Abstract: Processes for removing oil from a solid wellbore material such as drill cuttings or water such as produced by a subterranean formation include contacting the solid material/water with an amino-substituted polymer such as chitosan and a halogenating agent. The oil separates from the solid material and becomes bound within a flocculated solid. The flocculated solid containing the oil subsequently may be combined with a solvent of the amino-substituted polymer. Further, the flocculated solid may be contacted with a reducing agent, converting the flocculated solid back into the amino-substitute polymer and forming an oil-phase separate from the solvent-phase. The oil-phase may then be separated from the solvent phase and recovered. The solvent in which the amino-substituted polymer is dissolved may be recycled for treating more solid material removed from the well bore.

Abstract: Methods are described for removing contaminates from aqueous industrial wastewater process streams, specifically industrial laundries to yield a less contaminated aqueous effluent for discharge to a sewer and reduce the sludge generated therefrom. A premixed medium/high molecular weight and medium/high charged cationic coagulant solution polymer and an inorganic aluminum species is injected into the wastewater, and after at least a two second delay, a high molecular weight highly charged anionic flocculent polymer solution is injected into the wastewater which reduces sludge generation, while maintaining or exceeding effluent quality. Also, no coagulant, flocculent or sludge aids are needed to attain the results and the sludge can be dewatered in a plate and frame press.

Abstract: A system for separating oil and/or oily coated solids from an oily water mixture. The system includes an upright vessel having an inlet for introducing oily water in a horizontal pattern. The vessel also has a water outlet in a lower portion of the vessel and an oil outlet. An eductor is positioned within a lower portion of the vessel and is arranged to disseminates small gas bubbles in a radial, substantially horizontal pattern and substantially uniformly over the full cross-sectional area of the vessel. The bubbles migrate upwardly against the downward flow of oily water within the vessel and attach to oil droplets and/or oily coated solids augmenting the buoyancy thereof, and thereby enhancing oily contaminant separation from water. A two-stage oil skimmer bucket is located in a top portion of the vessel by which separated oil is collected and discharged through the oil outlet.

Abstract: The inventions of the present disclosure are directed to processes designed to recover water used in certain aspects of the processing of poultry, treat the recovered water to remove solids, fats, oils and greases, animal proteins and pathogenic organisms and to reuse the treated water for poultry processing operations. The processes described herein reduce bacteria and microorganisms associated with the poultry and reuse water. The present disclosure can be employed with an approach that includes unexpected positive results of reacting ozone and chlorine with water being treated for reuse to generate hypochlorous acid and/or other effective biocides. Ozone reacts with fats, oils, and greases, dissolved in the reuse water, to produce specific surface-active agents and surfactants which reduce the surface tension of the water which it is dissolved.

Abstract: A method for purifying a spent acid catalyst from an acid catalyzed chemical reaction that generates a mixture of a product, spent add and tar, includes the steps of separating the mixture of product, spent acid, and tar into a product fraction and a spent acid fraction, said spent acid fraction comprising a mixture of spent acid and tar, and separating the spent acid fraction, by flotation separation, centrifugation, or liquid-liquid coalescence, into a tar fraction and a de-tarred spent acid fraction. The fluidized tar and the de-tarred spent acid can each be further processed to produce concentrated acid.

Abstract: Disclosed is a method for recovering and re-employing ionic surfactants from solutions, dispersions and emulsions of water and liquid hydrocarbons, by the addition of a second non-aqueous polar phase and an inorganic salt which changes the ionic strength of the surfactant and causes the surfactant to partition principally into the non-aqueous second polar phase. More specifically, the method applies to recovering hydrate growth inhibitor/modifying compounds, with cationic surfactants such as ammonium, phosphonium and sulphonium alkylated compounds from the effluent of hydrocarbon production wells; the effluent including water, hydrate inhibitor compound, at least one additional polar solvent and inorganic salt. Sufficient additional ions of inorganic salt, and if necessary, an alcohol/glycol are added to the effluent to form a second polar phase that is less polar than the aqueous phase, into which the hydrate inhibitor can then dissolve and be separated from the effluent.

