A method for preparing a crude oil solution for analysis, including adding water to a porous adsorbent to obtain a supported water substrate, having a plurality of water monolayers disposed on the porous adsorbent. The method further includes exposing the crude oil solution to the supported water substrate for a period of time; separating the supported water substrate from the crude oil solution; washing the supported water substrate with a water immiscible solvent to remove at least one hydrocarbon; displacing water from the plurality of water monolayers and the at least one interfacially active compound from the porous adsorbent with an alcohol and a co-solvent to obtain a displaced phase. The displaced phase can include the water, the at least one interfacially active compound, the alcohol, and the co-solvent. Finally, the method can include drying the displaced phase to isolate the at least one interfacially active compound.

A method is provided for determining the surface viscosity of a liquid in which a thread is formed from a drop of the liquid. The thread is lengthened and its minimum radius h.sub.0 is determined at multiple times between the thread formation and thread pinch-off. The minimum radius and associated time values are used to determine a linear relationship of minimum radius and time, with the coefficient of the linear relationship, or the slope X of the line in the linear relationship, corresponding to the surface viscosity ?.sub.s of the liquid according to one of the following equations: $\begin{array}{cc}x=\frac{0.0709}{1+5B_{\mathrm{s0}/3h_0}},& \left(1\right)\end{array}$
where B.sub.s0=?.sub.s/?R in which h.sub.0 is defined as above, R is the dimension of the feature on which the drop is provided and ? is the bulk viscosity of the liquid, or

The present invention relates to a method for treating an aqueous liquid comprising oil droplets and a surfactant and/or a base. For this method, a pore size threshold of a filter is determined taking into account the interfacial tension between the oil droplets and the water, and a filter is selected whose pore size is less than or equal to this threshold for filtration of the aqueous liquid.

Provided herein are various methods for forming alkylaromatic sulfonate compositions and blended alkylaromatic sulfonate compositions, and such compositions themselves. The methods of various embodiments include obtaining a C.sub.8-C.sub.30 hydrocarbon mixture, optionally treating the mixture to concentrate the mixture in sulfonatable aromatics, and sulfonating the mixture to form the alkylaromatic sulfonates. The mixture or treated mixture may be blended with linear alkyl benzene (LAB) compositions and sulfonated, and/or the alkylaryl sulfonates may be blended with linear alkylbenzene sulfonate (LAS) compositions, to form the blended alkylaromatic sulfonates of some embodiments. These compositions and processes for making them may be tailored to serve a variety of end uses, such as detergents in cleaning solutions or for enhanced oil recovery operations, and/or as low foaming and/or hydrotropic additives in detergent formulations, and the like.

Provided herein are various methods for forming alkylaromatic sulfonate compositions and blended alkylaromatic sulfonate compositions, and such compositions themselves. The methods of various embodiments include obtaining a C.sub.8-C.sub.30 hydrocarbon mixture, optionally treating the mixture to concentrate the mixture in sulfonatable aromatics, and sulfonating the mixture to form the alkylaromatic sulfonates. The mixture or treated mixture may be blended with linear alkyl benzene (LAB) compositions and sulfonated, and/or the alkylaryl sulfonates may be blended with linear alkylbenzene sulfonate (LAS) compositions, to form the blended alkylaromatic sulfonates of some embodiments. These compositions and processes for making them may be tailored to serve a variety of end uses, such as detergents in cleaning solutions or for enhanced oil recovery operations, and/or as low foaming and/or hydrotropic additives in detergent formulations, and the like.

Provided herein are various methods for forming alkylaromatic sulfonate compositions and blended alkylaromatic sulfonate compositions, and such compositions themselves. The methods of various embodiments include obtaining a C.sub.8-C.sub.30 hydrocarbon mixture, optionally treating the mixture to concentrate the mixture in sulfonatable aromatics, and sulfonating the mixture to form the alkylaromatic sulfonates. The mixture or treated mixture may be blended with linear alkyl benzene (LAB) compositions and sulfonated, and/or the alkylaryl sulfonates may be blended with linear alkylbenzene sulfonate (LAS) compositions, to form the blended alkylaromatic sulfonates of some embodiments. These compositions and processes for making them may be tailored to serve a variety of end uses, such as detergents in cleaning solutions or for enhanced oil recovery operations, and/or as low foaming and/or hydrotropic additives in detergent formulations, and the like.

A method for determining interfacial tension of a hydrocarbon in a brine fluid, the method including injecting a first brine fluid into a test cell, the first brine fluid having an initial ionic composition, injecting a hydrocarbon fluid into the test cell, contacting the hydrocarbon fluid with the first brine fluid, forming a droplet, measuring the interfacial tension of the hydrocarbon fluid in contact with the first brine fluid, at least partially displacing the first brine fluid with an inert gas, measuring a ionic composition salinity of the displaced first brine fluid in an ionic chromatograph, and comparing the measured ionic composition salinity to the initial ionic composition.

A method for determining interfacial tension of a hydrocarbon in a brine fluid, the method including injecting a first brine fluid into a test cell, the first brine fluid having an initial ionic composition, injecting a hydrocarbon fluid into the test cell, contacting the hydrocarbon fluid with the first brine fluid, forming a droplet, measuring the interfacial tension of the hydrocarbon fluid in contact with the first brine fluid, at least partially displacing the first brine fluid with an inert gas, measuring a ionic composition salinity of the displaced first brine fluid in an ionic chromatograph, and comparing the measured ionic composition salinity to the initial ionic composition.