Malaysian Journal of Analytical Sciences Vol 25 No 2 (2021): 203 - 214

 

 

 

 

OILY SAND CLEANING OPTIMIZATION BY SURFACTANTS INTERFACIAL TENSION SCREENING AND HYDROCYCLONE SEPARATION

 

(Pengoptimuman Pembersihan Pasir Berminyak oleh Saringan Ketegangan antara Muka Surfaktan dan Pemisahan Hidrosiklon)

 

Akhmal Sidek¹*, Ahmad Faiq Omar¹, Aizuddin Supee², Amni Haslinda Alpandi³, Hazlina Husin³, Dewandra Bagus Ekaputra⁴, Shaziera Omar¹

 

¹Petroleum Engineering Department, SCEE, Faculty of Engineering

²Energy Management Group, SCEE, Faculty of Engineering

Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 81310 Skudai, Johor, Malaysia

³Petroleum Engineering Department,

Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS, 32610 Seri Iskandar, Perak, Malaysia

⁴Department of Geological Engineering, Faculty of Engineering,

Universitas Islam Riau, Riau 28284, Indonesia

 

*Corresponding author:  akhmalsidek@utm.my

 

 

Received: 30 December 2020; Accepted: 10 February 2021; Published:  25 April 2021

 

 

Abstract

The oily sand cleaning process should pass the standard discharge requirements so that its impact on the environment can be minimized. This work has used integrated surfactants which includes sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS, anionic), saponin (plant-based, nonionic), and cetyl trimethylammonium bromide (CTAB, cationic) with hydrocyclone method, for washing oily sand (41 wt.% of paraffin) with fixed cleaning time of 150 minutes. The interfacial tension (IFT) of the surfactants as a cleaning agent was screened based on the critical micelle concentration (CMC) so that the desirable surfactant concentration can be used. Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy-Energy Dispersive X-ray (FESEM-EDX) was used to characterize the sand for before and after the cleaning process. As compared to without hydrocyclone, the application of hydrocyclone caused in increasing oil removal efficiency with CTAB exhibits 91%, followed by SDS (87%), and saponin (79%). Based on the FESEM-EDX characterization, besides its primary function of oil removal from the sand, saponin is also capable to remove heavy metal elements. It can be deduced that the integration of hydrocyclone with the surfactants can cause in synergized effects which could then improve the oily sand cleaning efficiency.

 

Keywords:  interfacial tension screening, critical micelle concentration, hydrocyclone, oily sand cleaning, efficiency

 

Abstrak

Proses pembersihan pasir berminyak perlu melepasi syarat-syarat piawai pelepasan supaya kesannya terhadap alam sekitar boleh dikurangkan. Kajian ini telah menggunakan integrasi surfaktan yang merangkumi sodium dodekil sulfat (SDS, anionik), saponin (sumber tumbuhan, non-ionik) dan cetyl trimetilammonium bromida (CTAB, kationik) dengan kaedah hidrosiklon, bagi pembersihan pasir berminyak (kandungan paraffin 41 wt.%) dengan masa pembersihan tetap 150 minutes. Ketegangan antara muka (IFT) surfaktan sebagai agen pembersihan telah disaring berdasarkan kepekatan misel kritikal (CMC) supaya kepekatan surfaktan yang diingini dapat digunakan. Mikroskopi Imbasan Electron Pelepasan Medan-Tenaga Serakan sinar-X (FESEM-EDX) telah digunakan untuk mencirikan pasir sebelum dan selepas proses pembersihan. Berbanding dengan tanpa hidrosiklon, penggunaan hidrosiklon telah menyebabkan peningkatan kecekapan penyingkiran minyak dengan CTAB menunjukkan 91%, diikuti oleh SDS (87%), dan saponin (79%). Berdasarkan ciri FESEM-EDX, selain fungsi utama penyingkiran minyak dari pasir, saponin juga mampu menyingkirkan unsur logam berat. Dapat disimpulkan bahawa integrasi hidrosiklon dengan surfaktan menyebabkan kesan sinergi yang kemudian membawa kepada peningkatan kecekapan pembersihan pasir berminyak.

 

Kata kunci:  saringan ketegangan antara muka, kepekatan misel kritikal, hidrosiklon, pembersihan pasir berminyak, kecekapan

 

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