.
[0008] In embodiments of the disclosure, the chemical compound is
an ionic inorganic salt. The ionic inorganic salt may be sodium
chloride, calcium chloride, sodium carbonate, sodium bicarbonate,
or a mixture thereof. The chemical compound may be sodium chloride
provided in the form of seawater or waste brine. In embodiments of
the disclosure, the waste brine is water brine from water
treatment, waste brine from a boiler blow down, or waste brine from
a water softener. In some embodiments, the seawater comprises at
least 0.5%, at least 0.75%, at least 1.0%, at least 1.25%, at least
1.5%, at least 1.75%, at least 2.0%, at least 2.25%, at least 2.5%,
at least 2.75%, at least 3.0%, or at least 3.5% sodium chloride. In
embodiments of the disclosure, the chemical compound is a
C.sub.4-C.sub.10 alcohol. The C.sub.4-C.sub.10 alcohol may be
2-ethyl hexane, decanol, or a mixture thereof.
[0009] In specific embodiments of the disclosure, the production
fluid is separated in a wash tank. The production fluid may reside
in the wash tank for at least 20 minutes, at least 30 minutes, at
least 1 hour, at least 2 hours, at least 3 hours, at least 4 hours,
at least 5 hours, at least 6 hours, at least 7 hours, or at least 8
hours. In other embodiments of the disclosure, the production fluid
is separated in a pressure vessel.
[0010] Another general embodiment of the disclosure is a method of
separating an oil-water micellar emulsion, the method comprising:
a) receiving a production fluid comprising an oil-water micellar
emulsion, b) adding waste brine or sea water to the production
fluid, and c) separating the production fluid to produce an oil
product and a water product. The waste brine may be waste brine
from a water treatment process, from a boiler blow down, from a
water softening process, or combinations thereof.
[0011] The foregoing has outlined rather broadly the features and
technical advantages of the present invention in order that the
detailed description of the invention that follows may be better
understood. Additional features and advantages of the invention
will be described hereinafter. It should be appreciated by those
skilled in the art that the conception and specific embodiments
disclosed may be readily utilized as a basis for modifying or
designing other structures for carrying out the same purposes of
the present invention. It should also be realized by those skilled
in the art that such equivalent constructions do not depart from
the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended
claims. The novel features which are believed to be characteristic
of the invention, both as to its organization and method of
operation, together with further objects and advantages will be
better understood from the following description when considered in
connection with the accompanying figures. It is to be expressly
understood, however, that each of the figures is provided for the
purpose of illustration and description only and is not intended as
a definition of the limits of the present invention.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0012] For a more complete understanding of the present invention,
reference is now made to the following descriptions taken in
conjunction with the accompanying drawing, in which:
[0013] FIG. 1 is a flow diagram of an embodiment of the
invention;
[0014] FIG. 2 is an example of a tank based separation system;
[0015] FIG. 3 illustrates a functioning free water knockout tank;
and
[0016] FIG. 4 illustrates a functioning wash tank;
[0017] FIG. 5 is an example of a pressure vessel based separation
system.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0018] Aspects of the present invention describe a method for
enhancing the separation of oil and water phases from produced
fluids. Specifically, an embodiment of the invention is separating
an oil-water micellar emulsion into separate or distinct oil and
water phases. The oil-water micellar emulsion may be in production
fluid recovered from an enhanced oil recovery processes. An
embodiment of the method includes adding a chemical compound, such
as an ionic salt and/or a high-molecular weight alcohol, to the
production fluid. Examples of ionic salts include, but are not
limited to, inorganic ionic salts such as sodium chloride, calcium
chloride, sodium carbonate, and sodium bicarbonate. The addition of
the ionic salt may be in the form of seawater. High-molecular
weight alcohols include C.sub.4-C.sub.10 alcohols, for example
2-ethyl hexanol and decanol.
[0019] Another aspect of the disclosure is separating oil and water
phases in recovered production fluid by adding sea water or waste
brine to the recovered production fluid.
[0020] As used herein, the term "equal" refers to equal values or
values within the standard of error of measuring such values. The
term "substantially equal," or "about" as used herein, refers to an
amount that is within 3% of the value recited.
