Importance of bitumen viscosity in the hot water processing of domestic tar sands

Journal Article · Thu Dec 01 00:00:00 EST 1983 · Min. Eng. (Littleton, Colo.); (United States)

OSTI ID:7037025

Hupka, J; Cortez, A; Miller, J D

The separation efficiency of the hot water digestion-flotation technique used for bitumen recovery from various domestic tar sands was evaluated. Bitumen viscosity was found to be the most important tar sand property in determining the success of the bitumen separation. Bitumen viscosity of the tar sand was controlled by changes in digestion temperature and/or changes in diluent (kerosene) addition. Complete and uniform dilution of the bitumen phase was achieved by providing a sufficient presoaking, or penetration time, for a given tar sand type. For all the tar sand samples tested, an excellent correlation was obtained between the coefficient of separation and the bitumen viscosity. To achieve a satisfactory coefficient of separation, it was found that the bitumen viscosity must be reduced below 1.5 Pa . s (16 P) at the temperature of digestion. This was the case regardless of the tar sand type, grade, or origin.

• Research Organization: Dept of Metallurgy and Metallurgical Engineering at the Univ. of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT
• OSTI ID: 7037025
• Journal Information: Min. Eng. (Littleton, Colo.); (United States), Vol. 35:12
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

04 OIL SHALES AND TAR SANDS
BITUMENS
VISCOSITY
OIL SANDS
HOT-WATER PROCESSES
CORRELATIONS
DIGESTION
EFFICIENCY
EVALUATION
FLOTATION
SAMPLING
TEMPERATURE DEPENDENCE
BITUMINOUS MATERIALS
CARBONACEOUS MATERIALS
ENERGY SOURCES
FLUID INJECTION PROCESSES
FOSSIL FUELS
FUELS
MATERIALS
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
OTHER ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
SEPARATION PROCESSES
TAR
040402* - Oil Shales & Tar Sands- Surface Methods