Biological process for breaking oil-water emulsions

摘要

A process for breaking an oil-water emulsion. The process comprises contacting the oil-water emulsion with a bacterial culture produced by growth in a liquid medium containing hydrocarbons under non-sterile conditions. The oil-water emulsion and bacterial culture are contacted under conditions that minimise degradation of the oil. The oil-water emulsion is permitted to form an oil layer and a water layer, which are then separated. The process is particularly useful in the treatment of slop-oil emulsion in the petroleum industry.