[0021] As used herein, "a" or "an" means "at least one" or "one or
more" unless otherwise indicated.
[0022] As used herein, "high-molecular weight alcohol" refers to a
C.sub.4-C.sub.10 alcohol. For example, 2-ethyl hexanol and decanol
are both considered high-molecular weight alcohols for the purposes
of this disclosure.
[0023] "Ionic salt," as used herein, refers to a neutrally charged
ionic compound that comprises a cation and an anion. "Salt" and
"sodium chloride," are used interchangeably and refer to NaCl.
[0024] As used herein "production fluid" or "produced fluid" refers
to fluid directly recovered from a production well, or to
production fluid that has already undergone some sort of
processing. For example, production fluid that has been previously
processed to remove gas is still considered "production fluid" for
the purposes of this disclosure.
[0025] Production fluids recovered from reservoirs contain a
mixture of both hydrocarbons (gas and oil) and water. It is
necessary to separate this mixture into parts. During enhanced oil
recovery, the addition of surfactants and polymers to the
production fluids complicates the separation process, as they
produce tight micellar microemulsions. An embodiment of the
disclosure is a method for breaking the microemulsions of produced
liquids recovered after a Surfactant Polymer (SP) flood by adding
in an additional chemical compound, such as an ionic salt or a high
molecular weight alcohol. Not to be limited by theory, the salinity
of produced fluids is built up with the addition of chemical
compounds, such as the ionic salt and/or high molecular weight
alcohol, thereby promoting the change of phase behavior of the
microemulsions from Winsor type I (oil in water microemulsions) to
Winsor type II (water in oil microemulsions). Such behavior change
induces the partitioning of the surfactant micelles from water
phase into the crude oil phase, thereby breaking the
microemulsions. In additional to enhancing the separation of the
oil from the water, these methods have also been found to improve
the quality of the water.
[0026] The methods of the disclosure may be performed on-shore or
off-shore, and may be adjusted to make the most efficient use of
the location. As an example, seawater may be used to provide sodium
chloride (the chemical compound) during off-shore oil production,
since off-shore production facilities tend to have an abundance of
seawater available, limited storage space, and transportation costs
to and from off-shore site are typically high. The seawater can be
processed prior to addition to the production fluids, such as
through water softening, in order to reduce any scale formation
that could occur after the separation steps. Additionally, the
ionic salt or high molecular weight alcohol may be added to the
production fluid as a solid form or in a solution. For example,
solid sodium chloride may be used at an on-shore site to reduce the
shipping costs associated with shipping a liquid. Solid forms of
the chemical compound, such as solid sodium chloride, calcium
carbonate, and calcium bicarbonate may be used in on-shore or
off-shore applications. The solid forms may be put into solution
prior to addition to the production fluid, or the solid form may be
directly added to the production fluid.
[0027] In one or more embodiments, waste brine from drilling
operations, water treatment, water softening processes, or boiler
blowouts may be used as the chemical compound. This waste brine
generally contains sodium chloride, as well as magnesium chloride,
strontium chloride, and calcium chloride. For example, the waste
stream from a reverse osmosis water treatment process or a boiler
blow down may be piped into the production fluid to facilitate
breaking the microemulsions. The waste brine or waste salt may be
processed prior to addition to the produced fluid.
[0028] In embodiments of the invention, the chemical compound is
mixed into the production fluid. The mixing may occur by an active
process, such as stirring or vortex, or the mixing may occur
passively, such as by the addition of the chemical compound into
flowing production fluid.
[0029] The addition of the chemical compounds described throughout
may also be used in conjunction with other demulsifying chemicals,
such as a polyamine or phenol-formaldehyde resins. For example,
salt may be added to the water or oil phases that have previously
been separated using a chemical demulsifying agent.
