Ecofriendly emulsifier synthesis from esterified waste vegetable oil for wellbore drilling fluids

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10385254-B2
Application number	US-201816042723-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 23, 2018
Priority date	Jul 27, 2017
Publication date	Aug 20, 2019
Grant date	Aug 20, 2019

Abstract

Ecofriendly emulsifier synthesis from esterified waste vegetable oil for wellbore drilling fluids is described. A raw material waste vegetable oil is esterified to produce a methyl ester of the raw material waste vegetable oil. A caustic soda solution is added to the methyl ester resulting in a mixture. The mixture is thermally treated. A pH of the mixture is adjusted resulting in formation of an aqueous phase and a non-aqueous phase. The aqueous phase is separated from the non-aqueous phase.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A method of cleaving an ester group of a methyl ester of waste vegetable oil to produce an emulsifier of the waste vegetable oil, the method comprising:
adding a caustic soda solution to the methyl ester resulting in a mixture;
thermally treating the mixture;
adjusting a pH of the mixture resulting in formation of an aqueous phase and a non-aqueous phase; and
separating the aqueous phase from the non-aqueous phase.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the caustic soda solution comprises an alkoxide dissolved in a solvent.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the caustic soda solution comprises sodium hydroxide.

4. The method of claim 2 , wherein the solvent comprises water.

5. The method of claim 1 , further comprising stirring the mixture during thermally treating the mixture.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the mixture is heated to a temperature greater than room temperature.

7. The method of claim 6 , wherein the temperature is substantially 60° C.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein adjusting the pH of the mixture comprises adding an acid.

9. The method of claim 8 , wherein the acid is substantially 31% hydrochloric acid.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the adjusted pH of the mixture is substantially between 4 and 5.

11. A method comprising:
cleaving an ester group of a methyl ester of waste vegetable oil to produce an emulsifier of the waste vegetable oil;
adding a caustic soda solution to the methyl ester resulting in a mixture;
thermally treating the mixture at substantially 60° C.;
adjusting a pH of the mixture by adding an acid;
forming of an aqueous phase and a non-aqueous phase in response to adding the acid; and
separating the aqueous phase from the non-aqueous phase.

Assignees

• Saudi Arabian Oil Co

Inventors

• Ramasamy Jothibasu
• Amanullah Md

Classifications

• C09K8/035

  Organic additives · CPC title

• C11C3/04

  by esterification of fats or fatty oils · CPC title

• C09K2208/06

  Structured surfactants, i.e. well drilling or treating fluids with a lamellar or spherulitic phase · CPC title

• C09K8/36 Primary

  Water-in-oil emulsions · CPC title

• B01F3/0811

  Operations & Transport · mapped topic