CONCLUSION
In summary, stable crude oil emulsification has been achieved firstly by
oil-soluble nanoparticles. Combining inverse emulsion polymerization and
photo emulsion polymerization, PVK chains with different lengths were
successfully grafted onto the water soluble PAA core dispersed in hexane
and the novel series of oil-soluble latex polymer brush features
mono-dispersity, well-tuned size and fluorescence, multiple
oil-solubility and stability. More importantly, the amphiphilic nature
of the latex particles could be utilized to stabilize crude oil droplets
in water by forming Pickering emulsions with viscosity reduced by 99%
for 30 days. Therefore, the oil-soluble core-shell latex particles serve
as promising candidates to be applied in petrochemical industry by
improving heavy crude oil flowability during the exploration,
transportation, and recovery process.