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US 10,712,330 B2Granted
Controlling bitumen recovery from an oil sands ore body by using a predictive ore processability model in producing a blended ore feedstock
AssigneeSyncrude Canada Ltd.
InventorsJun Long, Jonathan Spence, Dean Wallace, Shane Hoskins, Chung H. Ta, David Mueller, Priyanka Pareek
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Abstract
A method is provided for controlling bitumen recovery from an oil sands ore body in a bitumen extraction process by establishing and using a predictive ore processability model that accounts for multiple ore characteristics in planning ore deliveries from different locations of the ore body to produce a blended ore feedstock.
Claims22
A method for predicting processability of an oil sands ore body in a bitumen extraction process, the method comprising the steps of:
- (a) obtaining core samples from a plurality of spatially separated locations within the ore body;
- (b) performing characterization tests on the core samples to establish a first database of sets of ore characteristic values comprising a bitumen content, a content of solid particles having a diameter less than 44 microns, and a content of ore formed in a marine depositional environment;
- (c) performing processability tests on the core samples to establish a second database of processability values indicative of any one or a combination of bitumen recovery from ore in the core samples in the bitumen extraction process, a bitumen content of bitumen froth in the bitumen extraction process, a solids content of bitumen froth in the bitumen extraction process, or a water content of bitumen froth in the bitumen extraction process, and
- (d) based on the first and second databases, determining a predictive ore processability model for predicting processability values from a specified set of ore characteristic values.
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