	US 12,227,691 B2
	Breakable emulsifiers
Preston Andrew May, Porter, TX (US); and Jay Paul Deville, Spring, TX (US)
Assigned to Halliburton Energy Services, Inc., Houston, TX (US)
Filed by Halliburton Energy Services, Inc., Houston, TX (US)
Filed on Dec. 8, 2021, as Appl. No. 17/545,733.
Prior Publication US 2023/0174841 A1, Jun. 8, 2023
Int. Cl. C09K 8/28 (2006.01); E21B 21/06 (2006.01)

CPC C09K 8/28 (2013.01) [E21B 21/063 (2013.01)]

19 Claims

1. A method for emulsion breaking comprising:

recovering an oilfield emulsion from a wellbore;

applying a trigger to the oilfield emulsion comprising an oleaginous phase, a non-oleaginous phase, and a breakable emulsifier, wherein the trigger breaks the breakable emulsifier into a broken emulsifier and non-emulsifying byproducts so that the oleaginous portion and the non-oleaginous portion readily separate and stay in an unmixed state; and

separating at least a portion of the oleaginous phase from the non-oleaginous phase.