[0030] Separation equipment, such as a wash tank or a pressurized
vessel, is used to separate the gas, oil, and water phases of the
production fluid. Known separation processing systems include
atmospheric tank systems, pressurized vessel systems, and
combinations thereof. Tanks are mainly used in on-shore processes,
while pressurized vessels are used mainly off-shore. An example of
a tank based dehydration process is shown in FIG. 2. Production
fluid from the production well enters a gas boot, which separates
gas and vapor from the water and oil. The water and oil production
fluid is then passed through a free water knockout (FWKO) tank
which removes the low lying water. The oil and remaining water are
then passed to the wash tank, which further separates out water
from the oil. Further illustrations of examples of a FWKO and a
wash tank are found in FIGS. 3 and 4, respectively. An example of a
pressurized vessel separation system is illustrated in FIG. 5. The
separation system of FIG. 5 comprises two stages of pressurized
separators, followed by an electrostatic treater.
[0031] Additionally, as shown in FIG. 5, the oil-water mixture,
such as production fluid, may be heated (e.g., using a heating
element or heat exchanger) to further enhance the effect of the
added chemical compound. For example, the oil-water mixture may be
heated to at least about 100.degree. F. (about 37.8 degrees
Celsius), at least about 125.degree. F. (about 51.7 degrees
Celsius), at least about 150.degree. F. (about 65.6 degrees
Celsius), at least about 175.degree. F. (about 79.4 degrees
Celsius), at least about 200.degree. F. (about 93.3 degrees
Celsius), at least about 225.degree. F. (about 107.2 degrees
Celsius), or at least about 250.degree. F. (about 121.1 degrees
Celsius), or at least 275.degree. F. (about 135 degrees Celsius).
The heating element of FIG. 5 could also be used in the tank system
of FIG. 2. The oil-water mixture to be separated may also stay for
a period of time in the separation equipment. For example, the
production fluid may have a residence time in the wash tank or
pressurized vessel of at least about 20 minutes, at least about 30
minutes, at least about 1 hours, at least about 2 hours, at least
about 3 hours, at least about 4 hours, at least about 5 hours, at
least about 6 hours, at least about 7 hours, at least about 8
hours, at least about 9 hours, at least about 10 hours, or at least
about 15 hours, or at least about 24 hours.
[0032] In embodiments, the ionic salt or high molecular weight
alcohols described herein may be added to the production fluid at
anytime. For example, salt may be added to the production fluid
downhole, at the wellhead, at manifold, prior to passing through
the gas boot, after passing through the gas boot but before passing
through the free water knockout tank, and after passing through the
free water knockout tank but before passing through the wash tank,
or in the recycled fluids. Additionally, the salt may be added
directly to the downhole location, wellhead, manifold, gas boot,
directly to the free water knockout tank, or directly to the wash
tank. Salt may also be added multiple times to the process at
different points. In other embodiments of the invention, the ionic
salts and high molecular weight alcohols described here, salt for
example, may be added prior to each separation step in a
pressurized separation process, or may be added directly to each of
the pressure vessels. Further, the ionic salt or high molecular
weight alcohol may be added to the water or oil phases that have
been previously separated using a demulsifying agent or separation
technique. For example, the chemical compounds herein could be
added to the water phase recovered from the separation of an
emulsion using a known demulsifying agent.
[0033] One example of a method of the current disclosure is found
in FIG. 1. Production fluid is received from a production well, for
example. A chemical compound, such as salt as shown, is added to
the production fluid. The production fluid is then separated to
produce an oil product and a water product. The oil product may
have less than 1% by volume basic sediment and water
(BS&W).
Crude Dehydration
[0034] The acceptable shipping oil quality is less than 1% by
volume BS&W. Examples of produced crude from surfactant-polymer
flooding may only reach approximately 15-40% water-cut after
settling for 6 hours at a producing temperature of about
185.degree. F. (about 85 degrees Celsius). However, the addition of
a inorganic ionic salt such as sodium chloride, calcium chloride,
sodium carbonate, sodium bicarbonate, or a high-molecular weight
alcohol is able to dehydrate the crude to meet the shipping oil
quality of <1% BS&W. Examples 1-7 illustrate that crude
dehydration using the chemical compounds described here can achieve
<1% BS&W and also show that the addition of such chemical
compounds compete positively with commercially sold chemical
demulsifying agents. Examples of commercially available
demulsifying agents are amphoteric acrylic acid copolymers,
branched polyoxyalkylene copolyesters, and vinyl phenol
polymer.
