WO2013132035A1

WO2013132035A1 - Use of a hydrophilic-hydrophobic block copolymer as a demulsifying agent and demulsifying composition made from such a copolymer

Info

Publication number: WO2013132035A1
Application number: PCT/EP2013/054664
Authority: WO
Inventors: Stéphane CARLOTTI; Gabriel Cendejas Santana; Damaso NAVARRO RODRIGUEZ; Alain Deffieux
Original assignee: Universite De Bordeaux I; Ctre Nat De La Recherche Scientifique
Priority date: 2012-03-08
Filing date: 2013-03-07
Publication date: 2013-09-12
Also published as: FR2987841A1

Abstract

The invention relates to the use, as a demulsifying agent for aqueous emulsions, of a block copolymer of general formula (I): poly(HB)_y-b-[poly(G)_x]_n (I), wherein n represents a non-zero number, x represents a number between 1 and 60, y represents a number between 5 and 60, poly(HB) represents a polymer or copolymer block with a hydrophobic character, and poly(G) represents a linear or branched polymer or copolymer block, the units of which carry free hydroxyl functions, and which is likely to be prepared from an optionally protected glycidol monomer, or from an epichlorohydrin monomer. A composition comprising such a block copolymer has particularly advantageous demulsifying properties.

Description

USE OF A HYDROPHILIC HYDROPHOBIC TYPE BLOCK COPOLYMER AS A DEEMULSIVE AGENT AND COMPOSITION

DEEMULSI FIANTE BASED ON SUCH A COPOLYMER

The present invention relates to the use of a block copolymer of hydrophilic block (s) and hydrophobic block (s) type, as a demulsifying agent for aqueous emulsions. demulsifying composition based on such a block copolymer. A particularly preferred field of application of the invention is the demulsification of aqueous emulsions formed during the extraction of crude oil, particularly heavy crude oils, in order to dehydrate and desalt the latter.

Such a field of application is however in no way limitative of the present invention, which can be applied, in addition to the fields of extraction and petroleum chemistry, to any other field in which it may be desired to break down aqueous emulsions to remove water and salts.

Heavy crude oils are characterized by a high density, corresponding to a API (American Petroleum Institute) density of less than 20 °, and by a very high viscosity, which prohibits or hinders their flow. Their production, transport and refining thus require additional specific operations compared to those required for so-called light crude oils, with API gravity higher than 20 °.

Among the specific procedures currently used for the extraction of heavy crude oil from oil wells, steam injection is the most common technique. This technique has the effect of reducing the viscosity of the oil, by thermal stimulation and formation of an emulsion of oil droplets in the recondensed aqueous phase, which allows a flow of heavy oil out of the extraction wells. The heavy crude oil can then be recovered in the form of very stable aqueous emulsions.

It is essential to facilitate the transport of oil to refining sites, via pipelines or any other type of means of transport, to break these aqueous emulsions so as to recover the crude oil substantially free of water. This is generally done by treating the emulsions with chemical demulsifiers, which weaken and break the oil / water interface layer, thereby increasing the coalescence of the water droplets and facilitating the separation of the water, by rupture. emulsion. The effectiveness of such treatment, however, strongly depends on the particular characteristics of each given emulsion. Thus, a complete physico-chemical characterization of the emulsion is essential to allow the selection of the corresponding appropriate chemical agent, which is complex to achieve, time consuming and expensive.

Among the main demulsifying agents currently used in the petroleum industry, an important category consists of copolymers combining hydrophilic segments and hydrophobic segments, and mixtures thereof with other inorganic or organic surfactants. Mention may be made, by way of example, of styrene and maleic anhydride ester copolymers, as described in the publication by Al-Sabagh et al., 2008, or polyethers of diethanolamine, as described in the publication of Hafiz et al., 2005. Other currently widely used polymers are based on the combination of hydrophilic blocks of poly (ethylene oxide) (or PEO) and hydrophobic blocks of poly (propylene oxide) ( or PPO), in particular linear triblock structures of formula: PEOx-PPOy-PEOx, as described in the publication of Le Foliotée et al., 2010. Such copolymers, as well as all the other copolymers proposed by the art prior art, have in particular the drawbacks of a low efficiency, in particular of a very slow action for the rupture of oil / water emulsions, while requiring the implementation of large quantities to obtain a satisfactory result for screw applications. es, especially for dehydration heavy crude oils. This poses both economic and ecological problems. The present invention aims to overcome the drawbacks of existing techniques for the demulsification of aqueous emulsions, in particular heavy water / crude oil emulsions, in particular to those described above, by providing demulsifying agents having a greater rapidity of action than the compounds of the prior art, and moreover at lower concentrations, and active regardless of the particular characteristics of the emulsion.

