Jan.5,2021  (45)  Date of Patent:  (IO)  Patent No.:  US 10,883,055 B2  c12)  United States Patent  Mohan et al.  (54)  METHOD FOR SELECTIVE EXTRACTION  OF SURFACTANTS FROM CRUDE OIL  (58)  Field of Classification Search  None  See application file for complete search history.  (56)  References Cited  U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS  OTHER PUBLICATIONS  (57)  ABSTRACT  Related U.S. Application Data  (65)  Prior Publication Data  8 Claims, 8 Drawing Sheets  Provide acidic crude  ::::  Perform weak base  extraction on crude  oil to recover  select acids  Introduce  extracted select  acids in aqueous  sodium carbonate  solution to oil  reservoir for EOR  (52)  U.S. Cl.  CPC ..............  CJ0G 53112  (2013.01);  C09K 8/584  (2013.01);  E21B 43120  (2013.01);  CJOG  2300/203  (2013.01)  (60)  Provisional application No. 62/ 481,854, filed on Apr.  5, 2017.  (22)  Filed:  Mar. 26, 2018  (21)  Appl. No.:  15/935,471  ( *)  Notice:  Subject to any disclaimer, the term ofthis  patent is extended or adjusted under 35  U.S.C. 154(b) by 37 days.  (73)  Assignee:  ExxonMobil Research and  Engineering Company,  Annandale, NJ  (US)  (72)  Inventors:  Aruna Mohan,  Annandale, NJ (US);  Mohsen S. Yeganeh,  Hillsborough, NJ  (US);  Daniel P. Cherney,  Hampton, NJ  (US);  Anthony S. Mennito,  Flemington, NJ (US);  Shane P.  Deighton,  Bound Brook, NJ (US);  Jessica L. Vreeland,  Phillipsburg, NJ  (US)  (71)  Applicant:  ExxonMobil Research and  Engineering Company,  Annandale, NJ  (US)  (Continued)  (Continued)  A method for selective extraction of naphthenic acids from  an acidic crude oil, including: providing an acidic crude oil  including naphthenic acids and having a total acid number  (TAN) greater than 0.4; mixing the acidic crude oil with a  first aqueous solution including water and a weak base to  extract a portion of naphthenic acids from the acidic crude  oil thereby creating a second aqueous solution containing a  mixture of the portion of naphthenic acids, the water and the  weak base in an emulsion; separating the second aqueous  solution from the emulsion; wherein the second aqueous  solution contains an additional portion of the acidic crude  oil; adding a salt to the second aqueous solution, thereby  causing the additional portion of the acidic crude oil to  separate from the second aqueous solution; removing the  additional portion of the acidic crude oil from the second  aqueous solution; and extracting the portion of the naph› thenic acids from the second aqueous solution.  Primary Examiner  - Anuradha Ahuja  (74)  Attorney, Agent, or Firm  - Joseph E. Wrkich; Priya  G. Prasad; Leandro Arechederra, III  Nodwell; On the Interactions between Naphthenic Acids and Inor› ganic Minerals; 2011; 72 Pages (Year: 2011 ).  *  US 2018/0291286 Al  Oct. 11, 2018  CJ0G 53112  E21B 43120  C09K 8/584  (2006.01)  (2006.01)  (2006.01)  (51)  Int. Cl.  2,001,108 A  *  5/1935 Parker ...................... ClOM 1/08  252/400.51  3,111,985 A  *  11/1963 Reisberg .  C09K 8/584  166/270.1  US010883055B2 