Surfactant composition and method for treating bitumen froth
AssigneeKemira Oyj
InventorsLasse Kyllönen, Sukhjit Aujla, Frances Fournier, Thomas Fenderson, Alistair King, Evangelos Sklavounos
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Abstract
The invention relates to a surfactant composition comprising an ionic liquid prepared from an unsubsituted or substituted primary, secondary or tertiary amine, or from an unsubstituted or substituted pyridine, amidine or guanidine with at least one fatty acid and/or resin acid. The invention also relates to a method for treating bitumen froth from a separation process, where bitumen is separated from mineral solids. The method comprises addition of said surfactant composition to the diluent and/or to the froth before phase separation.
Claims11
A method for treating bitumen froth from a separation process, where bitumen is separated from mineral solids, the method comprising:
- (i) obtaining a bitumen froth that comprises bitumen, water and mineral solids;
- (ii) adding organic diluent to the bitumen froth;
- (iii) causing a phase separation of the water, bitumen and mineral particles comprised in the diluted bitumen froth by the addition of less than 1500 ppm of a surfactant composition:
- (a) which surfactant composition comprises at least one ionic liquid that includes choline and at least one fatty acid and/or resin acid;
- and/or
- (b) which surfactant composition comprises at least one ionic liquid that includes an unsubstituted or substituted pyridine, amidine, or guanidine and at least one fatty acid and/or resin acid.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.