Investigation on Effect of Enzyme on Oil-Brine Emulsification

In this paper, the capacity of enzyme to influence brine-in-oil and oil-in-brine emulsions was investigated. The emulsion stability index method was used to monitor the effect of varied enzyme concentrations (1-, 5- and 10 wt.%) on oil-brine emulsion stability and separation process. The result of the study shows that the addition of different concentrations of enzyme to oil-brine mixtures enhanced the mixing and separation of the emulsions at varied capacities. Faster oil-brine separation was observed with increase in enzyme concentrations, but better mixing and higher emulsion stability was observed with lower concentration of enzyme. The result of this study is of a great significance to enzyme enhanced oil recovery application process in which good oil-brine mixture is require for the recovery of the residual oil saturation from the reservoir rock pores and the separation of oil and brine that is required after production at the surface.