Preparation and demulsification performance of magnetic demulsifier Fe3N@F

Abstract

Given the suboptimal emulsification performance and the potential for secondary pollution posed by existing demulsifiers, a facile and highly efficient fluorinated magnetic demulsifier (Fe₃N@F) was synthesized via a one-step approach using fluorinated polyether and iron nitride as raw materials.The morphology and structure of the demulsifier were characterized using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The results confirm a successful fluoropolyether coating on the surface of iron nitride. The demulsifying and dehydrating properties were assessed through demulsifying and dehydrating experiments, and the influence of demulsifier addition and demulsifying temperature on the demulsification performance was investigated. Additionally, the demulsification mechanism was analyzed by the microscopic demulsification process. The results indicated that under the condition of the optimum demulsification temperature of 45 °C and the optimum demulsifier dosage of 150 mg L⁻¹, the water removal (%) of the magnetic demulsifier containing fluorine (Fe₃N@F) was the highest, and could reach 89.4%. Fe₃N@F exhibited excellent magnetic response, the demulsifying rate could reach above 70% after recycling and reusing it 6 times. The application of iron nitride in demulsification presents a novel thought for the advancement of magnetic demulsifiers.