Surfactant composition and method for treating bitumen froth

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10920149-B2
Application number	US-201615735181-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 10, 2016
Priority date	Jun 12, 2015
Publication date	Feb 16, 2021
Grant date	Feb 16, 2021

Abstract

The invention relates to a surfactant composition comprising an ionic liquid prepared from an unsubsituted or substituted primary, secondary or tertiary amine, or from an unsubstituted or substituted pyridine, amidine or guanidine with at least one fatty acid and/or resin acid. The invention also relates to a method for treating bitumen froth from a separation process, where bitumen is separated from mineral solids. The method comprises addition of said surfactant composition to the diluent and/or to the froth before phase separation.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A method for treating bitumen froth from a separation process, where bitumen is separated from mineral solids, the method comprising:
(i) obtaining a bitumen froth that comprises bitumen, water and mineral solids;
(ii) adding organic diluent to the bitumen froth;
(iii) causing a phase separation of the water, bitumen and mineral particles comprised in the diluted bitumen froth by the addition of less than 1500 ppm of a surfactant composition:
(a) which surfactant composition comprises at least one ionic liquid that includes choline and at least one fatty acid and/or resin acid; and/or
(b) which surfactant composition comprises at least one ionic liquid that includes an unsubstituted or substituted pyridine, amidine, or guanidine and at least one fatty acid and/or resin acid.

2. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the surfactant composition is added in amount of 5-1500 ppm, 10-1000 ppm, or 10-500 ppm.

3. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the separation process, where bitumen is separated from mineral solids, uses oil sand, oil shale, oil contaminated sand or oil contaminated earth, tailing pond material and/or sand containing crude oil as raw material.

4. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the obtained bitumen froth comprises 30-75 weight-% of bitumen, 15-35 weight-% of water and 5-20 weight-% of mineral solids before the phase separation step.

5. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the organic phase comprises 83-95 weight-% of bitumen, 0.1-0.5 weight-% of water and 0.0-0.5 weight-% of mineral solids after the phase separation step.

6. The method according to claim 1 , wherein causing the phase separation further comprises centrifugation and/or gravity settling.

7. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the surfactant composition comprises a mixture of fatty acids and/or resin acids.

8. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the fatty acid is selected from stearic acid or isostearic acid.

9. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the fatty acid originates from Kraft pulp process or from biodiesel production.

10. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the substituted guanidine is tetramethylguanidine (TMG).

11. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the surfactant composition comprises two or more different ionic liquids.

Assignees

• Kemira Oyj

Inventors

• Kyllönen Lasse
• Aujla Sukhjit
• Fournier Frances
• Fenderson Thomas
• King Alistair
• Sklavounos Evangelos

Classifications

• C10G1/04 Primary

  by extraction · CPC title

• C10C3/026

  with organic compounds · CPC title

• C08K5/31

  Guanidine; Derivatives thereof · CPC title

• C08K5/09

  Carboxylic acids; Metal salts thereof; Anhydrides thereof · CPC title

• C11D1/40

  Monoamines or polyamines; Salts thereof · CPC title