Taylor and Francis Group, Journal of Dispersion Science and Technology, 7(34), p. 996-1007, 2013
DOI: 10.1080/01932691.2012.695941
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In the present study, five types of water soluble demulsifiers based on linear alkyl benzene were prepared. The chemical structures of the prepared demulsifiers were elucidated using Fourier transform-infrared (FT-IR) and HNMR spectra. Different factors affecting demulsification efficiency such as; water content, demulsifier concentration, hydrophilic lipophilic balance (HLB) and ethylene oxide units were investigated. Also, the rheological properties in relation to demulsification efficiency were studied. The surface and thermodynamic parameters of the prepared demulsifiers were determined at 25 °C including, surface tension (γ), and effectiveness in terms of maximum surface excess (Γmax) and minimum surface area (Amin). From the obtained data, it was found that the demulsification efficiency increases with increasing the water content and concentration of the demulsifiers. Primary evaluation study of demulsification performance of the new demulsifiers showed that as the ethylene oxide units in the demulsifiers increase (10 to 40 ethylene oxide units), the performance of the demulsifiers increases, however, it decrease in case of demulsifiers with (80 ethylene oxide unit).