A novel environmental
decalcifying agent was prepared with allylpolyethoxy
amino carboxylate (APEAA), hydroxyethyl acrylate (HEA), and maleic
anhydride (MA) by means of free-radical polymerization in an aqueous
solution. The morphology and structure of the samples were characterized
through scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy,
Fourier transform infrared spectrometry, and
1
H nuclear
magnetic resonance (
1
H NMR) spectra. The molecular-weight
distribution of APEAA–HEA–MA was determined by the gel
permeation chromatography method. APEAA–HEA–MA was used
as a green decalcifying agent to remove calcium from crude petroleum,
and the impact of factors such as monomer ratio, copolymerization
time, dosages, and desalination temperature was analyzed. It is found
that the decalcification rate of APEAA–HEA–MA could
reach to its maximum, and the calcium removal efficiency was approximately
97.88% when the monomer molar ratio of APEAA–HEA–MA
was 1:2:5, the reaction time of copolymerization was 2 h, the dosage
was 100 ppm, and the desalination temperature was 100 °C. This
research work can promote the exploration on facile synthesis of a
novel terpolymer and its potential application in refinery desalting
processes.