[0035] 1. Crude Dehydration Using Salt
[0036] An embodiment of the present disclosure is the addition of
sodium chloride to production fluids recovered from enhanced oil
recovery processes. Conventionally, sodium chloride has been
removed from the production fluid, not added. Sodium chloride has
been traditionally held to be a detriment to the process of oil
recovery, as salt is well known to cause corrosion issues in
refining and shipping processes. As will be described, the addition
of sodium chloride not only reduces the BS&W of the oil phase,
but it can also increase the quality of the water phase. For
example, Example 1 shows an oil-in-water content of 214 ppm at 1.0%
salt content.
[0037] 2. Crude Dehydration Using Other Chemical Compounds
[0038] In some embodiments, chemical compounds other than sodium
chloride may be used for crude oil and water treatment. For
example, the chemical compounds includes other ionic salts such as
calcium chloride, sodium bicarbonate, and sodium carbonate.
Additionally, the chemical compounds include high molecular weight
alcohols such as 2-Ethyl Hexanol, and Decanol. Examples 2 and 3
relate to the testing of these specific compounds.
[0039] It was found that the addition of inorganic compounds, such
as salt, calcium chloride, sodium carbonate, or sodium bicarbonate,
breaks the micellar emulsions found in enhanced oil recovery
methods, and produces an oil phase with reasonable BS&W and oil
content in water. The control (without any salt or the disclosed
chemical compounds) had very high BS&W in the crude oil and
high oil content in water. Similarly, the addition of organic
compounds, such as 2-ethyl hexanol or decanol, broke the micellar
emulsions, and produced oil with reasonable BS&W and oil
content in water.
EXAMPLES
[0040] The following examples are included to demonstrate specific
embodiments of the disclosure. It should be appreciated by those of
skill in the art that the techniques disclosed in the examples that
follow represent techniques discovered by the inventors to function
well in the practice of the invention, and thus, can be considered
to constitute modes for its practice. However, those skilled in the
art should, in light of the present disclosure, appreciate that
many changes can be made in the specific embodiments disclosed and
still obtain a like or similar result without departing from the
spirit and scope of the invention.
Example 1
Use of Sodium Chloride
[0041] A microemulsion was made by mixing a light crude oil with
equal amount of synthetic water solution containing 0.5% (by
weight) of sulfonates surfactants and solvent such as ethylene
glycol butyl ether (EGBE), 0.1% of polyacrylamide polymer, and 0.5%
sodium carbonate. The amount of these chemicals simulates the
expected breakthrough (production) fluids from a surfactant-polymer
flood. The microemulsion was made by simulating downhole electric
pump production in the oilfields.
[0042] Laboratory tests were conducted at the temperature of about
185.degree. F. (about 85 degrees Celsius) with 35 API crude (to
simulate an example production temperature). The following testing
results demonstrate that these tight micellar oil-water emulsions
were broken into an oil phase and a relatively low oil-in-water
phase.
[0043] The testing procedure is summarized as follows:
[0044] 1. A reagent grade salt (sodium chloride) was dissolved into
deionized water to make a 10% (by weight) brine solution.
[0045] 2. An ASP solution was prepared which contained 0.5% (by
weight) of surfactants, 0.1% polymer, and 0.5% sodium carbonate,
simulating the produced fluid from the ASP flooding.
[0046] 3. Synthetic water was prepared according to the chemical
composition of the produced water.
[0047] 4. 250 ml (15.26 cubic inches) of the ASP solution and 250
ml (15.26 cubic inches) of the synthetic water were measured in a
1000 ml (61.02 cubic inches) beaker, and heated in an oven to reach
185.degree. F. (85 degrees Celsius) (simulating a produced fluid
temperature).
[0048] 5. The above fluid was mixed at a shearing rate that
simulates downhole electric submersible pump shearing action during
production and produced a tight micellar oil-water emulsion.
[0049] 6. Steps 4 and 5 were repeated with 1,000 ml (61.0 cubic
inches) total oil-water emulsions for the following tests.
