Control of process aid used in hot water process for extraction of bitumen from tar sand
US4462892A · kind A · utility
Assignees
- Petro-Canada Exploration, Inc.
- Her Majesty the Queen in right of Canada, as represented by the Minister of Energy and Natural Resources (Alberta Oil Sands Equity)
- Pan Canadian Petroleum Limited
- Esso Resources Canada Limited
- Canada-Cities Service, Ltd.
- Gulf Canada Limited
- Alterra Energy, LLC
- Hudson's Bay Oil and Gas Company Limited
- Petrofina Canada Inc.
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Mar 17, 1983 |
| Grant date | Jul 31, 1984 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Mar 17, 2003 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC C)Chemistry; Metallurgy
- CPC primaryC10G1/047
- WIPO fieldBasic materials chemistry
- WIPO sectorChemistry
Abstract
The hot water process is sensitive to the nature of the tar sand feed, which varies. An alkaline process aid, usually NaOH, is normally added to the conditioning step of the process and is needed to obtain good bitumen recovery from most tar sand feeds. The invention is based on the discovery that, for a particular extraction circuit used, there is a single value of free surfactant content in the aqueous phase of the process slurry which will yield maximum primary froth recovery regardless of the type of tar sand feed used. The process in accordance with the invention therefore comprises: (a) determining, for a single tar sand type and the extraction circuit used, the free surfactant content in the aqueous phase of the slurry, which will yield the maximum primary bitumen forth recovery; (b) monitoring the free surfactant content in the aqueous phase of the slurry during subsequent processing of various types of tar sand feed in said circuit; and (c) varying the process aid addition to the slurry as the nature of the tar sand feed varies, to maintain said free surfactant content substantially at the level which leads to maximum primary bitumen froth recovery.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.