Emulsion-preventing compositions may contain one or more sorbitan esters; and one or more non-ionic surfactants; where the ratio of the one or more sorbitan esters to the one or more non-ionic surfactants is in the range of 1:1 to 1:5. Methods may include contacting an emulsion with a treatment fluid, the treatment fluid containing one or more sorbitan esters and one or more non-ionic surfactants, where the ratio of the one or more sorbitan esters to the one or more non-ionic surfactants is in the range of 1:1 to 1:5; and separating the emulsion into an aqueous phase and an oleaginous phase.

A method for the separation and removal of organic and inorganic contamination in fluids where water is the continuous phase and oil contamination is present in the continuous phase, is described. Xanthan and/or Guar in the unsolved state dispersed in nonpolar solvent of de-aromatized aliphatic or a synthetic isoparaffine, immiscible with water and miscible with oil, is dosed into the fluid.

An oil-water separation membrane is described. The oil-water separation membrane comprises a porous metal sheet with a photocatalyst layer on one side and a layer of nanoparticles and a surfactant on the other side. The layer of nanoparticles and surfactant create a superoleophobic and superhydrophilic coating that allows passage of an aqueous phase and rejection of an oil phase. The photocatalyst layer, combined with UV irradiation, enables degradation of organic contaminants in the aqueous phase. The oil-water separation membrane may be used as part of an oil-water separation system, and a filtered water product may be recycled through the membrane to increase the removal of organic contaminants.

A carbon disulfide-modified amine additive may be introduced to an aqueous stream in an effective amount to separate oil from the water in the aqueous stream, such as separating at least some of the oil from emulsified oil-in-water in a production fluid, where the oil is crude oil. The carbon disulfide-modified amine additive may be produced from a reaction of synthetic amine, natural amines, or chemically modified natural amines with carbon disulfide and an ,-unsaturated compound and/or an epoxide in one step. In one non-limiting embodiment, the amine is a natural amine or chemically modified natural amine of a polysaccharide containing amino functional group(s). Optionally, a base catalyst is used to make the carbon disulfide-modified amine additive.

The invention is directed to use of polystyrene wastes, such as Styrofoam wastes, and carbon nanofibers to produce a highly hydrophobic composition or composite that can separate oil and water.

It is a continuing goal to reduce the amount of sludge produced in a biorefinery while also improving oil quality and water quality. In one aspect, an exemplary method of minimizing sludge from biorefineries includes the steps of feeding a source feedstock into a degumming centrifuge, where the source feedstock is separated into wet oil and a primary sludge stream, and conveying a portion of the primary sludge stream to a three-phase centrifuge. At the three-phase centrifuge, the portion of the primary sludge stream is separated into recovered centrifuge oil, which is retrieved; centrifuged water, which is conveyed to a wastewater treatment plant; and centrifuged sludge. The remainder of the primary sludge stream is conveyed to a gravity separator, where the remainder of the primary sludge stream is separated into recovered oil and residual sludge. The residual oil is retrieved from the gravity separator.

Systems and methods related to desalination systems are described herein. According to some embodiments, the desalination systems are transiently operated and/or configured to facilitate transient operation. In some embodiments, a liquid stream comprising water and at least one dissolved salt is circulated through a fluidic circuit comprising a desalination system. In some embodiments, a portion of the desalination system (e.g., a humidifier) is configured to remove at least a portion of the water from the liquid stream to produce a concentrated brine stream enriched in the dissolved salt. In certain cases, the concentrated brine stream is recirculated through the fluidic circuit until the concentrated brine stream reaches a relatively high density (e.g., at least about 10 pounds per gallon) and/or a relatively high salinity (e.g., a total dissolved salt concentration of at least about 25 wt %). In certain embodiments, additional salt is added to the concentrated brine stream to produce an ultra-high-density brine stream (e.g., a brine stream having a density of at least about 11.7 pounds per gallon). Some aspects relate to a system that is configured to promote energy efficiency by recovering heat from the recirculated concentrated brine stream upon discharge from the fluidic circuit.

A Janus membrane exhibiting sides with different properties and methods of fabricating such a Janus membrane. The membrane comprises a polymer material lacking polar functional groups. One side of the membrane is masked during atomic layer deposition (ALD). ALD is utilized to deposit a conformal coating on an exposed side of the membrane.

The present invention includes a method of controlling an oil spill through introduction of a plurality of magnetizable particles into the oil spill in an amount sufficient to form a colloidal mixture. An absorbent is, also introduced into the oil spill to form an absorbent mixture. A magnetic field can be applied to the system to move, manipulate, or otherwise control the absorbent mixture in response to movement of the magnetic field.

A process for the treatment of water contaminated by polar and/or apolar organic compounds, and/or by heavy metal salts, and/or by oil dispersed or in emulsion, comprises sending said contaminated water to a system comprising: at least one adsorption (3) unit including at least one microporous or mesoporous alumina-silicate; at least one nanofiltration unit (7) including at least one hydrophilic nanofiltration membrane; wherein said hydrophilic nanofiltration membrane has a contact angle with water lower than or equal to 45, preferably ranging from 25 to 40.