Down-hole oil/water separation of petroleum fluids.

摘要

Recently several downhole oil/water separation technologies have been proposed to reduce water volume in the oil production but they are yet to be technically efficient and cost effective. In order to make the downhole separation more economic and feasible, an alternative separation technology such as membrane technology has been sought.; After in-depth investigations, a surprising capability of Xerox bond paper having different basis weight (24 lb, 32 lb) was discovered in this study. This paper was found to permeate oil selectively from oil/water mixture. The removal of oil was more than 85%, which is high in separation efficiency.; The identified papers were found to be capable of separating oil from oil/water mixture at low-pressure difference with no or less amount of surfactants presence. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)