First quantification of &lt;2 μm clay, &lt;0.2 μm ultrafines and solids wettability in process streams from naphthenic froth treatment plant at commercial mined oil sands operations

Mercier, Patrick H. J.; Tyo, Daniel D.; Zborowski, Andre; Kung, J.; Patarachao, Bussaraporn; Kingston, David; Couillard, Martin; Robertson, Gilles P.; Mccracken, Thom; Ng, Samson

doi:10.1016/j.fuel.2018.10.004

Cited by 12 publications

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“…The sub-2 µm clay solids characterized in this work were obtained from a typical bitumen froth sample produced at a commercial mined oil sands plant during steady state operations. Four distinct sub-2 µm clay solid fractions were isolated from the bitumen froth sample using two quantitative separation techniques described in detail elsewhere [32]. The first is the clay-ultrafines separation technique which allows the fractionation of solids in a given sample into four distinct particle-size fractions: coarser solids, >2 µm; total clays, <2 µm; coarse clays, 0.2-2 µm; and ultrafines, <0.2 µm.…”

Section: Samples Studiedmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…To isolate the ultrafines fraction, slight modifications were applied here compared to the analytical procedures given in "Appendix A.1 Clay-ultrafines separation technique" of Mercier et al [32] Referring to this section A.1, rather than using deionized water at Steps H and M, sodium pyrophosphate solution (0.1% w/w Na 4 P 2 O 7 •10H 2 O in deionized water) was used. This ensures maximal dispersion conditions to liberate fine mineral solids (such as clays and ultrafines) from the consolidated mineral-organic mixtures present in oil sand solids [34].…”

Section: Samples Studiedmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In this paper, we separate and analyze sub-2 µm contaminant solids present in a typical bitumen froth studied previously [32] produced at a commercial plant while the plant was running in steady-state operations with typical froth treatment feed and operating conditions and not undergoing any process upset. Sub-2 µm solids are selected, as those are suspected to be partly responsible for emulsion stabilization.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Structure and Mineralogy of Hydrophilic and Biwettable Sub-2 µm Clay Aggregates in Oil Sands Bitumen Froth

et al. 2020

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A primary concern of commercial mined oil sands operations is the extent to which one can minimize the content of water and solids contaminants in the solvent-diluted bitumen products resulting from the bitumen production processes. During bitumen production, particles of about 2 µm or less may be responsible for the stabilization of water-in-bitumen emulsions that form during aqueous extraction of bitumen and purification of bitumen froth subsequently during the froth treatment processes, thus leading to the presence of those contaminants in solvent-diluted bitumen products. In this study, we separate and analyze sub-2 µm clay solids isolated from typical bitumen froth fed to a froth treatment plant at a commercial mined oil sands operation. Analytical transmission electron microscopy (TEM) with spatially-resolved energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) and electron energy-loss spectroscopy (EELS) demonstrate key differences in morphology and composition between sub-2 µm clay aggregates with two distinct wettability characteristics: hydrophilic vs. biwettable particle surfaces. In particular, clay platelets with <200 nm lateral dimensions and thicknesses of a few atomic layers, which are intermixed within coarser sub-2 µm clay aggregates, are found to confer clear differences in morphological characteristics and wettability behaviors to the sub-2 µm clay aggregates. The <200 nm clay platelets found within sub-2 µm biwettable clays tend to arrange themselves with random orientations, whereas <200 nm clay platelets within sub-2 µm hydrophilic clays typically form well-ordered face-to-face stacks. Moreover, in biwettable sub-2 µm clay aggregates, <200 nm clay platelets often cover the surfaces of ~1–2 µm sized mineral particles, whereas similarly sized mineral particles in hydrophilic sub-2 µm clay aggregates, in contrast, generally have exposed surfaces without clay platelet coverage. These biwettable vs. hydrophilic behaviors are attributed to a difference in the surface characteristics of the <200 nm clay platelets caused by toluene-unextractable organic carbon coatings. Nanometer-scale carbon mapping reveals an inhomogeneous toluene-unextractable organic carbon coating on the surfaces of <200 nm platelets in biwettable clays. In contrast, hydrophilic clays have a significantly lower amount of toluene-unextractable organic carbon, which tends to be concentrated at steps or near metal oxide nanoparticles on clay particle surfaces. Mixing surface-active organic species, such as asphaltene, resin, or carboxylic organic acids of various types with inorganic solids can lead to a dramatically enhanced emulsion stability. Consequently, understanding the origin and characteristics of sub-2 µm clay solids in bitumen froth is important to (i) clarify their potential role in the formation of stable water-in-oil emulsions during bitumen production and (ii) improve froth treatment process performance to further reduce contaminant solids in solvent-diluted bitumen products. We discuss the implications of our results from these two perspectives.

