Grant: CCI Applied Research and Development Grants

About 4.6 million barrels of oil per day are transported globally from Canada. While pipeline transport of crude oil is the most effective and preferred option, the formation of rag layers (water-in-oil emulsions) during this process is a substantial problem to pipeline owners and operators in Canada. Rag layers degrade oil quality and are expensive and time-consuming to remove. Their occurrence invalidates the measurement of the sediment and water (S&W) content of crude oils in the field, leading to additional laboratory analyses for custody transfer processes. Additionally, an error of only 0.1% on the accuracy of the S&W content could cost roughly $216,000/day for a production of 2,057,000 barrels/day for a spot price of $105/barrel. To prevent an increase in operational costs and process time when transporting crude oil, pipeline owners and operators require (i) accurate methods to monitor/measure the oil’s S&W content in the field, and (ii) methods to effectively mitigate/prevent rag layer formation. In partnership with Enbridge and Pipeline Research Council International (PRCI), the Technology Access Centre for Energy and Environmental Sustainability (TACEES) at the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT) has conducted several research projects funded by NSERC to address oil pipeline transportation issues. The proposed work is based on findings of these projects and will evaluate demulsifiers to mitigate rag layer formation during S&W determination for crude oils. Although this strategy is commonly used to treat water-in-oil emulsions due to its low cost, simple, and convenient integration into existing processes, there is currently no industry standard for any given demulsifier during S&W testing. In this project, we will test a variety of traditional synthetic surfactants as well as biosurfactants for their ability to prevent/mitigate rag layer formation during S&W testing. We will evaluate demulsifiers performance for a variety of oil types, demulsifier dosages, temperatures, and centrifugation speeds, and perform a multivariable statistical analysis to determine possible relationships between demulsifiers, oil types, oil characteristics, and rag layer occurrence. In brief, our project will provide mitigation strategies to control rag layer formation, which will reduce costs and increase efficiencies and environmental performance during custody transfer operations within Canada’s energy sector.