The present inventors have now discovered that multi-block copolymers with hydrophilic segments and hydrophobic segments, corresponding to a particular formula, constitute demulsifying agents for aqueous emulsions, in particular heavy water / crude oil emulsions, which are particularly advantageous in comparison with the compounds proposed by the prior art, in particular in terms of speed of action for the rupture of the emulsions and phase separation, this speed of action being related to a kinetics of rupture of the emulsions very fast, including when these agents are used at low concentrations.

The present invention thus relates to the use of a linear and / or branched block copolymer of general formula (I): poly (HB) _y -b- [poly (G) _x ] n (I) in which: n represents a non-zero number, x represents a number between 1 and 60, y represents a number between 5 and 60, poly (HB) represents a polymer block or copolymer with a hydrophobic nature, capable of being prepared from a mono- or polyfunctional initiator, and poly (G) represents a linear or branched polymer or copolymer block whose units carry free hydroxyl functions, and capable of being prepared from a monomer of general formula

in which R represents a hydroxyl group, a chlorine atom or an OR-1 radical, in which R 1 represents a group protecting the hydroxyl function, the generation of the free hydroxyl function on the polymer possibly requiring a final deprotection step; of the protected hydroxyl function or substitution of the chlorine atom by a hydroxyl group, as demulsifier of aqueous emulsion. In formula (I) above, b expresses, in a conventional manner in itself, the block-type structure of the copolymer.

Throughout the present disclosure, a block copolymer is conventionally defined in itself, such as a polymer comprising a linear and / or branched arrangement of blocks, i.e., portions of a polymer molecule in which the constituent units have at least one majority constitutional unit and which is absent or in the minority in the adjacent portions of the polymer.

The poly (HB) block may be prepared from a mono- or polyfunctional initiator, in particular hydroxylated. This functional poly (HB) block can be synthesized in situ. Otherwise, a commercially available poly (HB) block can be used.

Preferably, the mono- or polyfunctional initiator is a fragment of a mono- or polyfunctional alcohol, for example a diol, triol, etc., in particular glycerol or ethanediol or a hydroxylated polymer. The copolymers according to the invention have at least one hydrophilic polymer block poly (G) predominantly having units bearing free hydroxyl functions, said terminal block, which can be both linear and / or branched. This polymer block can be obtained from the monomer glycidol, free hydroxyl functionality, that is to say that R represents a hydroxyl group, or protected by a protective group, R then representing a group OR-i, or from the monomer epichlorohydrin, wherein R is a atom of chlorine. R 1 can consist of any protective group of a conventional hydroxyl function in itself, in particular a linear or branched, saturated or unsaturated, optionally substituted hydrocarbon radical, for example an alkyl, allyl or tert-butyl radical, or an oxyhydrocarbon radical; , so as to form an acetal or an ester. In the cases where R represents a group ORi defined as above or a chlorine atom, the preparation of the poly (G) polymer block comprises an ultimate treatment step aimed at creating free hydroxyl functions, in particular by deprotection of the protected hydroxyl functions by the group R 1 or by substitution of the chlorine atom with a hydroxyl group, according to conventional techniques in themselves and known to those skilled in the art.

The hydrophobic polymer block, characterized in that it is insoluble in water, poly (HB), said central block, is capable of being prepared from at least one of: cyclic ethers, in particular oxiranes, such as alkylene oxides, alkyl glycidyl ethers, trimethylene oxides, tetramethylene oxides; cyclic esters, such as lactones, lactides, acrylates and methacrylates, glycerides and fatty acid derivatives; carbonates; olefins and diolefins, such as styrene, butadiene, isoprene.

