An agglomeration-based oil-water separation process
AssigneeHis Majesty the King In Right of Canada, AS Represented By the Minister of Natural Resources
InventorsEvgeniya HRISTOVA, Stanislav STOYANOV
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Abstract
The present application provides a method for bitumen froth treatment in the transition region between coalescence and agglomeration. The method involves separating diluted bitumen product from a bitumen froth mixture, comprising the bitumen, water and mineral solids, the method comprising: (a) combining the mixture with a solvent blend to obtain a combination having a ratio of said solvent blend to the bitumen of about 1.0-1.6 by mass, wherein said solvent blend comprises from 2.2-4.5 (±0.2) wt % aromatic solvent or from 70-80 (±10) wt % paraffinic solvent; (b) mixing the combination; and (c) separating the diluted bitumen product from the water and mineral solids.
Claims18
A method of obtaining diluted bitumen from a bitumen-containing mixture comprising bitumen, water and mineral solids, the method comprising:
- (a) combining the bitumen-containing mixture with a solvent blend to obtain a combination having a ratio of said solvent blend to bitumen that is below the solvent to bitumen ratio corresponding to onset of bulk asphaltene precipitation, wherein said solvent blend comprises one or more aromatic components in an amount of from about 2.0 to about 4.7 wt % and one or more paraffinic components in an amount of from about 60 to about 90 wt %;
- (b) mixing the combination;
- and
- (c) separating the diluted bitumen product from the water and mineral solids.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.