Patent ID: 9677009
Date: 2017-06-13
CPC Classifications: C10G

Claim:
1. A process for demulsifying crude oil-in-water (O/W) emulsions, water-in-crude oil (W/O) or complex emulsions by demulsifying agents derived from natural or artificial amino acids, said process comprising the following steps: a) selecting a demulsifying agent among the compounds derived from natural or artificial amino acids, which present surfactant properties, according to the O/W, W/O or complex emulsion, wherein said demulsifying agent is a water soluble, ionic amino acid ester, wherein the demulsifying agent comprises a methanesulfonate ester derivative of natural or synthetic amino acids with surface-active properties that include at least one selected from the group consisting of glycine, alanine and tryptophan containing a hydrocarbon chain from C b) adding said water soluble ionic amino acid ester (IAAE) demulsifying agent to the O/W emulsion, water-in-crude oil or complex emulsion at concentrations between 50-1500 ppm to form a mixture, c) mixing the resulting mixture and storing the mixture under static conditions at temperatures between 25-80° C. for at least 24 hours, and d) separating and recovering crude oil and water phases.