In preferred embodiments of the invention, poly (HB) represents a block of a polymer that can be prepared from a heterocyclic monomer, in particular alkylene oxide, preferably oxide butylene or more preferably propylene oxide (PO).

Preferably, x and y are each between 8 and 50.

In particular embodiments of the invention, x is between 8 and 14, and is for example equal to 8 or equal to 10. The ratio x / y is preferably between 90/1 0 and 10/90, and more preferably between 80/20 and 20/80.

The block copolymers according to the invention may also be of the straight-chain or branched-chain type or else of star-type type. In particular embodiments of the invention, n is equal to

1 or 2.

Particularly preferred copolymers in the context of the invention are the diblock polymers, corresponding to the general formula (la): poly (HB) _y -b-poly (G) x (la) and triblock polymers, corresponding to the formula general (Ib): poly (G) _x1 -b-Poly (HB) _y -b-poly (G) _x2 (Ib) where x1 and x2, which may be equal or different, are such that x1 + x2 = 2x

Such diblock and triblock copolymers are particularly advantageous in terms of cost and ease of preparation, while having a rapid demulsifying action even when used at low concentrations.

The compounds in which x is between 8 and 14 are particularly particularly preferred in the context of the invention, in particular when the copolymer according to the invention is a triblock copolymer.

In preferred embodiments of the invention, the block copolymer has a molar mass of between 400 and 10,000 Daltons (or g / mol), and preferably between 400 and

2,000 Daltons. Preferably, it also has a polymolecularity index of between 1.02 and 2.00, preferably between 1.03 and 1.30.

The multiblock copolymers according to the invention may be prepared by any method known to those skilled in the art. In order to ensure precise control of their molar mass, their composition and their architecture, they are preferably prepared by anionic polymerization, according to a technique known in itself and for example described in the publication by Cendejas et al., 2008. Schematically, this method of preparation comprises the following steps, which can be carried out successively or simultaneously:

- Preparation of the hydrophobic block poly (HB) _y , having functional OH, on which the hydrophilic blocks will be connected. This hydrophobic hydroxyfunctional block may be commercially available or may be prepared from a multifunctional initiator by conventional polymerization techniques;

synthesis of the multiblock copolymer comprising hydrophilic terminal blocks. From a glycidol monomer, several synthetic strategies can be envisaged, depending on whether one wishes to obtain one or more hydrophilic (s) or branched (s) hydrophilic block (s).

In preferred embodiments of the invention, hydrophilic poly (glycidol) blocks in which the hydroxyl function of glycidol is protected by a protective group R _; are prepared by anionic polymerization from the deprotonated form of a functional hydroxyl group precursor, by an alkali metal or alkaline earth metal derivative, to initiate the polymerization of glycidol monomers containing a protected hydroxyl group, chosen from terf butyl glycidyl ether, allyl and alkyl glycidyl ethers, glycidyl ethers protected in the form of an acetal, or any other derivative of glycidol in which the hydroxyl function is protected by a protective group Ri compatible with the anionic polymerization technique . The multiblock copolymers thus obtained are then treated under appropriate conditions, in particular acidic or basic, to deprotect the glycidol units, so as to obtain a multiblock block copolymer. hydrophilic linear, corresponding to the general formula (le):

Alternatively, it is possible to use glycidol as the monomer by initiating the polymerization with the same functional hydroxyl group precursor and applying a method such as that described in Sunder et al., 2000. In this case, multiblock copolymers are obtained whose hydrophilic blocks, consisting of glycidol units, are branched, and correspond to the general formula (Id):

wherein the number of branches of the terminal hydrophilic blocks may vary.

The homopolyglycidol which could form concomitantly can be either preserved in mixture or removed if necessary by extraction, for example aqueous. Otherwise, it is possible to use epichlorohydrin as a starting monomer, which can react with a hydroxylated hydrophobic polymer precursor. The opening reaction of the epoxide ring of epichlorohydrin may be carried out in an acidic medium or by radical or anionic catalysis, generating one or more polyether blocks bearing pendent CH ₂ Cl functions, which are then substituted with hydroxyl functions by hydrolysis, for example by treatment with potassium hydroxide or sodium acetate, so as to obtain a linear block copolymer of the general formula (Ic) above.

