Products and methods for the treatment of mixtures of water and hydrophobic liquids

A composition for treating a mixture of oil and water to herd the oil, comprising a water-miscible organic solvent and one or more compounds of Formula IB:

• where:
• R1 is selected from the group consisting of:
• and
• R2 is selected from the group consisting of saturated and unsaturated C5 to C21 linear hydrocarbon chains.

A composition for treating a mixture of oil and water to herd the oil, comprising a water-miscible solvent and one or more compounds of Formula IC:

• where:
• R2 is selected from the group consisting of saturated and unsaturated C5 to C21 linear hydrocarbon chains;
• and
• n=1, 2, 3, 4 or 5.

A composition for treating a mixture of oil and water to gel or increase the viscosity of the oil, comprising a compound of Formula II:

• where:
• R1 is selected from the group consisting of:
• R2 is selected from the group consisting of saturated and unsaturated C5 to C21 linear hydrocarbon chains, and
• and
• G is selected from the group consisting of —H, —CH3, —NH2, —OH, —OCH3, and —(CH2)2OH.

A composition for treating a mixture of oil and water to thicken or gel the oil, comprising a compound of Formula III:

• where:
• R1 is selected from the group consisting of saturated and unsaturated C5 to C21 linear hydrocarbon chains;
• G is selected from the group consisting of —OH, —NH2, —NHNH2, —NOH, NOCH3, and —N(CH2)2OH;
• and
• n=2, 3,4 or 5.

A method of treating an oil-water mixture comprising the steps of:

• (a) suspending a supramolecular gellant in water to form a suspension;
• (b) heating the suspension until the gellant is dissolved;
• (c) cooling the suspension to form a hydrophobic structure or structures with a high surface area and high void volume;
• and
• (d) contacting the hydrophobic structure or structures with an oil-water mixture and thereby gelling the oil.