Abstract: The present invention relates to the use of alkoxylated polyglycerols preparable by polycondensation of glycerol and subsequent alkoxylation for demulsifying water-oil emulsions, in particular in the production of crude oil from crude oil/water emulsions. The invention provides for the use of alkoxylated polyglycerols with a molecular weight of from 250 to 100,000 units which comprise 2 to 100 glycerol units whose free OH groups are alkoxylated with C2–C4-alkylene oxide groups or a mixture of such alkylene oxide groups so that the alkoxylated polyglycerol has a degree of alkoxylation of from 1 to 100 alkylene oxide units per free OH group. The alkoxylated polyglycerols of the present invention are employed for demulsifying oil/water emulsions in amounts of from 0.0001 to 5% by weight, based on the oil content of the emulsion to be demulsified.

Abstract: The invention includes a method for demulsification of water-in-oil emulsions, oil-in-water emulsions, and mixtures of water-in-oil and oil-in-water emulsions by oscillatory mixing of the emulsions.

Abstract: A method of treating an oil-containing waste water includes adding, where the waste water has been adjusted to have a pH between eight and twelve and have a temperature not higher than 50° C., a high-cationic flocculant consisting of a high-molecular material selected from among acrylamide-quaternized or salified dimethylaminoethyl acrylate or methacrylate copolymer, and acrylamide-quaternized or salified dimethylaminoethyl acrylate or methacrylate-acrylic acid copolymer, and which constitutes a plurality of polymerized units at least 60 mol % of which have respective cationic functional groups, to the waste water, such that a concentration of the flocculant in the waste water falls between 100 mg/L and 1,000 mg/L, so that at least one fouling component dispersed in the water is flocculated to form a sludge consisting of flocks of the at least one fouling component and thereby separate the at least one fouling component and the water.

Abstract: Processes and apparatus are disclosed for separating and purifying aqueous solutions such as seawater by causing a substantially impermeable mat of gas hydrate to form on a porous restraint. Once the mat of gas hydrate has formed on the porous restraint, the portion of the mat of gas hydrate adjacent to the restraint is caused to dissociate and flow through the restraint, e.g., by lowering the pressure in a collection region on the opposite side of the restraint. The purified or desalinated water may then be recovered from the collection region. The process may be used for marine desalination as well as for drying wet gas and hydrocarbon solutions. If conditions in the solution are not conductive to forming hydrate, a heated or refrigerated porous restraint may be used to create hydrate-forming conditions near the restraint, thereby causing gas hydrates to form directly on the surface of the restraint.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a new ortho ester-based surfactant, where the hydrophobic and hydrophilic parts are connected by ortho ester linkages to the molecule. The ortho ester has the formula where R is hydrogen or an aliphatic group with 1–7 carbon atoms; R1 is hydrogen or an alkyl group with 1–5 carbon atoms; A1 is an alkyleneoxy group with 2–4 carbon atoms, the number of ethyleneoxy groups being at least 50% of the total number of alkyleneoxy groups; n1 is a number between 1 and 30; R2 is an aliphatic group with 5–22 carbon atoms; A2 is an alkyleneoxy group with 3–4 carbon atoms; n2 is a number between 0–30, provided that when R2 is an aliphatic group with 5–6 carbon atoms n2 is at least 1; R3 is selected from the group consisting of (A1)n1R1, (A2)n2R2 and an alkyl group with 1–6 carbon atoms, where A1, n1, R1, A2, n2 and R2 have the same meaning as mentioned above; or a di- or polycondensate via any of the free hydroxy groups of the ortho ester.

