Microwave-Assisted Bitumen Extraction With Vacuum-Assisted Sediment Filtration
AssigneeExxonMobil Upstream Research Company
InventorsAdam P. JOHNSON, Mauro Lo Cascio, Samer F. Farjo
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Abstract
Method for characterizing a heavily biodegraded oil sand ore sample by microwave-assisted bitumen extraction. Vacuum-filtration of solvent-extracted bitumen and sediments provides a means to recover sediment fines down to a particle size of 0.8 μm, which is the analytical requirement for accurate mineralogical analysis of the clay mineral fraction. The method may be completed in hours, making it suitable for “just-in-time” analyses at the mine site. The recovered sediment and sediment fines are suitable for characterization using traditional analytical techniques to understand mineralogy, petrology, and reservoir properties.
Claims17
An oil sand characterization method, comprising:
- (a) heating a mixture of an oil sand ore sample and an organic solvent at a temperature not to exceed 130° C.;
- (b) after heating, using vacuum-assisted filtering on the resulting bitumen-saturated solvent to collect extracted bitumen separated from sediment and sediment fines;
- and
- (c) analyzing the separated sediment and sediment fines for mineral characterization.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.