Skip to main content
U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Hot water extraction of bitumen from Utah tar sands

Conference · · Am. Chem. Soc., Div. Fuel Chem., Prepr.; (United States)
OSTI ID:7311677

Utah tar sands are distinctly different from Canadian tar sands both with regard to chemical composition and physical properties, specifically viscosity. Flow curves for Utah and Athabasca bitumens were determined as a function of temperature. For all temperatures, both bitumen samples exhibited Newtonian behavior. Utah bitumen is significantly more viscous than Athabasca bitumen by more than an order of magnitude. This difference in viscosity makes phase disengagement more difficult to achieve. As a result of this consideration, a high shear, stirred tank reactor was selected for digestion of the tar sand samples, and wetting agents were added to assist the phase disengagement process. Preliminary results, in which separation coefficients greater than 0.90 were obtained, have encouraged further research in this area.

Research Organization:
Univ. of Utah, Salt Lake City
OSTI ID:
7311677
Journal Information:
Am. Chem. Soc., Div. Fuel Chem., Prepr.; (United States), Journal Name: Am. Chem. Soc., Div. Fuel Chem., Prepr.; (United States) Vol. 21:6; ISSN ACFPA
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English