Microfiltration of saline crude oil emulsions: Effects of dispersant and salinity.

Dispersants reduce oil-water interfacial tension making the separation of oil-water emulsions challenging. In this study, crude oil stabilized by the dispersant, Corexit EC9500A, was emulsified in synthetic sea water using a range of Corexit/crude oil concentration ratios (up to 10% by volume). With an interfacial tension of only 8.