Abstract: Methods of treatment of fluids produced by an oil or gas well following a stimulation operation, allowing separation from the fluids and re-injection of oil and gas hydrocarbons in a production pipeline under pressure, and allowing achievement of suitable quality for the residual fluids compatible with their rejection, for example into the sea, including the following three elements; neutralization of the fluids by mixing with a high pH chemical, until the resulting pH reaches a level compatible with the equipment and pipes; use of optimized emulsion breakers in a phase separator, selected for best results with the fluids produced by the well, to accelerate the separation of oil from the fluids, and to lower the residual oil content in the fluids to levels compatible with environmental regulations; and use of a multi-phase pump to pump the oil and gas hydrocarbons produced and reinject them in a pipeline under pressure.

Abstract: A method for recycling an invert emulsion based drilling fluid, in which the invert emulsion based drilling fluid includes an oil component and an aqueous component. The method includes: mixing the invert emulsion drilling fluid with a emulsion clearing agent, wherein the emulsion clearing agent is a mixture of an anionic tensid and a non-ionic tensid; and separating the oil component of the invert emulsion drilling fluid from the aqueous component of the invert emulsion drilling fluid. The method preferably utilizes an emulsion breaking agent that is a combination of an anionic tensid, a non-ionic tensid and an alkyl polyglycoside tensid.

Abstract: The present invention provides a device and a method for separating particles from fluids using ultrasound, laminar flow, and stationary wave effects comprising a micro-technology channel system with an integrated branching point or branching fork, and a single ultrasound source. One of the characteristics of the invention is that the single ultrasound source, which generates the standing waves, excites the complete structure including the channel system. No special reflectors or the like are needed. Extremely thin dividers can separate the flow, thereby enhancing the effectiveness of the device. The device could be manufactured in silicon and the ultrasound energy could preferably be delivered by a piezoelectric element.

Abstract: A method for treating a micro-emulsion that can be used for removing the ink-accepting areas of a lithographic printing master is disclosed, which enables to recycle the water from the used micro-emulsion. The method comprises the heating of the micro-emulsion to a temperature above 50° C. thereby obtaining an aqueous phase and an organic phase and separating the aqueous phase from the organic phase.

Abstract: A mobile apparatus and method for recycling an invert emulsion based drilling fluid, in which the invert emulsion based drilling fluid includes an oleaginous component and an aqueous component. The apparatus includes an emulsion breaking tank, a water treatment tank, a filter press, and hydrocarbon filters. The method includes: mixing said invert emulsion drilling fluid with a emulsion breaker, wherein the emulsion breaker is a mixture of an alkyl glucoside and an alkane sulfonate; and separating the oleaginous component of the invert emulsion drilling fluid from the aqueous component of the invert emulsion drilling fluid. The method preferably utilizes an emulsion breaker that is a combination of an anionic surfactant, a nonionic surfactant and an alkyl polyglycoside surfactant.

Abstract: A composition and method for treating oversprayed paints in paint spray booths is provided. The composition includes an aqueous solution of a compound such as chitosan, and a complex metal salt, such as aluminum chlorohydrate, capable of flocculating the oversprayed paint, and optionally, bentonite clay. The composition is useful for detackifying and flocculating oversprayed paint, and is particularly useful as a liquid concentrate for the addition to wash systems in paint spray booths for water-based and solvent-based paints. The composition is also useful in decreasing the time for phase separation of the organic phase and the aqueous phase in solvent-based removal processes.

Abstract: The present invention provides a process and an additive package for removing oil from solid material recovered from a well bore, e.g., drill cuttings and produced sand. In this process, the solid material is passed from the well bore to a separation zone. An aqueous acidic solution containing a polymer substituted with an amino group is introduced to the separation zone containing the solid material along with a halogenating agent and optionally one or more surfactants. The polymer, halogenating agent, and optional surfactant constitute the additive package. The polymer substituted with an amino group is preferably chitosan, and the halogenating agent is preferably a sodium hypochlorite solution. The mixture formed in the separation zone is agitated to cause a product of a reaction between the polymer and the halogenating agent to contact the solid material and remove residual oil therefrom.