[0050] 7. 100 ml (6.1 cubic inches) each of the above emulsion were
put into bottles.
[0051] 8. The salt solution (step 1) was added into the bottles to
make the following concentrations: 0 (no salt), 0.1, 0.2, 0.25,
0.35, 0.5, 075, 1.0 and 2.0% by weight based upon the total
fluid.
[0052] 9. The bottles were shaken and placed into a constant
temperature water bath at 185.degree. F. (85 degrees Celsius).
[0053] 10. After 2 hours, 20 ml (1.22 cubic inches) of water was
removed from each bottle, and the oil content in this water was
measured.
[0054] 11. After 4 hours, all free-water was removed from the
bottom of each bottle.
[0055] 12. The percent BS&W of the oil of each bottle was
measured.
[0056] Results for the above tests are shown below. As the salt
concentration increased the water content in oil and oil content in
water decreased. This trend showed that the addition of salt
improves both oil (oil dehydration) and water qualities.
TABLE-US-00001 TABLE 1 ADDITION OF SALT (SODIUM CHLORIDE) Salt
Content % 0.0 0.10 0.20 0.25 0.35 0.50 0.75 1.0 2.0 Water Content
in Oil, % 16.0 6.0 3.2 6.4 4.0 4.8 2.4 1.2 1.0 Oil Content in
Water, ppm 7010 3537 496 389 375 299 677 214 130
Example 2
Use of Calcium Chloride, Sodium Carbonate and Sodium
Bicarbonate
[0057] The same procedure as given in Example 1 was followed, but
the salt was replaced with calcium chloride (Table 2), sodium
carbonate (Table 3), and sodium bicarbonate (Table 4). As the
chemical concentration increased, the water contents in oil and oil
content in water generally decreased. This trend shows that the
addition of these chemical compounds improve both oil and water
qualities.
TABLE-US-00002 TABLE 2 ADDITION OF CALCIUM CHLORIDE Calcium
Chloride, % 0.0 0.10 0.20 0.25 0.35 0.5 0.75 1.0 2.0 Water Content
in Oil, % 30.0 3.2 3.2 3.0 3.1 2.8 2.4 1.8 2.0 Oil Content in
Water, 6210 5981 888 427 * * * * * ppm * No test was conducted
because the quality of water appeared equal or better than oil
content of 427 ppm as determined at the 0.25% calcium chloride
concentration.
TABLE-US-00003 TABLE 3 Sodium Carbonate, % 0.0 0.10 0.20 0.25 0.35
0.5 0.75 1.0 2.0 Water Content in Oil, % 15.0 6.0 6.0 5.6 5.2 4.2
3.5 2.8 2.0 Oil Content in Water, 3237 5015 302 103 ** ** ** ** **
ppm ** No test was conducted because the quality of water appeared
equal or better than oil content of 103 ppm as determined at the
0.25% sodium carbonate concentration.
TABLE-US-00004 TABLE 4 ADDITION OF SODIUM BICARBONATE Sodium
Bicarbonate, % 0.0 0.10 0.20 0.25 0.35 0.5 0.75 1.0 2.0 Water
Content in Oil, % 20.0 7.2 6.6 6.0 5.2 4.2 3.6 3.0 2.4 Oil Content
in Water, 2724 4515 297 86 *** *** *** *** *** ppm ** No test was
conducted because the quality of water appeared equal or better
than oil content of 86 ppm as determined at the 0.25% sodium
bicarbonate concentration.
Example 3
Use of High-Molecular Weight Alcohols
[0058] The same procedure as given in Example 1 was followed, but
the salt was replaced with 2-ethyl hexane (Table 5) and decanol
(Table 6). As the chemical concentration increased the water
content in oil and oil content in water generally decreased. This
trend shows that the addition of these chemical compounds improve
both oil and water qualities.
