Bitumen extraction using reduced shear conditions

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10907103-B2
Application number	US-201916378301-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 8, 2019
Priority date	Apr 9, 2018
Publication date	Feb 2, 2021
Grant date	Feb 2, 2021

Abstract

A process for extracting bitumen from mined oil sand is provided, comprising: preparing an oil sand slurry comprising oil sand and water; conditioning the oil sand slurry by pumping the oil sand slurry through a hydrotransport pipeline under shear conditions that reduce the formation of water-in-bitumen emulsions in the conditioned oil sand slurry and increase the size of bitumen-air aggregates; and subjecting the conditioned oil sand slurry to gravity separation to produce a bitumen froth having enhanced bitumen recovery and reduced water-in-bitumen emulsions, a middlings layer and sand tailings.

First claim

We claim:

1. A process for conditioning an oil sand slurry, comprising:
determining an energy dissipation rate necessary for obtaining a desired bitumen droplet size;
designing a hydrotransport pipeline comprising pipe and at least one slurry pump by determining a diameter of pipe and/or a volume of the at least one slurry pump necessary to achieve the energy dissipation rate;
conditioning the oil sand slurry in the so designed hydrotransport pipeline; and
introducing the conditioned oil sand slurry into a primary separation vessel wherein separate layers of primary bitumen froth, middlings and sand tailings are formed.

2. The process as set forth in claim 1 , further comprising treating the primary bitumen froth with a diluent to produce a diluted bitumen product having reduced solids and/or reduced water.

3. The process as set forth in claim 2 , wherein the diluent is naphtha.

4. The process as set forth in claim 3 , wherein the naphtha diluted bitumen froth is pumped to an inclined plate settler or a scroll centrifuge for removal of solids and water from the naphtha diluted bitumen froth.

5. The process as set forth in claim 4 , wherein the solids and water reduced naphtha diluted bitumen froth is further pumped to a disc centrifuge where further solids and water are removed to form the diluted bitumen product.

Assignees

• Syncrude Canada Ltd

Inventors

• Reid Kevin
• Ng Yin Ming Samson
• Bara Barry
• Bhattacharya Sujit

Classifications

• C10G1/045 Primary

  Separation of insoluble materials · CPC title

• C10G1/008 Primary

  Controlling or regulating of liquefaction processes · CPC title

• C10G2300/1033

  Oil well production fluids · CPC title

• C10G2300/1003

  Waste materials · CPC title