Demulsification

The need for chemical demulsifiers is seen in almost every industry segment, anywhere oil and water are used. Major users of demulsifiers include the following industries: steel, aluminum, chemical processing, petroleum refining, fuel washing prior to gas turbines, slop and tramp oil treatment, and in the processing of crude oil in the oil field, both to treat synthetic muds and to treat the produced hydrocarbons.

The type of demulsifier selected depends on whether the emulsion is water-continuous (oil-in-water emulsion) or hydrocarbon-continuous (water-in-oil emulsion) and whether the solids or other impurities are desired in the water layer or are to be incorporated in the oil layer.

Kemira produces a wide range of demulsifiers which are used to “break” emulsions (that is, separate the two phases – oil and water). Our demulsifiers are available as high-charge cationic solutions (for oil-in-water emulsions) or as either water-soluble or hydrocarbon-soluble liquids for water-in-oil emulsions.

The general application areas for water-in-oil demulsifiers include asphaltine dispersant, cat fines (settling and wetting), cleaner (oil- or water-soluble), coal tar/coal oil/creosote emulsion breaker, dispersant, dust control (with water mix), degasser, demulsifier, detackifier, emulsifier, heavy oil demulsifier, paraffin crystal modifier, oil dispersant (oil-in-water), paraffin dispersant, paraffin solvent, tank cleaning, surfactant, solids wetter (water-in-oil), and as a viscosity improver.