Characterization of Oil Sludges from Two Oil Fields in China

Formation of oil sludges during oil production, transportation, and storage processes has beconle one of the severest problems in oil production and, refinery plants in China. In the Current study, compositions of two Oil Sludges collected from oil fields in China were characterized to assess the amounts of oil that can be potentially extracted for energy reuse. The mineral-containing solids separated from these samples were also characterized, and their role in stabilizing oil emulsions was interpreted. Experimental results showed that both oil sludges contained significant amounts of oil that could be potentially extracted for energy reuse, Solids separated from these sludges contained significant amounts of mineral fines that were oil-wet due to adsorption of polar macromolecules. These oil-wet minerral fines, together with the oil polar macromolecules, were suggested to be responsible for the water-in-oil (W/O) emulsions of the oil sludges studied.