Synthesis nanoparticle for treating crude oil

The formation of harmful water in oil (w/o) emulsion is related to surface active materials in crude oil (such as resin, clay, and asphaltene). The w/o emulsion causes corrosion in pipes and pumps in the oil industrials [1]. Several studies showed that nanoparticles have high capacity for dehydration of crude oil [1.2]. In this work we used TiO2 nanoparticle for dehydration of the oil. TiO2 nanoparticle was prepared with sol-gel method according to reported procedure by Tahir[3]. Briefly titanium butoxide was solved in alcohol. Then acetic acid which was dissolved in alcohol, was added dropwise to the solution. The solution was stirred at room temperature for 1 day. Next the resulting solution was dried in oven. Finally, the samples were calcined in 500°C. The result of FT-IR spectra shows the Ti-O bond appeared as broad signal about 450 cm-1 [4]. The XRD spectra of the titania nanoparticle indicates that TiO2 was synthesized successfully. Moreover this spectra reveals anatase phase of nanoparticle was formed [3].