Abstract: There is a process for removing by-product tar during the manufacture of isopropyl alcohol. The process comprises the following: a) reacting propylene with concentrated sulfuric acid and water to form isopropyl alcohol and a spent acid having a by-product tar; b) capturing at least a portion of the isopropyl alcohol; c) contacting the spent acid with a gas in bubble form; d) allowing a least a portion of the tar to separate from the remainder of the spent acid to form a layer of tar and a layer of cleaned acid solution; e) capturing the tar; and h) recycling the cleaned acid solution to step a) as a source of sulfuric acid. There is also a process for removing by-product tar during the manufacture of methyl ethyl ketone. The process is substantially the same except that 1-butene is substituted for propylene. There is also a process for removing tar from a spent acid.

Abstract: A method for locating hidden microorganism contaminated surfaces in industrial water systems is described and claimed. The method works by applying a solution or dispersion of a fluorogenic reagent in water to the hidden water contact surfaces of said industrial water system and allowing said fluorogenic reagent to react with any hidden microorganisms present, wherein said fluorogenic reagent is selected from the group of fluorogenic reagents that are known to react with microorganisms such that a fluorescent signal of said fluorogenic reagent is detectable in such a way as to make the detection of the fluorescent signal indicate that there are hidden microorganisms present on the water contact surfaces of the equipment and piping.

Abstract: An improved production water treatment system and method are disclosed. The treatment apparatus includes a vertically oriented vessel with tangentially disposed injection nozzles including one or more injection nozzles for the introduction of production water and one or more injection nozzles for the introduction of recycled water from the vessel and a sparge gas. The tangential orientation of the injection nozzles creates a cyclonic flow within the vessel for improved sparge gas bubble/hydrocarbon contact. A hydrocarbon-rich layer migrates to the top surface of the liquid in the vessel where it is removed about a center axis of the vessel. The resulting hydrocarbon-lean production water has a sufficiently low hydrocarbon content that it is eligible for more intensive processing, such as with organophillic clay cartridges.

Abstract: A mobile apparatus and method for recycling an invert emulsion based drilling fluid, in which the invert emulsion based drilling fluid includes an oleaginous component and an aqueous component. The apparatus includes an emulsion breaking tank, a water treatment tank, a filter press, and hydrocarbon filters. The method includes: mixing said invert emulsion drilling fluid with a emulsion breaker, wherein the emulsion breaker is a mixture of an alkyl glucoside and an alkane sulfonate; and separating the oleaginous component of the invert emulsion drilling fluid from the aqueous component of the invert emulsion drilling fluid. The method preferably utilizes an emulsion breaker that is a combination of an anionic surfactant, a nonionic surfactant and an alkyl polyglycoside surfactant.

Abstract: The invention includes a method for demulsification of water-in-oil emulsions.

Abstract: The present invention relates to the treatment of a solution that contains colorants and, in particular, compositions and methods for the removal of colorants from a solution.

Abstract: Resins obtainable from compounds of formula 1 in which the substituents R2 and HNR1 can be in the ortho, meta or para position relative to one another, and R1 has the same meaning as R2, or has the meaning —COR2, where R1 is independent of R2, R2 is C1-C30-alkyl, C2-C30-alkenyl, C6-C18-aryl, C7-C30-alkylaryl, by the steps, which can be carried out in any order, of A) reaction with an aldehyde of the formula 2 R3—CHO  (2), wherein R3 is H, C1-C30-alkyl, C2-C30-alkenyl, C6-C18-aryl or C7-C30-alkylaryl, and B) alkoxylation with a C2-C4-alkylene oxide in molar excess, such that the resulting alkoxylate has a degree of alkoxylation of from 1 to 100 alkylene oxide units per —NH group, and the resin has a molecular weight of from 250 to 100,000 units, and their use as emulsion breakers.

Abstract: Methods and compositions for removing organics solubilized in a water-like fluid (WSO), such as the water produced in connection with the production of hydrocarbons from subterranean formations, are described. Hydrophilic &agr;-hydroxy-monocarboxylic acids (AHAs), such as hydroxyacetic (glycolic) acid, alone or optionally together with anionic polymers, have been found to be effective. The compositions and methods of this invention have reduced corrosion and scale formation problems as compared with other methods employing stronger acids to remove WSO. The AHAs have pKa's of greater than 3.8.

