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Effective Crude Oil Pickering Emulsification by Oil-soluble Polymer Brush through Inverse Phase Emulsion Polymerization
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  • Xiaohan Wang,
  • Zhiyuan Zheng,
  • Zhishuang Ye,
  • Xiaochi Liu,
  • Qingsong Yang,
  • Xuhong Guo,
  • Jun Xu,
  • Yisheng Xu
Xiaohan Wang
East China University of Science and Technology

Corresponding Author:[email protected]

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Zhiyuan Zheng
East China University of Science and Technology
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Zhishuang Ye
East China University of Science and Technology
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Xiaochi Liu
East China University of Science and Technology
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Qingsong Yang
East China University of Science and Technology
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Xuhong Guo
East China University of Science and Technology
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Jun Xu
East China University of Science and Technology
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Yisheng Xu
East China University of Science and Technology
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Abstract

Various surfactants and amphipathic polymers have been utilized to enhance the flowability of crude oil. Alternatively, nanoparticulate polymer brushes serve as an ideal scaffold to form Pickering emulsions with crude oil due to its large specific area, excellent stability and tunable surface properties. In our research, a novel type of oil soluble polymer brushes was utilized to achieve stable crude oil emulsification by forming Pickering emulsions in water. Combining inverse emulsion polymerization and photo-emulsion polymerization, poly(N-Vinylcarbazole) (PVK) chains were successfully grafted onto the water soluble PAA core dispersed in hexane and the oil-soluble latex polymer brush features mono-dispersity, well-tuned size , fluorescence and stability. Significantly, the amphiphilic latex particles were successfully utilized to stabilize crude oil droplets in water by forming Pickering emulsions with apparent viscosity reduced by 99%. These novel particles could serve as promising candidates to be applied in petrochemical industry by improving heavy crude oil flowability.