Process-stream emulsions sampling

Sampling Process Streams. The most critical step in testing process-stream emulsions is to procure a representative sample from the total produced fluids. Test results will otherwise be meaningless. A good sample therefore must be (2) ... 

Monomer conversion has traditionally been determined gravitimetrically by drying emulsion samples to constant weight. The procedure is slow, requiring several hours for analysis, and precludes automated data acquisition. A new method has been developed based on the DMA-series digital densitometers manufactured by Anton Paar of Austria, and marketed in the United States by Mettier Instrument Corporation. (Very recently Dr. Kirk Abbey made us aware of his parallel work in these directions and of some initial data reported from his laboratory [1, 2]). This instrument is capable of immediate determination of the density of any test fluid, and, if equipped with a flow cell, can continuously monitor the density of a process stream. Results are displayed locally and can be transmitted digitally to a data acquisition computer. 

In many surface-separation processes, there will occur three distinct phases or process streams a product stream (either oil or water), a waste (tailings) stream, and an interface or rag layer emulsion stream, which may contain emulsified oil and/ or water. The interface emulsion can be the most troublesome, in terms of process operation, and the most complex and intractable, in terms of treatment. Mikula shows (Figure 1 in Ref. [66]) a photomicrograph of a quite stable interface emulsion (rag-layer emulsion) in which one can clearly observe the simultaneous occurrences of both O/W and W/O emulsions in different regions of the same sample. 

This chapter will briefly review the nature and the consequential sources of oil-field emulsions encountered in the handling of produced fluids recovered at a wellhead and subsequently processed (Le., ""broken ) at central treatment facilities. The principal factors and agents commonly employed in the separation of both the oil and the water phases found in these produced-fluid streams will be discussed. Subsequently, this chapter will describe sampling and testing techniques that assist in characterizing a process stream s composition and thus in evaluating the effectiveness of a particular separation process. Finally, the major components of a typical oil-field emulsion-treatment facility will be described. Selection and design criteria of appropriate separation equipment will also be presented. 

Hydrocarbon streams have also been investigated and Raman-using systems have been patented. The monitoring of emulsion polymerizations by Raman spectroscopy is also proposed. Pharmaceutical process applications of Raman spectroscopy include the monitoring of the active ingredient in a product without sample preparation. The identification of gemstones and the determination of the synthetic/natural origins are well known. 

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