TABLE-US-00005 TABLE 5 ADDITION OF 2-ETHYL HEXANOL 2-Ethyl Hexanol,
% 0.0 0.10 0.20 0.25 0.35 0.5 0.75 1.0 2.0 Water Content in 30.0
12.0 5.2 4.8 3.6 2.8 1.4 2.0 2.2 Oil, % Oil Content in 13160 9228.4
7928.4 7275.7 6475.7 6096.8 960 654.7 281 Water, ppm
TABLE-US-00006 TABLE 6 ADDITION OF DECANOL Decanol, % 0.0 0.10 0.20
0.25 0.35 0.5 0.75 1.0 2.0 Water Content in Oil, % 15.0 10.0 10.0
11.0 5.6 4.4 2.4 2.6 3.6 Oil Content in Water, 4831.6 3515.8 947.4
494.7 63.15 26.3 89.47 110.5 126.3 ppm
Example 4
Large Scale Pilot Testing Using Sodium Chloride as a
Demulsifier
[0059] Example 1 previously illustrated that sodium chloride can be
used as a demulsifying chemical for treating produced emulsions. A
larger scale pilot test was conducted with a 75% water-cut crude
emulsion at a continuous flow rate of 9.6-12 gpm in a 6-inch
diameter and 20 feet high steel column. The crude emulsion entered
the column at the 3 feet level, and exited at the 16 feet level. A
20% brine solution was used and injected at a concentration of 3 to
4% by weight into the crude emulsion before entering the column
continuously at 185.degree. F. (85 degrees Celsius). At the
6.sup.th hour, oil samples were collected at various levels of the
16 foot (4.88 meters) column. Results of the BS&W measurements
at 6 hours residence time are shown as follows:
TABLE-US-00007 Level BS&W 14' 1.6% 12' 1.6% 10' 1.6% 8' 2.0% 6'
3.2% 4' Water Phase
[0060] After 6 hours residence time in the column, oil was allowed
to flow out continuously at the level of 16' and % BS&W were
measured for the produced oil.
[0061] Results are as follows:
TABLE-US-00008 Residence Time BS&W 6 hours 30 minutes 1.6% 7
hours 1.6% 7 hours 30 minutes 1.6% 8 hours 1.2% 8 hours 20 minutes
0.8%
[0062] The above results indicate that with 8 hours 20 minutes
residence time in the column (simulating wash tank), the BS&W
of oil would meet the pipeline standard of 1.0%. The separated
water had an oil content of 378 ppm.
Example 5
Water Treatment
[0063] Salt treatment was conducted in laboratory simulated tests
for water separated from oil in a wash tank using commercially
available demulsifying chemicals, Demulsifiers A, B, C, D, E, F and
G. This water had relatively high oil content due to the
inefficiency of the chemicals used during the crude dehydration
treatment. When this water was tested with salt addition, it showed
that, in most cases, it would require approximately 0.50-0.75% by
weight salt to reduce the oil content to a level below 300 ppm in
the production fluid recovered from the same production run at two
different time periods.
TABLE-US-00009 TABLE 7 First production period Oil Content in
Water, ppm Salt Demul- Demul- Demul- Demul- Concentration sifier A
sifier B sifier C sifier D Demulsifier E 0.75% 120 290 250 200 160
0.50% 210 680 680 194, 1060 1200 0.25% 2820
TABLE-US-00010 TABLE 8 Second time production period Demul- Demul-
Demul- Chemical sifier A sifier F sifier G Demulsifier C Control
Concentration 200 200 200 400 ppm Salt 0.75% 100 80 466 70 Salt
0.50% 60 140 480 105 Salt 0.00% 390
Example 6
Additional Testing with Salt
Formulation Changes of Surfactants and Solvent
[0064] With formulation change of surfactant, the performance of
salt was still consistent whereas some commercially available
demulsifying agents could not tolerate the formula changes. Even
doubling the surfactant concentration had minimal impact on salt
performance, but it did impact performance of commercial
demulsifying compounds. Additionally, changing the surfactant
solvent did not affect the salt performance.
Use of Salt Solution or Solid Salt
[0065] Laboratory tests were conducted using a salt solution and
solid salt, which showed that both functioned well.
Temperature Effect
[0066] When the operating temperature was increased from
185.degree. F. to 200.degree. F. (from 85.0 to 93.3 degrees
Celsius), the performance of salt was slightly better, however,
both functioned well.