Particularly preferred copolymers within the scope of the invention, for use as demulsifying agents for aqueous emulsions, in particular heavy water / crude oil emulsions, respectively correspond to the following formulas (Ie) and (Ie):

and

that is, where x 1 and x ₂ , which may be equal or different, are such that their sum is 2x, and poly (HB) is a block of poly (propylene oxide) (PPO).

The number and the structure of the branches are represented in the general formula (If) above by way of illustration only, and are in no way limiting of the invention, this number and this structure being able to vary according to the synthesis parameters. Certain unbranched glycidol units may furthermore remain.

In preferred embodiments of the invention, the block copolymer is used in solution, at a concentration of between 5 and 50% by weight, in an organic solvent, preferably an aprotic solvent, of boiling point included between 35 and 200 ° C. By way of nonlimiting examples of such solvents, mention may be made of dichloromethane, chloroform, tetrahydrofuran, benzene, toluene, xylene, turbosine, naphtha or any of their mixtures. Advantageously, this solvent may be that used to carry out the polymerization. Block copolymers according to the invention are particularly effective in dememulsifying heavy water / crude oil emulsions, and in particular dehydrating and desalting heavy crude oils. In solution in an organic solvent, they are able to separate the water from the heavy crude oil during the extraction of oil out of the wellbore, and to quickly break the heavy water / oil emulsions, to eliminate up to 100% water in very short times, even when they are used at low concentrations. The concentration at which the block copolymer according to the invention is added to said emulsion is preferably between 10 and 500 ppm, preferably between 20 and 200 ppm, preferably between 20 and 100 ppm, and still preferably between 20 and 50 ppm. .

The high efficiency of the block copolymers according to the invention used in the context of the processes for the separation of heavy crude oils and water can in particular be explained by their structure and by the presence of terminal blocks based on patterns. poly (glycidol) hydroxyl function and more generally any type of hydroxyl function unit. This ability to separate water from heavy crude oil is closely dependent on the hydrophilic-hydrophobic balance of said block copolymer. It may be thought that these particular structural features advantageously promote their rapid adsorption on the surface of the water droplets of the emulsions, which reduces the time required for demulsification, particularly at temperatures between 10 and 90 ° C.

In preferred embodiments of the invention, a solution containing the block copolymer is injected directly into an oil well, so as to recover a directly dehydrated heavy crude oil.

Alternatively, a solution containing the block copolymer can be added to the heavy crude oil present as an emulsion in water after extraction from the oil well. The block copolymer according to the invention can thus be used as an additive for breaking off heavy water / crude oil emulsions after extraction from the wellbore, and preferably before transport to the refining sites.

Another aspect of the invention relates to a demulsifying composition, comprising a block copolymer of general formula (I): poly (HB) _y -b- [poly (G) _x ] _n (I) in which: n represents a number non-zero, x represents a number between 1 and 60, y represents a number between 5 and 60, poly (HB) represents a polymer block or copolymer with hydrophobic character, capable of being prepared from a mono-initiator. or polyfunctional, and poly (G) represents a linear or branched polymer or copolymer block whose units bear free hydroxyl functions, and which can be prepared from a monomer of general formula (II):

O

R (II) in which R represents a hydroxyl group, a chlorine atom or an OR-ι radical, in which R 1 represents a group protecting the hydroxyl function, the generation of the free hydroxyl function on the polymer possibly requiring final step of deprotection of the protected hydroxyl function or substitution of the chlorine atom by a hydroxyl group.

The block copolymer present in this composition may have one or more of the characteristics described above.

It is preferably present in the composition in solution, at a concentration of between 5 and 50% by weight, in an organic solvent, preferably aprotic, and boiling point between 35 and 200 ° C, for example in a solvent selected from dichloromethane, chloroform, tetrahydrofuran, benzene, toluene, xylene, turbosine, naphtha or any of their mixtures. Advantageously, this solvent can be the one used to carry out the polymerization. Such a composition is quite advantageous for dememulsifying aqueous emulsions of heavy crude oil, in particular for dehydrating and desalting heavy crude oils.