Abstract: Oil based drilling fluids (muds) that include clays can be broken into at least three layers of their respective components (oil, water, and clay) by adding a few weight percent of a high HLB surfactant prediluted in water. Centrifugation can accelerate this separation process. The resulting oil, water, and clay layers can thereafter be more cost effectively recycled or disposed of following the process. In another embodiment an additional surface active agent is added to facilitate breaking the drilling mud into three or more phases without the centrifuge.

Abstract: The invention includes a method for dewatering and/or desalting a water-in-oil emulsion comprising introducing a plurality of streams of the emulsion into the electrostatic field under opposed flow whereby the water coalescence is enhanced. The invention also includes an improved electrostatic apparatus for dewatering and/or desalting a water-in-oil emulsion comprising a plurality of horizontally directed nozzles positioned to introduce a plurality of streams of the emulsion into the electrostatic field under opposed flow conditions.

Abstract: Water-in-Oil emulsions are demulsified using adducts of a) polyalkylene glycols (PAGS) having a molecular weight greater than 6,500 and up to 60,000, ethylene oxide (EO), and diisocyanates (DIs) or b) polyalkylene glycols (PAGs) having a molecular weight greater than 6,500 and up to 60,000 and diisocyanates (DIs). The preferred PAG is polypropylene glycol and the preferred DIs are meta or para tetramethylxylene diisocyanate and toluene diisocyanate.

Abstract: The invention includes a method for demulsification of water-in-oil emulsions.

Abstract: The invention is directed towards a chemical demulsifier formulation comprising an alkyl aromatic sulfonic acid additive with at least 16 carbon atom alkyl group and at least two 6 carbon-ring aromatic group and a co-additive selected from the group consisting of dipropylene monobutyl ether, aromatic naphtha, isoparaffinic solvent, cycloparaffinic solvent, aromatic solvent, diethylene glycol monobutyl ether, benzyl alcohol and mixtures thereof and a process for demulsification and desalting crude oil using the demulsifier formulation.

Abstract: A process for removing an oil-in-water emulsion from waste water. The process consists of collecting the emulsion waste water, adding a precipitation reagent with trivalent cations, and adding a base compound to adjust the pH of the waste water. The adjusted waste water converts the dissolved trivalent cations to gelatinous cation hydroxide precipitations and separate the emulsion from the waste water. The process can be enhanced by also utilizing a filtration means to further separate the precipitation from the waste water. The process is designed to reduce the level of the emulsion from 1000 ppm to less than 1 ppm.

Abstract: A process for the remediation of soil, rock or water contaminated with volatile organic compounds involving: (1) forming an emulsifier comprising: (a) a sugar surfactant; and (b) a nonionic surfactant, other than the sugar surfactant which, when combined with the sugar surfactant, provides a hydrophilic-lipophilic balance of from about 8.0 to about 13.0; (2) mixing the emulsifier with the volatile organic compounds to form a stable emulsion; and (3) removing the stable emulsion from the soil, rock or water.

Abstract: A method of purifying a mixture, said mixture comprising an oil Product, at least one additive and water, wherein: said oil Product is a liquid fuel oil composition or lubricating oil composition, at least part of the water is in the form of a dispersion of water in said Product, and said additive is a cyclic compound comprising m units of the formula (Ia) and n units of the formula (Ib) joined together to form a ring, wherein each y and Y2 is a divalent bridging group which may be the same or different in each unit; R0 is H or (C1-C6) alkyl or is a metal cation, R5 is H or (C1-C60) alkyl; J is 1 or 2; R3 is hydrogen, a hydrocarbyl or a hetero-substituted hydrocarbyl group; either R1 is hydroxyl and R2 and R4 are independently either hydrogen, hydrocarbyl or heterosubstituted hydrocarbyl, or R2 or R4 are hydroxyl and R1 is either hydrogen, hydrocarbyl or hetero-substituted hydrocarbyl; and m+n is from 4 to 20, m is from 1 to 8 and n is at least 3; said method comprising: providing said mixture, coalescin

Abstract: A method of demulsifying a water-in-oil emulsion comprising an oil phase comprising asphaltenes and an aqueous phase is disclosed. The method comprises contacting a carbon dioxide containing fluid with the emulsion such that the carbon dioxide containing fluid enters the oil phase of the emulsion. The asphaltenes precipitate out of the emulsion and the emulsion destabilizes.

