Enhanced steam extraction of bitumen from oil sands
AssigneeDow Global Technologies LLC
InventorsCole A. Witham, Biplab Mukherjee
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Abstract
The present invention relates to an improved bitumen recovery process from oil sands. The oil sands may be surface mined and transported to a treatment area or may be treated directly by means of an in situ process of oil sand deposits that are located too deep for strip mining. Specifically, the present invention involves the step of treating oil sands with an ethylene oxide capped glycol ether described by the structure: RO—(CH2CH(CH3)O)m(C2H4O)nH wherein R is a linear, branched, cyclic alkyl, phenyl, or alkyl phenyl group of greater than 5 carbons and m and n are independently 1 to 3.
Claims6
A method to recover bitumen comprising the step of contacting oil sands with an ethylene oxide capped glycol ether described by the following structure:
- RO—(CH2CH(CH3)O)m(C2H4O)nH
- wherein R is a linear, branched, cyclic alkyl, phenyl, or alkyl phenyl group of greater than 5 carbons
- and
- m and n are independently 1 to 3
- wherein the treatment is to oil sands recovered by surface mining or in situ production.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.