Process for breaking petroleum emulsions

Claim 1

A PROCESS FOR BREAKING PETROLEUM EMULSIONS OF THE WATER-IN-OIL TYPE CHARACTERIZED BY SUBJECTING THE EMULSION TO THE ACTION OF A DEMULSIFIER INCLUDING HYDROPHILE SYNTHETIC PRODUCTS BEING A COGENERIC HYDROPHILE SYNTHETIC PRODUCTS BEING A COGENERIC MIXTURE SELECTED FROM THE CLASS CONSISTING OF ACIDIC FRACTIONAL ESTERS, ACIDIC ESTER SALTS, AND ACIDIC AMIDO DERIVATIVES OBTAINED BY REACTION BETWEEN (A) A POLYCARBOXY ACID, AND (B) HIGH MOLAL OXYPROPYLATION DERIVATIVES OF MONOMERIC TRIAMINO COMPOUNDS, WITH THE PROVISO THAT (A) THE INITIAL TRIAMINO REACTANT BE FREE FROM ANY RADICAL HAVING AT LEAST 8 UNINTERRUPTED CARBON ATOMS; (B) THE INITIAL TRIAMINO REACTANT HAVE A MOLECULAR WEIGHT OF NOT OVER 800 AND AT LEAST A PLURALITY OF REACTIVE HYDROGEN ATOMS; (C) THE INITIAL TRIAMINO REACTANT MUST BE WATER-SOLUBLE; (D) THE OXYPROPYLATION END PRODUCT MUST BE WATERINSOLUBLE, AND KEROSENE SOLUBLE; (E) THE OXYPROPYLATION END PRODUCT BE WITHIN THE MOLECULAR WEIGHT RANGE OF 2500 TO 30,000 ON AN AVERAGE STATISTICAL BASIS; (F) THE SOLUBILITY CHARACTERISTICS OF THE OXYPROPYLATION END PRODUCT IN RESPECT TO WATER AND KEROSENE MUST BE SUBSTANTIALLY THE RESULT OF THE OXYPROPYLATION STEP; (G) THE RATIO OF PROPYLENE OXIDE PER INITIAL REACTIVE HYDROGEN ATOM MUST BE WITHIN THE RANGE OF 7 TO 70; (H) THE INITIAL TRIAMINO REACTANT MUST REPRESENT NOT MORE THAN 20% BY WEIGHT OF THE OXYPROPYLATION END PRODUCT ON A STATISTICAL BASIS; (I) THE PRECEDING PROVISOS ARE BASED ON THE ASSUMPTION OF COMPLETE REACTION INVOLVING THE PROPYLENE OXIDE AND INITIAL TRIAMINO REACTANT; (J) THE NITROGEN ATOMS ARE LINKED BY A PROPYLENE CHAIN, AND WITH THE FINAL PROVISO THAT THE RATIO OF (A) TO (B) BE ONE MOLE OF (A) FOR EACH REACTIVE HYDROGEN ATOM PRESENT IN (B).