THE EFFECT OF COSURFACTANT IN CO2 ABSORPTION IN WATER – IN – OIL EMULSION

Abstract

Carbon dioxide is one of the main concern in the environment when it comes to energy usage of fuel, even the fuel is coming from natural gas sources. Apart from endangered the environment, carbon dioxide also affects the caloric value of the natural gas itself. The presence of carbon dioxide as contaminants is a nuisance for oil and gas industry as its capability of forming corrosion in pipeline, thus its removal is vital for this industry. The absorption of carbon dioxide in emulsions would be an effective method to prevent corrosion. This study focused on the effects of cosurfactant, complementing 1,2-dioleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DOPC) with surfactant which is sorbitan oleate (SPAN 80), on the stability of water-in-oil (W/O) emulsion. This study also investigates the use of blended amines which are methyldiethanolamine (MDEA)/2-amino-2-methyl-1-propanol (AMP) and MDEA as aqueous phase. A modified rotating disk contactor (RDC) was used in absorption process and gas chromatography (GC) was used to determine the amount of the CO2 absorbed. Analysis of carbon dioxide absorption through emulsion indicates that different cosurfactant may change the absorption mechanism.