The invention also relates to a block copolymer corresponding to the general formula (I) above, and may have one or a plurality of the characteristics stated above.

The features and advantages of the invention will emerge more clearly in the light of the following examples of implementation, provided for illustrative and not limiting purposes of the invention, with the support of FIGS. 1 and 2, in which: FIG. 1 is a graph representing the% by volume of water removal, as a function of time, during the treatment of a heavy water / crude oil emulsion at 80 ° C. with a copolymer at a concentration of 500 ppm, respectively for linear triblock copolymers according to the invention G1, G2, G3 and G4 and for comparative copolymers P1 and P2; and FIG. 2 is a graph representing the% by volume of water removal, as a function of time, during the treatment of a heavy water / crude oil emulsion, under the same conditions as for the graph of FIG. the copolymer being used at a concentration of 100 ppm. EXAMPLE 1 Synthesis of linear block copolymers according to the invention G1 to G4

Block copolymers are prepared from propylene oxide (PO) as a base monomer for the hydrophobic poly (HB) block by the following steps: Synthesis of poly (propylene oxide) (PPO) with terminal functional hydroxyl groups as hydrophobic block:

The reactions are carried out in a Parr reactor equipped with digital control means of the stirring speed, the pressure and the temperature. The reactor is filled with a suitable amount of potassium glycolate, as initiator of the polymerization reaction, and propylene oxide as a monomer. These amounts vary between 0.1 and 10 g of initiator per 50 g of propylene oxide.

The reactor is then placed under an inert atmosphere of nitrogen. The temperature is set between 70 and 90 ° C, to allow a steady progression of the polymerization. After 14 hours of reaction, conversion rates between 70 and 95% by weight are obtained. Homopolymers of poly (propylene oxide) with molar masses of between 400 and 4000 g / mol and narrow dispersions of less than 1.30 are obtained. Commercial di-hydroxytelechelic poly (propylene oxide), or any other poly-hydroxytelechelic poly (alkylene oxide), can also be used as precursors to hydrophilic block synthesis.

Synthesis of poly (tert-butyl glycidyl ether) blocks:

Once the polymerization of the propylene oxide has been carried out, a tert-butyl glycidyl ether is slowly added to the reactor in a suitable amount, between 0.05 and 0.3 moles, relative to the propylene oxide. at a temperature of 40 to 60 ° C. The reactor is placed under an inert atmosphere of nitrogen.

Specifically, several conditions, in which the molar ratio of glycidyl terp-butyl ether to propylene oxide varies between 15 and 50 mol / mol, are applied to obtain copolymers of different x / y ratios.

Once the addition is complete, and after 4 hours of polymerization, the reaction is stopped by addition of ethanol. A final conversion rate of between 75 and 95% by weight is obtained. Deprotection of poly (tert-butyl glycidyl ether) units:

The deprotection of the poly (tert-butyl glycidyl ether) units is carried out in a flask by adding a solution of hydrochloric acid in ethanol (8% v / v), with stirring, for 24 hours at 60 ° C. vs. After neutralization, the solvent is removed under reduced pressure. The quantitative removal of the tert-butoxyl groups is verified by ¹ H NMR.

By fixing the operating conditions adequately, triblock linear copolymers of general formula (Ic) are obtained:

with a dispersity of between 1.02 and 1.30.

These copolymers are characterized by:

- Fourier transform infrared spectrometry, using a Bruker Model 27 spectrometer, using the ATR method and the OPUS® software.

The infrared spectra have the following signals: 3500-

3400 cm ^-1 , attributable to hydroxyl groups, 2970-2870 cm ^-1 , corresponding to the presence of methyl and methylene groups, confirmed by signals at 1450 and 1360 cm ^-1 , plus an intense signal at 1100-1080 cm attributed to the vibration of the CO bond of the polyether.

- nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), using a Bruker Model Advance spectrometer at 400 MHz, for the ¹ H and ¹³ C nuclei respectively, using deuterated chloroform as the solvent; the movements are indicated in parts by million (δ) using the tetramethylsilane (TMS) signal as an internal reference.

The following signals are obtained: 3.64; 3.58; 3.45; 3.40; 3.38 and 1.06 ppm.

- steric exclusion chromatography (SEC). The molar masses of the copolymers are determined at 40 ° C using tetrahydrofuran (THF) as a solvent on a PL-GPC 50 using three TSK columns G4000HXL, G3000HXL and G2000HXL. Polystyrene is used as standard.

The apparent molar mass SEC of the copolymers has a value of between 400 and 10 000 g / mol.

Four linear triblock copolymers obtained, named G1 to G4, were thus synthesized to evaluate their ability to break heavy water / crude oil emulsions. They consist of a PPO central block of 2000 g / mol, corresponding to an index y approximately equal to 35, and external blocks consisting of glycidol units whose values of x1 and x2 are as follows:

G2: x ₁ = x ₂ = x = 10

G3: x ₁ = x ₂ = x = 14

G4: x ₁ = x ₂ = x = 12

EXAMPLE 2 Synthesis of branched block copolymers according to the invention

The functional hydroxyl poly (propylene oxide) (PPO) synthesis as a hydrophobic block is carried out as described in Example 1 above.

Polymerization of unprotected glycidol monomer: A total amount of glycidol of between 0.08 and 0.3 moles is added slowly to the polymerization medium at a temperature of 40 to 60 ° C over a long period of time to maintain its concentration in the medium at a temperature of low value. The molar ratio between the glycidol and the propylene oxide is set at a value of between 12 and 50 mol / mol.

After the addition of glycidol, after 4 h, ethanol is added to stop the reaction. After removal of the solvent and ethanol, the degree of conversion, measured gravimetrically, is between 70 and 95% by weight. The copolymer is characterized as in Example 1 above.

EXAMPLE 3 Comparative Copolymers P1 and P2

Comparative linear triblock copolymers P1 and P2, of formulas:

P2: PEOn-PPO ^ -PEOn where PEO represents a block of an ethylene oxide polymer and PPO represents a block of a propylene oxide polymer, are prepared from poly (propylene oxide) having two terminal hydroxyl functions and ethylene oxide, in the presence of a potassium derivative, according to a conventional method in itself.

EXAMPLE 4 Evaluation of the demulsifying action of block copolymers on water / crude heavy oil emulsions

Each of the block copolymers according to the invention, G1 to G4, and comparative copolymers, P1 and P2, is dissolved in toluene to obtain a composition at a copolymer concentration of 45 g / l.

The heavy crude oil used, in the form of an aqueous emulsion, has the characteristics indicated in Table 1 below: Parameter Heavy crude oil

API ° 19

Salt content 1900/1000 Ibs

Paraffin 3.9%

Water 14%

Saturated 35%

Aromatic 17%

Resins 37%

Asphaltenes 1 1%

Table 1: Physico-Chemical Characteristics of Crude Oil The test procedure is as follows.

100 ml of crude oil are poured into graduated bottles.

The bottles are placed in a water bath of temperature set at 80 ° C., for 15 minutes, then a sample of each copolymer solution is added, at concentrations of 500 and 100 ppm respectively (mass of the copolymer solution per mass of oil). This does not represent more than a few μΙ of composition, so that the solvent does not influence the breaking of the emulsion by the copolymer.

All bottles are shaken for 2 minutes at a rate of 2 rounds per minute. The bottles are then returned to the temperature controlled bath, and the breaking of the crude oil / water emulsion is determined at different time intervals.

The results obtained, in terms of% by volume of water eliminated as a function of time, for each of the copolymers G1 to G4 according to the invention and of the comparative copolymers P1 and P2, are illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, respectively for copolymer concentrations of 500 ppm and 100 ppm. It is clearly observed that the G1 to G4 block copolymers according to the invention have a dehydration efficiency of crude oil much higher than that of the comparative copolymers P1 and P2, and whatever the concentration tested. The copolymers G1 and G2 are also slightly higher than the copolymers G3 and G4, both in terms of dewatering speed and the amount of water removed. These two copolymers make it possible to eliminate 100% of the water contained in the emulsion in about 35 minutes at the concentration of 500 ppm, and about 90% of this water in approximately 80 minutes at a concentration as low as 100 ppm, while that virtually no separations on the same time scale are obtained with the comparative controls.