Abstract: The invention includes a method for demulsification of water-in-oil emulsions.

Abstract: Commercial grade ammonia is purified for use in production of semiconductors by initially passing the liquid ammonia through a liquid phase oil separation system. This removes the vast majority of the impurities. The filtered liquid ammonia is then passed through a vaporizer which quiescently forms ammonia vapor and prevents entrainment of impurities within the ammonia vapor. The vapor passes through a vapor filtration system and subsequently to a bubble column. The bubble column is designed so that the bubbles are small enough and travel at a rate which ensures that any entrapped particle within the bubble will have time to migrate to the surface of the bubble and thereby pass through the liquid phase. The collected vapor is directed through subsequent vapor filters and is collected. If anhydrous ammonia is desired, the ammonia vapor is collected upstream of the bubble column.

Abstract: The invention includes a method for demulsification of water-in-oil emulsions.

Abstract: A method for resolving sludge/emulsion formed as a result of adding introduced fluids to oil and gas wells. The method comprises adding a water-dispersible emulsion breaker and/or adjunct additives that may include iron-control chemicals, scale-control chemicals, or paraffin-control chemicals or combinations thereof in amounts sufficient to separate the sludge/emulsion into an oil phase and a water phase and to control iron, scale, or paraffin in the oil phase. Further treatment of water phase includes treatment with water clarifiers, allowing the water phase to remain in settling vessels, and passing the water phase through a macroreticular resin resulting in water that is environmentally acceptable for disposal.

Abstract: The invention is directed towards a chemical demulsifier formulation comprising an alkyl aromatic sulfonic acid additive with at least 16 carbon atom alkyl group and at least two 6 carbon-ring aromatic group and a co-additive selected from the group consisting of dipropylene monobutyl ether, isoparaffinic solvent, cycloparaffinic solvent, diethylene glycol monobutyl ether, benzyl alcohol, and mixtures thereof.

Abstract: This invention is directed to methods for quickly inverting and dispersing a flocculant in an aqueous slurry to achieve settlement of solids and clarification of the slurry water. In particular, this invention relates to methods for quickly inverting a flocculant-containing emulsion in-line without significantly destabilizing the emulsion. The methods comprise dosing water with at least one water-in-oil emulsion containing at least one of a flocculent polymer and a hydrophilic surfactant and subjecting the water and emulsion to a high shear, turbulent reverse flow, such that the combination of the surfactant and shear synergistically inverts the emulsion, so the flocculant may be directly injected into the slurry. In an alternative embodiment, the emulsion is fed directly to the slurry to be treated and subjected to high shear, such that the emulsion inverts in situ, releasing the flocculant into the slurry for solids/liquid separation.

Abstract: The invention relates to an apparatus for separating water-containing solvent mixtures having two or more phases, using one or two gravitational separators (4, 16) and to the use of this apparatus, and also to a process for separating water-containing solvent mixtures having two or more phases. Using the novel apparatus it is possible to separate even small-density-difference solvent mixtures having two or more phases. To this end, a coalescence separator (1) has been provided upstream of the first gravitational separator (4).

Abstract: A process for separation of an oil-containing aqueous emulsion includes mixing the oil-containing aqueous emulsion with carbon-dioxide and subjecting the emulsion and carbon dioxide for a specified time within an autoclave to an elevated pressure and an elevated temperature. A rising stream of bubbles is formed within the autoclave by suddenly relieving the pressure within the autoclave with the rising stream of bubbles serving to separate the oil-containing aqueous emulsion into an oil-rich phase and an oil-depleted emulsion. The oil depleted emulsion is transferred to a segrating tank. At least a fraction of the oil-depleted emulsion within the segregated tank is subjected to ultrafiltration to separate the fraction into a permeate and a retentate.