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Section: Samples Studiedmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Samples Studiedmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Structure and Mineralogy of Hydrophilic and Biwettable Sub-2 µm Clay Aggregates in Oil Sands Bitumen Froth

et al. 2020

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“…As argilas são matérias-primas provenientes de material natural, terroso, com granulometria inferior a 2μm, que geralmente adquire plasticidade ao adicionar-se água (MERCIER et al, 2019). São provenientes de rochas sedimentares que contém materiais argilosos (argilominerais) (SCHWEIZER et al, 2019).…”

Section: Introductionunclassified

Hidrólise básica de garrafas de pet pós-consumo: reciclagem química

Bentes¹,

Couceiro²

2021

Ciência Dos Materiais: Pesquisas E Desenvolvimento No Âmbito Da UFAM

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“…For Canadian oil sands, fines are traditionally referred to as the solid particles less than 44 μm (10 −6 m) in size while clays are particles of sizes smaller than 2 μm (10 −6 m) . For typical oil sands ore, the solids (mostly sand and clays) make up ~0.85 g/g (85%) of the total mass, while the fines and clay contents vary significantly, indicating variations in oil sands processability .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Determination of clay content in Canadian oil sands using x‐ray florescence spectroscopy for diagnosis of ore processability

2019

Can J Chem Eng

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In this study, a simple and robust method based on the use of x‐ray fluorescence (XRF) spectroscopy to measure potassium content as an indicator of illite in oil sands was proposed and tested. The XRF results of illite determination were compared with those determined using the conventional methylene blue titration (MBT) method. To test the suitability of the XRF method for determining illite content in various streams of oil sands processing as a diagnosis tool, a toluene‐diluted‐bitumen solution was used to contaminate solid surfaces prior to their analysis by the XRF and MBT methods. In order to remove the organic matter from the bitumen‐contaminated solids for evaluating the XRF and MBT method, toluene washing and low temperature ashing were applied to the bitumen‐contaminated solids prior to their analysis. The robustness of the XRF analysis in comparison with the MBT method was further confirmed by analyzing the solids extracted from bitumen froth and tailings stream. The results show that the XRF method was more tolerant to surface contamination and therefore more reliable in determining illite content in oil sands and relevant processing streams. It was also found that the potassium contents measured by the XRF method on solids from 10 ores show a strong correlation with the corresponding fines contents of these ores, indicating that the XRF method can potentially be used to determine the fines content of oil sands and related processing streams.

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First quantification of <2 μm clay, <0.2 μm ultrafines and solids wettability in process streams from naphthenic froth treatment plant at commercial mined oil sands operations

Cited by 12 publications

References 7 publications

Structure and Mineralogy of Hydrophilic and Biwettable Sub-2 µm Clay Aggregates in Oil Sands Bitumen Froth

Structure and Mineralogy of Hydrophilic and Biwettable Sub-2 µm Clay Aggregates in Oil Sands Bitumen Froth

Hidrólise básica de garrafas de pet pós-consumo: reciclagem química

Determination of clay content in Canadian oil sands using x‐ray florescence spectroscopy for diagnosis of ore processability

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First quantification of <2 μm clay, <0.2 μm ultrafines and solids wettability in process streams from naphthenic froth treatment plant at commercial mined oil sands operations

Cited by 12 publications

References 7 publications

Structure and Mineralogy of Hydrophilic and Biwettable Sub-2 µm Clay Aggregates in Oil Sands Bitumen Froth

Structure and Mineralogy of Hydrophilic and Biwettable Sub-2 µm Clay Aggregates in Oil Sands Bitumen Froth

Hidrólise básica de garrafas de pet pós-consumo: reciclagem química

Determination of clay content in Canadian oil sands using x‐ray florescence spectroscopy for diagnosis of ore processability

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First quantification of <2 μm clay, <0.2 μm ultrafines and solids wettability in process streams from naphthenic froth treatment plant at commercial mined oil sands operations