Effect of Diluent Addition on Bitumen Liberation from a Glass Surface

Abstract

Liberation of bitumen from sand grains is a key step on processing oil sands using water-based extraction processes. In this study, effects of diluent addition on bitumen liberation from a solid surface were investigated under various conditions, including the washing temperature, pH value of the water, and washing time. It was found that more effective bitumen liberation could be achieved by adding diluents, such as kerosene and fatty acid methyl ester (FAME), in the bitumen. Especially, FAME addition was found more efficient to accelerate bitumen liberation than that of kerosene. Rheological characterization showed that bitumen viscosity was greatly decreased with diluent addition, which was responsible for the improved bitumen liberation. The findings in this study might find their applications in the oil sands processing industry.

Application of microbial enhanced oil recovery technology in water‐based bitumen extraction from weathered oil sands

“…It was also reported in our previous study that the bitumen liberation from a glass surface was greatly improved as the bitumen viscosity decreased by addition of diluents in the bitumen. 28 In this study, the great decrease of the bitumen viscosity enhanced the flowability of bitumen and then facilitated the bitumen liberation and recovery. The SARA fraction analysis showed that the decrease of the bitumen viscosity was attributed to the microbial degradation of the asphaltenes.…”

“…A similar phenomenon has been reported in the previous study, which was attributed to the reduce of the gel-type microstructure or the break-up of the continuous network of the asphaltene particles in bitumen at higher shear rate. 28 It was worthy to note that the viscosity of the microbial-treated bitumen decreased one order of magnitude comparing with that of the original bitumen. It is believed that the asphaltene molecules in bitumen are easy to be aggregated and surrounded with the resins.…”

“…Details on the measurement procedure were described elsewhere. 28 Briefly, the operation temperature was kept constant with an accuracy of 60. The results indicate that the glucose is more favorable to the strain growth comparing with the bitumen in oil sands.…”

“…28,52 Effect of microbial treatment of the ore on bitumen viscosity was, therefore, examined. The rheological behavior of the original and treated bitumen at temperature of 50 C is shown in Figure 6.…”

“…9,11,13 The important reason leading to these problems is that the hydrophobic characteristic of the solid sands or the high bitumen viscosity. 11,28 However, as far as we know, there is no one effective method yet to solve the poor processability of the weathered oil sands. Considering that the MEOR processes could produce biosurfactants to alter the solids wettabiltiy and degrade the heavy component of oil to reduce the oil viscosity, the MEOR technique was first proposed to be applied in the water-based bitumen extraction from weathered ores.…”