AbstractWater-in-oil emulsions are unstable colloidal dispersions with water as the dispersed phase and oil as the continuous phase. Emulsion constitutes numerous problems in the oil and gas industry ranging from flow problems due to high viscosity of emulsions to increase in cost in the use of demulsifiers. In resolving emulsions, heat, chemical or a combination of both methods can be used.In this study, synthetic emulsions in water-to-oil phase ratios (WOR) of 20/80 and 50/50 were resolved separately with heat generated from microwave oven, chemical demulsifiers and their combination.Results show that as much as 70% water could be recovered from stable emulsions (WOR: 20/80) with an appropriate microwave power level while for weak emulsions (WOR: 50/50), complete water removal is possible with an effective demulsifier. Generally, the results show that the combined treatments by heat and chemical methods offer the best emulsion resolution.
