Interaction Mechanism of Oil-in-Water Emulsions with Asphaltenes Determined Using Droplet Probe AFM

Emulsions with interface-active components at the oil/water interface have long been of fundamental and practical interest in many fields. In this work, the interaction forces between two oil droplets in water in the absence/presence of asphaltenes were directly measured using droplet probe atomic f...

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Veröffentlicht in:Langmuir : the ACS journal of surfaces and colloids. - 1992. - 32(2016), 10 vom: 15. März, Seite 2302-10
1. Verfasser: Shi, Chen (VerfasserIn)
Weitere Verfasser: Zhang, Ling, Xie, Lei, Lu, Xi, Liu, Qingxia, Mantilla, Cesar A, van den Berg, Frans G A, Zeng, Hongbo
Format: Online-Aufsatz
Sprache:English
Veröffentlicht: 2016
Zugriff auf das übergeordnete Werk:Langmuir : the ACS journal of surfaces and colloids
Schlagworte:Journal Article Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Beschreibung
Zusammenfassung:Emulsions with interface-active components at the oil/water interface have long been of fundamental and practical interest in many fields. In this work, the interaction forces between two oil droplets in water in the absence/presence of asphaltenes were directly measured using droplet probe atomic force microscopy (AFM) and analyzed using a theoretical model based on Reynolds lubrication theory and the augmented Young-Laplace equation by including the effects of disjoining pressure. It was revealed that the interaction forces measured between two pristine oil droplets (i.e., toluene) could be well described by the classical Derjaguin-Landau-Verwey-Overbeek (DLVO) theory, while an additional steric interaction should be included in the presence of asphaltenes in the oil. The surface interaction and the stability of oil droplets in aqueous solution were demonstrated to be significantly influenced by the asphaltenes concentration in oil, salt concentration, pH, and presence of divalent ions (Ca(2+)) in water. Adsorbed asphaltenes at the oil/water interface led to more negative surface potential of the oil/water interface and also induced steric repulsion between oil droplets, inhibiting the drop coalescence and stabilizing the oil-in-water emulsion. Lower pH of aqueous solution could lead to less negative surface potential and weaken the repulsion between oil droplets. Addition of divalent ions (Ca(2+)) was found to disrupt the protecting effects of adsorbed asphaltenes at oil/water interface and induce coalescence of oil droplets. Our results provide a useful methodology for quantifying the interaction forces and investigating the properties of asphaltenes at the oil/water interfaces and provide insights into the stabilization mechanism of oil-in-water emulsions due to asphaltenes in oil production and water treatment
Beschreibung:Date Completed 12.08.2016
Date Revised 15.03.2016
published: Print-Electronic
Citation Status PubMed-not-MEDLINE
ISSN:1520-5827
DOI:10.1021/acs.langmuir.5b04392