Staged settling process for removing water and solids from oils and extraction froth
US6746599B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignees
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jun 11, 2001 |
| Grant date | Jun 8, 2004 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jun 11, 2021 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC C)Chemistry; Metallurgy
- CPC primaryC10G1/045
- WIPO fieldBasic materials chemistry
- WIPO sectorChemistry
Abstract
Diluent-diluted bitumen froth containing bitumen and naphtha diluent, hydrocarbons, water, sand and fines (collectively “dilfroth”) is fed into a vapor-tight gravity settler (‘splitter’) and temporarily retained to produce a bottom layer of tails comprising sand and middlings, a rag layer of discrete three-dimensional structures, each comprising hydrocarbons contained in a skin of fines, and a top layer of hydrocarbons containing small droplets of water and fines (‘raw dilbit’). The flux in the splitter is less than 6 m3/h of dilfroth fed per m2 of horizontal cross-sectional rag area. The in-coming dilfroth is fed directly into the splitter middlings. Demulsifier is added to the overflow stream of raw dilbit and the mixture is subjected to prolonged settling in a vapor-tight polisher tank, to produce polished dilbit containing less than 1.0 wt. % water and 0.3 wt. % solids. The splitter underflow tails, containing less than 15 wt. % bitumen, is mixed with additional diluent to raise the diluent/bitumen ratio to 4:1 to 10:1 and is gravity settled in a vapor-tight scrubber. Scrubber overflow, mostly diluent containing residual bitumen stripped from…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.