Stable emulsions are frequently encountered in oil production and cause a series of environmental and operational issues. Chemical demulsification is widely used for the separation of oil from water or removal of water from oil. The chemicals used in the demulsification process have a strong affinity to the oil-water interface. This review presents the various types of chemical demulsifiers used for the demulsification of water-in-oil and oil-in-water emulsions. The review covers the relevant properties of polymeric surfactants such as polyether, dendrimers, and natural biodegradable polymeric surfactants. In addition, emerging alternatives like nanoparticles-based demulsifiers and ionic liquids are also reviewed. The factors affecting the demulsification efficiency of these demulsifiers and structure-property relationships are discussed. Copolymers with high hydrophilic content and molecular weight are more efficient demulsifiers. Similarly, the position isomerism (same carbon skeleton and functional groups but a different location of functional groups) strongly affects the HLB and demulsification performance. Generally, dendrimers show better performance compared to linear polymeric surfactants due to their relatively higher interfacial activity, better penetrability, and a larger number of reactive terminal groups. Techniques used to evaluate the performance of demulsifiers are also covered. The review also highlights the current developments and future prospects of chemical demulsifiers.

中文翻译：

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聚合物表面活性剂和采出水破乳中使用的新兴替代品：综述

稳定的乳液在石油生产中经常遇到，并引起一系列环境和操作问题。化学破乳被广泛用于从水中分离油或从油中去除水。破乳过程中使用的化学物质对油水界面具有很强的亲和力。这篇综述介绍了用于油包水和水包油乳液破乳的各种化学破乳剂。该综述涵盖了聚合物表面活性剂（如聚醚，树枝状聚合物和天然可生物降解的聚合物表面活性剂）的相关性能。另外，还审查了新兴的替代物，例如基于纳米粒子的破乳剂和离子液体。讨论了影响这些破乳剂破乳效率的因素以及结构-性质关系。具有高亲水含量和分子量的共聚物是更有效的破乳剂。同样，位置异构现象（相同的碳骨架和官能团，但官能团的位置不同）强烈影响HLB和破乳性能。通常，与线性聚合物表面活性剂相比，树枝状聚合物表现出更好的性能，这是由于其相对较高的界面活性，更好的渗透性和大量的反应性端基。还介绍了用于评估破乳剂性能的技术。审查还重点介绍了化学破乳剂的当前发展和未来前景。位置异构现象（相同的碳骨架和官能团，但官能团的位置不同）强烈影响HLB和破乳性能。通常，与线性聚合物表面活性剂相比，树枝状聚合物表现出更好的性能，这是由于其相对较高的界面活性，更好的渗透性和大量的反应性端基。还介绍了用于评估破乳剂性能的技术。审查还重点介绍了化学破乳剂的当前发展和未来前景。位置异构现象（相同的碳骨架和官能团，但官能团的位置不同）强烈影响HLB和破乳性能。通常，与线性聚合物表面活性剂相比，树枝状聚合物表现出更好的性能，这是由于其相对较高的界面活性，更好的渗透性和大量的反应性端基。还介绍了用于评估破乳剂性能的技术。审查还重点介绍了化学破乳剂的当前发展和未来前景。还介绍了用于评估破乳剂性能的技术。审查还重点介绍了化学破乳剂的当前发展和未来前景。还介绍了用于评估破乳剂性能的技术。审查还重点介绍了化学破乳剂的当前发展和未来前景。