The above description clearly illustrates that by its different characteristics and their advantages, the present invention achieves the objectives it had set for itself. In particular, it provides hydrophilic block-type copolymers, based on hydroxyl functional units, and hydrophobic blocks, which prove to be particularly effective demulsifying agents, especially for the dehydration of heavy crude oil.

BIBLIOGRAPHIC REFERENCES

Al-Sabagh et al., 2008, Journal of Applied Polymer Science, 108, 2301-231.

Cendejas et al., 2008, Journal of Molecular Structure, 879, 40-52 Hafiz et al., 2005, Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, 284, 167-175.

Foliotée et al., 2010, Colloids and Surfaces A: Physicochemical and Engineering Aspects, 365, 162-170

Sunder et al., 2000, Adv. Mater., 12, 235-239

Claims

1. Use of a block copolymer of general formula (I): poly (HB) _y -b- [poly (G) _x ] _n (I) in which: n represents a non-zero number, x represents a number included between 1 and 60, y represents a number between 5 and 60, poly (HB) represents a polymer block or copolymer with a hydrophobic nature, and poly (G) represents a linear or branched polymer or copolymer block whose units carry hydroxyl functions free, and capable of being prepared from a monomer of general formula (II):

O

Wherein R is a hydroxyl group, a chlorine atom or an OR-ι radical, wherein R 1 is a hydroxyl protecting group, as an aqueous emulsion demulsifier.

2. Use according to claim 1, characterized in that poly (HB) represents a block of a polymer capable of being prepared from at least one monomer chosen from cyclic ethers, cyclic esters, carbonates, fatty acid derivatives, olefins and diolefins.

3. Use according to claim 2, characterized in that poly (HB) represents a block of a polymer capable of being prepared from an alkylene oxide monomer, preferably propylene oxide.

4. Use according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that x and y are each between 8 and 50.

5. Use according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that x is between 8 and 14.

6. Use according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the ratio x / y is between 90/10 and 10/90, preferably between 80/20 and 20/80.

7. Use according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that n is equal to 1 or 2.

8. Use according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the block copolymer has a molar mass of between 400 and 10,000 Daltons, preferably between 400 and 2,000 Daltons.

9. Use according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that the block copolymer has a polymolecularity index of between 1.02 and 2.00, preferably between 1.03 and 1.30.

10. Use according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that the block copolymer is in solution, at a concentration of between 5 and 50% by weight, in a solvent with a boiling point between 35 and 200 ° C.

11. Use according to any one of claims 1 to 10 for dememulsifying water / crude heavy oil emulsions.

12. Use according to claim 1 1, characterized in that the block polymer is added to said emulsion at a concentration of between 10 and 500 ppm, preferably between 20 and 100 ppm, preferably between 20 and 50 ppm.

13. Use according to one of claims 1 1 to 12, characterized in that a solution containing the block polymer is injected directly into a petroleum well.

14. Use according to one of claims 1 1 to 12, characterized in that a solution containing the block polymer is added to the crude oil after extraction of a petroleum well.

15. Demulsifying composition, comprising a block copolymer general formula (I): poly (HB) _y -b- [poly (G) _x ] n (I)

in which: n represents a non-zero number, x represents a number between 1 and 60, y represents a number between 5 and 60, poly (HB) represents a polymer block or copolymer with hydrophobic character, and poly (G) represents a linear or branched polymer or copolymer block whose units bear free hydroxyl functions and which can be prepared from a monomer of general formula (II):

in which R represents a hydroxyl group, a chlorine atom or an OR-1 radical, in which R 1 represents a group protecting the hydroxyl function, in solution in an organic solvent.

The composition of claim 15, wherein the organic solvent is an aprotic solvent.

17. Composition according to any one of claims 15 to 16, wherein the organic solvent has a boiling point between

35 and 200 ° C.