| abstract |
A heavy oil cleaning composition comprising: a) a blend of dibasic esters comprising dialkyl methyl glutarate and at least one of a dialkyl adipate or dialkyl ethylsuccinate; b) at least one terpene; and c) at least one surfactant. The heavy oil cleaning composition can optionally include at least one glycol ether, at least one alkanolamine, at least one polyol, or at least one sulfosuccinate, or any combination thereof. The heavy oil cleaning composition can further comprise water. Also described are methods for delivering a solvent at reduced concentration comprising the steps of: a) obtaining a terpene-based solvent; and b) mixing the terpene-based solvent with a carrier fluid (the carrier fluid comprising a microemulsion of i) a blend of dibasic esters selected from the group consisting of dialkyl methylglutarate, dialkyl adipate, dialkyl ethylsuccinate, dialkyl succinate, dialkyl glutarate and any combination thereof, ii) at least one surfactant selected from the group consisting of a terpene alkoxylate, an alcohol alkoxylate and any combination thereof; and iii) water) in order to obtain a mixture to clean heavy oils. |