Emulsion Breakers (EBs)
When many of the present-day oil fields were established, the produced crude contained little or no water, allowing operators to ship the crude oil directly to the refinery using very little in the way of sophisticated emulsion breaking equipment and chemical technology.
In oil production today, water is an inevitable byproduct. In fact, nearly 90% of crude contains oil and water emulsions. The gradual encroachment of water into oil-bearing formations and the advent of secondary and tertiary recovery methods has led to the development of new technologies to break crude oil and water emulsions.
Nalco's EBs are designed to resolve emulsions caused by the process of extraction and production of crude oil. The result is substantially anhydrous crude petroleum at minimum cost to the operator. We’ve specialized in this type of demulsification for more than 50 years. Operators attain exceptionally rapid oil-water separations with Nalco's demulsifiers, which treat virtually all types of emulsions.
Nalco continues to develop new emulsion breakers for the oil and gas industry today. New areas of research include production enhancement through downhole viscosity reduction and improved separation of heavy crude emulsions such as those found in the SAGD recovery processes. Our emulsion breakers offer the benefits below, including:
- Rapid, sharp separation
- No heavy metals or organic halides added
- Versatility in treating all types of emulsions
- Convenient to handle, easily dispersed