Stabilization of Water in Crude Oil Emulsions. Part 2

Conventional wisdom says that asphaltene adsorption at the water-oil interface is the main source of high stability of W/O emulsions in petroleum systems. Although this approach is partiallly correct, it does not explain all experimental data. High-resolution Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance (FT-ICR) mass spectrometry data show that the composition of the surface material collected from emulsified water droplets is different from asphaltenes, resins, and the parent oil. Microscopic observations show that material formed at the oil-water boundary often exhibits optical anisotropy, suggesting molecular organization of the surface phase. Although we still do not have a clear picture of W/O petroleum emulsion stabilization, the existing conventional paradigm is such a gross generalization that, in our opinion, it is impeding rather than aiding our progress in understanding the stabilization mechanisms involved in petroleum emulsion systems.