Control of process aid used in hot water process for extraction of bitumen from tar sand

Patent · Tue Jul 31 04:00:00 EDT 1984

OSTI ID:6363373

Schramm, L L; Smith, R G

The hot water process is sensitive to the nature of the tar sand feed, which varies. An alkaline process aid, usually NaOH, is normally added to the conditioning step of the process and is needed to obtain good bitumen recovery from most tar sand feeds. The invention is based on the discovery that, for a particular extraction circuit used, there is a single value of free surfactant content in the aqueous phase of the process slurry which will yield maximum primary froth recovery regardless of the type of tar sand feed used. The process in accordance with the invention therefore comprises: determining, for a single tar sand type and the extraction circuit used, the free surfactant content in the aqueous phase of the slurry, which will yield the maximum primary bitumen forth recovery; monitoring the free surfactant content in the aqueous phase of the slurry during subsequent processing of various types of tar sand feed in said circuit; and varying the process aid addition to the slurry as the nature of the tar sand feed varies, to maintain said free surfactant content substantially at the level which leads to maximum primary bitumen froth recovery.

• Assignee: Petro-Canada Exploration Inc. (Canada)
• Patent Number(s): US 4462892
• OSTI ID: 6363373
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

04 OIL SHALES AND TAR SANDS
040402* -- Oil Shales & Tar Sands-- Surface Methods
ADDITIVES
ALKALI METAL COMPOUNDS
AQUEOUS SOLUTIONS
BITUMENS
BITUMINOUS MATERIALS
CARBONACEOUS MATERIALS
CHEMICAL COMPOSITION
DISPERSIONS
DISPLACEMENT FLUIDS
ENERGY SOURCES
FLUID INJECTION PROCESSES
FLUIDS
FOSSIL FUELS
FUELS
HOT-WATER PROCESSES
HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS
HYDROXIDES
MATERIALS
MIXTURES
OIL SANDS
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
OTHER ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
SLURRIES
SODIUM COMPOUNDS
SODIUM HYDROXIDES
SOLUTIONS
SOLVENT PROPERTIES
SURFACTANTS
SUSPENSIONS
SWEEP EFFICIENCY
TAR