Crude Oil Waxes, Emulsions, and Asphaltenes

Oilfield waxes and emulsions are petroleum byproducts that increase the costs of production, transportation, and refining by causing equipment failures, plugged pipelines, and decreased throughput. Oil companies spend considerable money in the treatment of oilfield emulsions and wax problems—as oilfields mature and production depths increase, control of emulsions and waxes increase becomes more and more important. This book is the first of its kind in explaining the physical chemical problems associated with waxes and emulsions and the new technologies for treatment of these problems. It is written at an introductory level for readers with no advance chemical training.