Importance of Oilfield Chemicals - Emulsion Breakers, Water and Oil Line Corrosion Inhibitors

Importance of Oilfield Chemicals - Emulsion Breakers, Water and Oil Line Corrosion Inhibitors

Various kinds of chemicals are used in oilfield for better productivity and higher efficiency in the processes. While some are used in operations like oil well drilling and exploration many are employed for maintenance purposes like protecting pipelines and equipment from corrosion. There are two most important oilfield chemicals which play an important role in achieving oilfield efficiency and longevity. They are emulsion breakers (demulsifiers) and corrosion inhibitors.


Oil Line Corrosion Inhibitors


Corrosion inhibitors have important role to play in oilfield industries. The pipelines through which oil is transported or conveyed in oilfield are highly prone to corrosion because of presence of water in it. Water contains oxygen which is main contaminant causing corrosion in oilfield lines. The water and oil line corrosion inhibitors for oilfield are those essential chemicals which function as oxygen scavengers absorbing oxygen present in water oil emulsions being transported through pipeline thereby safeguarding it from the reduction-oxidation reaction which occurs when oxygen reacts with ferrous or non ferrous metals causing corrosion. Therefore oil line corrosion inhibitors are very important to oilfields which can save up the costs, downtime and materials employed for repair and replacement due to corrosion in oilfields.


Oilfield Demulsifiers (Emulsion Breakers)


The oil produced in the oilfield is often associated with significant quantities of water which gets associated with the oil either naturally or through injection during the processes. This water should be separated from the oil because it can impact the properties of the oil and can also cause corrosion in the pipelines. This is the reason why demulsifiers or emulsion breakers are required in oilfield. Emulsion breakers for oilfield are those specialty chemicals which can separate out oil and water from the crude oil water emulsions. They work through a process of crude oil demulsification which cause a density change in emulsion making it easier for separation to occur. Demulsifiers can efficiently elevate crude oil value for export while minimizing the operating or maintenance costs which might be required in case if corrosion takes place.

Demulsifier Manufacturer


Rimpro India is a leading oilfield chemicals and demulsifier manufacturer in India producing a wide range of oilfield demulsifiers for water oil separation in oilfield processes. The manufacturer is a specialist at providing high quality oil and water soluble demulsifiers with medium concentration of surfactants and surfactants for oilfield processes including oil recovery and processing, oil drilling, reservoir injection and surface plant process, oil transportations etc.

Types of Demulsifier, Oil Soluble Demulsifier, Water Soluble Demulsifier

Demulsifier is one of the important oilfield chemicals widely used in petroleum industries to act as an emulsion breaker to separate out oil in water or water in oil. The formulation of demulsifier depends on the properties of crude oil like asphalt, paraffin etc. The petroleum demulsifier breaks oil and water, extracting the solid out of liquid to generate high quality crude oil. The demulsifier works on the principal of attracting the droplet interface creates drop dispersion or deposition to create a big droplet. Change in density of molecules separate out solid from water. Thus the demulsifier is also known as emulsion breaker. Demulsifier is used in various industries where oil and water are used. The major usage of demulsifier is in the petroleum industries to purify the crude oil. Along with petroleum, demulsifier is used in steel industries, aluminum industries, chemical processing and fuel washing.

Types of Demulsifier

There are two different types of demulsifiers are available in the market. Oil soluble demulsifier for demulsification and water soluble demulsifier. Oil soluble demulsifier is organic formulation soluble in crude oil, xylene and toluene and creates the emulsion process for water in oil and oil in water at room temperature. It gives better performance if the temperature increases above certain degree.

Water soluble demulsifier is the organic surfactants solution with water and soluble in crude oil for Demulsification process of oil in water at room temperature. Water soluble emulsion breaker soluble in the mixture and start the emulsion process immediate.  These demulsifiers are non hazardous and non-toxic. In petroleum crude oil production industry the demulsifier must be biodegradable so that the water soluble demulsifier doesn’t contain any phenolic contain on removal.


Demulsifier is the organic compound and need to keep away from direct sunlight. Direct human contact of demulsifier should be avoided. To avoid hazardous effect of demulsifier, the goggles and gloves should wear for safe handling. The spillage can be handled with dry absorbent like sand, sawdust etc.  On ingestion / eye contact with the product, medical attention should be sought immediately. Chemicals for Drilling Fluids production include dispersants, emulsifiers, wetting agents, biocides, defoamers, corrosion inhibitor, and flocculants. For Cementing and Stimulation, polymers, surfactants, clay control additives, friction reducers, etc. are regularly used. For Oil Production, drag reduction agents, flow improvers, defoamers, sulfite scavengers, etc. are the key chemicals.