Example 7
Production Fluid with Salt
[0067] Laboratory tests were conducted using salt to break produced
fluid emulsions. 100 mL of oil from a production line off plot was
used as the starting sample. The addition of salt was compared to
using three emulsion breaking chemicals that were purchased from an
outside vender. The amount of each chemical or salt added is
summarized in Table 9 below
TABLE-US-00011 TABLE 9 Amounts of chemicals used in each sample
Chemical Dosage Chemical Chemical No. Chemical A (ppm) Salt 18% (%)
B (ppm) C (ppm) 1 0 0 0 0 2 400 0 0 0 3 600 0 0 0 4 800 0 0 0 5 0 0
0 20 6 0 0 0 40 7 0 0 0 80 8 0 1.5 0 0 9 0 3.0 0 0 10 600 0 0 40 11
600 0 40 40
[0068] As shown in below, the samples which were treated with just
salt (sample numbers 8 and 9) resulted in the lowest BS&W in
both the top cut and the mix cut (Table 10) and the highest percent
of water recovery (Table 11).
TABLE-US-00012 TABLE 10 Oil water interface quality and top and mix
cut BS&W. Oil- Water Top Cut Mix Cut Interface W/O F 46 W/O F
46 W/F 46 No. Quality BS&W % BS % Em. % BS&W % BS % Em. %
BS&W % BS % Em. % 1 TR 6.00 0.05 4.00 11.60 0.10 10.60 9.80
0.10 6.20 2 TR 4.60 0.05 2.60 8.00 0.10 5.00 5.20 0.10 2.00 3 TR
4.00 0.05 1.60 8.00 0.10 5.00 5.60 0.10 1.20 4 TR 4.00 0.05 1.20
8.40 0.10 4.00 6.25 0.10 0.50 5 TR 6.00 0.05 4.20 9.80 0.05 7.60
8.80 0.05 4.40 6 W 5.60 0.05 4.00 9.00 0.05 7.60 8.00 0.05 5.00 7 W
5.20 0.05 3.80 8.80 0.05 7.40 8.00 0.05 5.00 8 TR 0.40 0.05 0.20
1.50 0.15 0.30 1.30 0.20 0.30 9 TR 0.20 0.05 0.10 0.90 0.10 0.10
0.70 0.10 0.10 10 W 5.20 0.05 1.60 8.80 0.05 3.00 7.60 0.05 0.40 11
LR 2.80 0.05 trace 3.40 0.10 trace 3.60 0.15 0.00 The abbreviations
are as follows: TR = tight rag; W = webby; and LR = loose rag.
TABLE-US-00013 TABLE 11 Water quality and separation 0-1 hours 2
hours 3 hours No. % separation Water quality % separation %
separation 1 1.0 MT 1.5 2 2 4.0 ST 5 5 3 3.0 ST 4 4 4 2.0 ST 3 3 5
1.5 ST 2 2 6 1.0 MT 2 2 7 1.0 MT 2 20 8 18.0 ST 18 18 9 22.0 C 24
24 10 1.5 ST 2 2 11 5.0 C 5 5 The abbreviations are as follows: C =
clear; ST = slightly turbid; MT = moderately turbid; VT = very
turbid; and ND = not detectable. The percent water separation is
listed after the amount of hours in each column had passed.
[0069] Although the present invention and its advantages have been
described in detail, it should be understood that various changes,
substitutions and alterations can be made herein without departing
from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the
appended claims. Moreover, the scope of the present disclosure is
not intended to be limited to the particular embodiments of the
process, machine, manufacture, composition of matter, means,
methods and steps described in the specification. As one of
ordinary skill in the art will readily appreciate from the
disclosure of the present invention, processes, machines,
manufacture, compositions of matter, means, methods or steps,
presently existing or later to be developed that perform
substantially the same function or achieve substantially the same
result as the corresponding embodiments described herein may be
utilized according to the present invention. Accordingly, the
appended claims are intended to include within their scope such
processes, machines, manufacture, compositions of matter, means,
methods, or steps.
* * * * *