Tar sand extractions with microemulsions: I‐the dissolution of light hydrocarbons by microemulsions using 2‐butoxyethanol and diethylmethylamine as cosurfactants

Abstract

For oil sand extractions with microemulsions it is important to disperse large quantities of light hydrocarbons in an aqueous medium. Fundamental studies on the properties of 2‐butoxyethanol (BE) and diethylmethylamine (Et2McN) in water suggest that these two liquids could be more effective cosurfactants than the usual alcohols used for this purpose. The phase diagrams of microemulsions using BE and Et2MeN as cosurfactants, combined with typical ionic and non‐ionic surfactants and typical aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons, were therefore investigated and compared with microemulsions based on n‐butanol. Although the phase diagrams depend significantly on the nature of the surfactant and of the oil, the monophasic region generally increases with the cosurfactant in the order n‐butanol < Et2McN < BE. With the active mixture BE‐cetyltrimethylammonium bromide, temperature has little effect on the phase diagram and NaCl generally destabilizes the microemulsion.

Effect of Interfacial Alcohol Concentrations on Oil Solubilization by Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate Micelles

“…Addition of medium chain-length alcohols such as pentanol can make the interfacial phase more hydrophobic. Branched- 1 Published as Florida Agricultural Experiment Station Journal Series Number R-07275. 2 To whom correspondence should be addressed.…”

Effect of Pentanol Partitioning on Solubilization of Tetrachloroethylene and Gasoline by Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate Micelles

“…In attempts to solubilize oil as a microemulsion, at least one alcohol is often included with the surfactant in the formulation (1)(2)(3)(4)(5)). An alcohol acting as a cosurfactant in the microemulsion interface can increase oil solubilization and decrease the interfacial tension (IFT).…”

Activity coefficients and standard Gibbs free energies of transfer of NaCl and KCl from water to aqueous solution of 2-butoxyethanol by EMF studies

“…have received considerable attention in the literature (1)(2)(3)(4)(5). It is well established that 2-butoxyethanol forms microaggregates in a very dilute aqueous solution and is used as a cosurfactant in microemulsions (6).…”