Suspensions in the Hot Water Flotation Process for Canadian Oil

May 5, 1996 - 1Edmonton Research Centre, Syncrude Canada Ltd., 9421 17th ... 2 Petroleum Recovery Institute 100, 3512 33rd Street N.W., Calgary, ...
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13 Suspensions in the Hot Water Flotation Process for Canadian Oil Sands Robert C. Shaw , Laurier L. Schramm* , and Jan Czarnecki 1

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Edmonton Research Centre, Syncrude Canada Ltd., 9421 17th Avenue, Edmonton, Alberta T6N 1H4, Canada Petroleum Recovery Institute 100, 3512 33rd Street N.W., Calgary, Alberta T2L 2A6, Canada

Downloaded by UNIV OF AUCKLAND on May 3, 2015 | http://pubs.acs.org Publication Date: May 5, 1996 | doi: 10.1021/ba-1996-0251.ch013

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Suspensions are created and must be processed during the application of the hot water flotation process to Canada's Athabasca oil sands, a large-scale commercial application of mined oil sands technology. These suspensions are more than just two-phase dispersions, being comprised of not only solids and water but also dispersed oil and gas. As such, they form interesting petroleum industry suspensions. A review of the hot water flotation process is presented with an emphasis on the occurrence, nature, and properties of suspensions.

Oil Sands O i l sands are unconsolidated sandstone deposits of a very heavy hydro­ carbon: bitumen. B i t u m e n is chemically similar to conventional o i l but has comparatively high density (low gravity per A m e r i c a n Petroleum Institute standards) and high viscosity. Based on U n i t e d Nations Institute for Training and Research discussions aimed at establishing definitions for heavy crude oil and oil (tar) sands (1-3), bitumen can be placed in the context of other crude oils as shown i n Table I. O i l sand deposits are present i n many locations around the w o r l d and appear to be similar in many respects (4-6), occurring along the rim of major sedimentary basins, mainly in either fluviatile or deltaic environments containing sands of high porosity and permeability. R e ­ views are available for most locations worldwide (4, 6-13). A l t h o u g h superficially similar, not all deposits are the same when subjected to a detailed examination. T h e r e are significant variations in composition * Corresponding author. 0065-2393/96/0251-0639$16.25/0 © 1996 A m e r i c a n C h e m i c a l Society

In Suspensions: Fundamentals and Applications in the Petroleum Industry; Schramm, L.; Advances in Chemistry; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 1996.

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SUSPENSIONS: FUNDAMENTALS & APPLICATIONS I N PETROLEUM INDUSTRY

Table I. Hydrocarbon Definitions Hydrocarbon C r u d e oils

Downloaded by UNIV OF AUCKLAND on May 3, 2015 | http://pubs.acs.org Publication Date: May 5, 1996 | doi: 10.1021/ba-1996-0251.ch013

H e a v y crude oil E x t r a heavy crude Bitumen/tar

Viscosity Range (mPa · s at deposit temperature)