Demulsification Methods for Heavy Crude Oil Emulsions. A Review

Demulsification (dehydration) is one of the most important problems in the oil industry. The peculiarity of heavy oil emulsions is their high stability since heavy crude contains a significant quantity of resins and asphaltenes. This paper provides an overview of the issue of heavy oil emulsion dehydration, emphasizing the importance of understanding their properties to develop appropriate demulsification methods. The use of environmentally friendly demulsifiers was an object of special attention. The analysis of ongoing research in this area would be useful for researches and engineers.