Cities Service Company

Jack Newcombe

Shirley H Roth

Glen F Kellerhals

Charles L Coffman

A process useful for breaking oil in water emulsions produced as the result of a surfactant flood oil recovery project is disclosed. The produced oil in water emulsion, stabilized with surfactants, content is treated with brine and a polyol or quaternary ammonium compound, or both, followed by mixing and settling to form a sprung oil phase and a brine phase.

Emulsion breaking of surfactant stabilized crude oil in water emulsions

An oil-in-water emulsion of crude oil, water and surface active agents is broken by adding additional surface active agents, preferably relatively high equivalent weight petroleum sulfonates, to the emulsion and then subjecting the emulsion to conventional emulsion breaking techniques.

Emulsion breaking process

A process useful for recovering surfactant and oil of low water content in surfactant flood oil recovery projects is disclosed. A produced oil in water emulsion is treated with brine and partitioning agent, preferably isopropyl alcohol, by mixing and settling to form three phases, an oil phase containing a minor amount of surfactant, a partitioning agent phase containing most of the surfactant originally present in the produced emulsion, and a brine phase containing a minor amount of alcohol.

Emulsion breaking with surfactant recovery

A normally flammable organic polymer is rendered flame retardant by the incorporation of a compound corresponding to the formula: ##STR1## wherein X is chloro or bromo, Q is halo, hydrogen, or a hydrocarbyl or hydrocarbyloxy group, and Z is a divalent saturated polybromocycloalkylene group containing 5-16 carbon atoms and 2-6 bromine atoms. Such flame retardants include, e.g., 5,6-dibromo-1,10,11,12,13,13-hexachlorotricyclo[8.2.1.0.sup.2,9 ]tridecene-11, i.e., the dibrominated 1:1 Diels-Alder adduct of hexachlorocyclopentadiene and cyclooctadiene-1,5. If desired, the flame retardant may be employed in conjunction with a synergist, such as antimony trioxide.

Flame-retardant polymer composition

An emulsion of crude oil and water that is recovered from an underground reservoir is broken by the addition of a naturally occurring brine to effect separation and recovery of the oil phase of the emulsion. Advantageously, brine taken from the same geologic formation as the crude oil can be used as the emulsion breaker.

Process for recovering crude oil from an underground reservoir

A normally flammable organic polymer is rendered flame retardant by the incorporation of a compound corresponding to the formula: ##SPC1## Wherein X is chloro or bromo, Q is halo, hydrogen, or a hydrocarbyl or hydrocarbyloxy group, and Z is a divalent saturated polybromocycloalkylene group containing 5-16 carbon atoms and 2-6 bromine atoms. Such flame retardants include, e.g., 5,6-dibromo-1,10,11,12,13,13-hexachlorotricyclo[8.2.1.0.sup.2,9 ]tridecene-11, i.e., the dibrominated 1:1 Diels-Alder adduct of hexachlorocyclopentadiene and cyclooctadiene-1,5. If desired, the flame retardant may be employed in conjunction with a synergist, such as antimony trioxide.

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Tulsa, OK, United States of America

Jack Newcombe