Abstract: Using ethyl methacrylate (EMA) as the main monomer, methacrylic acid (MAA) and acrylamide (AM) as the functional monomer, polyacrylate emulsion demulsifier was successfully synthesized by emulsion polymerization, the synthesis conditions were optimized, and the demulsification mechanism was analyzed. The results showed that the optimum synthesis conditions were as follows: EMA 5.91 g, MAA 3.34 g, AM 1.25 g, initiator (ammonium persulfate) 40 mg, emulsifier (sodium lauryl sulfate) 0.9 g, reaction temperature 73 ℃, agitation rate 200 r/min, and reaction time 4 h. When the demulsification temperature was 60 ℃, the settling time was 10 minutes, and the dosage of demulsifier was 30 mg/L, the oil removal rate of the produced fluid reached 90.9%. The properties of synthetic demulsifiers were better than those of commercial demulsifiers and emulsion demulsifiers used on offshore platforms. This is attributed to the abundant amphiphilic groups in its molecules, making it have excellent interfacial activity.

Key words: polyacrylate, demulsifier, emulsion polymerization, demulsification mechanism