Reasons for the failure to separate acidic water from oil in the crude gasoline distillation tank
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Some time ago, I saw a post discussing the reasons why acidic water and oil do not separate in crude gasoline storage tanks. Our analysis pointed to an issue with the neutralizing corrosion inhibitors. Why does this problem occur? How are these neutralizing corrosion inhibitors responsible for it, and what is their mechanism of action?
Separate using a Luthhol filter separator
The reason why acidic water and oil do not separate is likely emulsification; the main cause of this phenomenon is intense fluid mixing between water and oil, resulting in an emulsion. If there isn’t a significant issue with the flow rate, it might be because the neutralizing corrosion inhibitor is water-soluble but contains lipophilic groups, which causes it to act as a surfactant and accelerate the emulsification process.
Neutralizing corrosion inhibitors are indeed water-soluble, but this phenomenon has also occurred with oil-soluble ones in the past