Abstract: This invention is directed to a method of clarifying water comprising adding to the water an effective clarifying amount of a low molecular weight water-soluble cationic dispersion polymer prepared by polymerizing one or more cationic monomers and one or more nonionic monomers and one or more chain transfer agents under free radical forming conditions in an aqueous solution of an anionic salt in the presence of a stabilizer polymer, wherein the cationic dispersion has a cationic charge of from about 1.0 mole percent to about 75 mole percent and an RSV of from about 0.2 dl/g to about 6 dl/g.

Abstract: Invention relates to methods for water removal from oil, oil products, gas condensate, and liquid hydrocarbons. The suggested invention aims at a more efficient water removal from the flows of hydrocarbons of different origin. Technical task of water removal is implemented via the selective filtration of hydrocarbons through a filtering element consisting of three tilted beds, wherein the first and the third beds are made of a porous-cellular metal or alloy with hydrophobic surface, while intermediate one is made of hydrophilic materials such as the porous-cellular metal or alloy with modified surface, celluloid foam or the cartridges filled with glass balls or glass fiber. The suggested method allows a high degree of water removal from the hydrocarbon medium under continuous regime without water phase settling. Apparatus for the implementation of this method is also described.

Abstract: A system is provided which is capable of measuring the thickness of an emulsion layer in a desalter, with high precision and in real time.

Abstract: The invention provides a method of inhibiting the formation of stable water in oil emulsions which are typically formed during the production of crude oil. The method involves the addition of one or more amphiphilic compounds which may comprise a hydrophilic backbone and hydrophobic groups attached thereto. The hydrophilic backbone may comprise polymerised units of one or more monomer compounds which may be selected from one or more of alkylene oxide, (meth)acrylic acid, acrylate, urethane, cellulose and vinyl alcohol. The hydrophobic groups may be attached to the hydrophilic backbone in one or more of the following positions: at one or more of the ends of the backbone, either regularly or randomly spaced along the length of the backbone, and as linking groups to link two or more portions of the hydrophilic backbone together.

Abstract: A method for treating silicone emulsion waste includes the steps of adding base chemical materials to the silicone emulsion waste in an amount effective to cause separating of the silicone emulsion waste. The added chemicals separate the silicone emulsion waste into silicone oil and an emulsion-free water. The components can be separated, with the silicone oil laden liquid being sent to an incinerator and the emulsion-free water being sent to a wastewater treatment plant. The base chemicals can include sodium hydroxide, sodium carbonate, sodium chloride and/or combinations thereof. To enhance separating of the silicone emulsion waste, the silicone emulsion waste can be heated prior to the addition of the chemicals. Also, by recycling the treated water and adding the same to the silicone emulsion waste and base chemicals separation of the silicone emulsion waste can be enhanced.

Abstract: This invention concerns a method for the treatment of waste-water. This method includes reacting a polyamine and a multifunctional epoxide in waste-water composition that initially is in the form of an emulsion to form a reaction product that causes the emulsion to break into a water phase and an oil phase. The oil phase and water phase may thereafter be physically separated from one another as by dissolved air flotation or chemical precipitation.

Abstract: A process for breaking an emulsion into a water phase and an oil phase involving: (a) providing an emulsion containing an oil phase and a water phase; (b) providing an alkoxylated C10-24 carboxylic acid ester derived by the addition of ethylene oxide and/or propylene oxide onto a ring opened epoxidized C10-24 carboxylic acid triglyceride which is ring opened with a C6-18 carboxylic acid; and (c) contacting the emulsion with a demulsifying effective amount of the alkoxylated C10-24 carboxylic acid ester. Said process has application on crude oil emulsions.