Method of detecting an emulsion in brine

A method of detecting an emulsion in a turbid brine, the method comprising the steps of:

• passing an aliquot of the turbid brine through a 0.1 to 10 micron filter to produce a filtered aliquot;
• disposing at least a portion of the filtered aliquot into a clean sample container to produce a test sample;
• adding one or more drops of a dye solution comprising an oil-soluble dye dissolved in a base oil to said test sample;
• and
• determining the configuration of the dye solution after a period of time on a surface of the test sample, wherein a configuration of the dye solution forming a ring around the perimeter of the sample container at the interface of a wall of the sample container and the turbid brine indicates an emulsion is present in the turbid brine, and wherein a configuration of the dye solution forming a single dot or a plurality of dots on the surface of the turbid brine indicates an emulsion is not present in the turbid brine.

A method of determining the turbidity of a turbid brine, the method comprising the steps of:

• disposing an aliquot of the turbid brine into a sample container to produce a test sample;
• adding one or more drops of a dye solution comprising an oil-soluble dye dissolved in a base oil to said test sample;
• and
• determining the configuration of the dye solution after a period of time on a surface of the test sample, wherein a configuration of the dye solution forming a ring around the perimeter of the sample container at the interface of a wall of the container and the turbid brine indicates an emulsion is present in the turbid brine, and wherein a configuration of the dye solution forming a single dot or a plurality of dots on the surface of the turbid brine indicates an emulsion is not present in the turbid brine;
• disposing another aliquot of the turbid brine into a sample container along with an aliquot of an emulsion breaking solvent to produce a centrifuge sample;
• mixing the centrifuge sample by agitation, shaking, or a combination thereof;
• centrifuging the centrifuge sample for a period of time sufficient remove solids which may be present in the turbid brine;
• determining the presence of solids which may have separated from the turbid brine after centrifuging;
• and
• removing a portion of the brine from the centrifuge sample and determining the turbidity of the brine.