Petroleum Science >2020, Issue 6: 1-11 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12182-020-00491-5
Destabilization of bitumen-coated fine solids in oil through water-assisted flocculation using biomolecules extracted from guar beans Open Access
文章信息
作者:Camila Santander, Jing Liu, Xiaoli Tan, Qi Liu & Hongbo Zeng
作者单位:
Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, T6G 1H9, Canada
Camila Santander, Jing Liu, Xiaoli Tan, Qi Liu & Hongbo Zeng
Corresponding author
Correspondence to Hongbo Zeng.
投稿时间:2020-8-17
引用方式:Santander, C., Liu, J., Tan, X. et al. Destabilization of bitumen-coated fine solids in oil through water-assisted flocculation using biomolecules extracted from guar beans. Pet. Sci. (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12182-020-00491-5
文章摘要
Non-aqueous extraction (NAE) of bitumen from oil sands has been gaining great attention from both the industry and academia as an alternative to the water-based extraction. A fine solids removal step is important for a NAE process in order to obtain high-quality bitumen product, which, however, remains a great challenge to reduce the fine solids content to the desired level. Here, we introduce a strategy of destabilizing the bitumen-coated silica particles in toluene with the addition of water and biomolecules extracted from Cyamopsiste tragonolobuosr L. Taup., i.e., high molecular weight guar gum (HGG) and low molecular weight guar gum (LGG), respectively. By virtue of sedimentation tests and focused beam reflectance measurement analysis, we demonstrate that the introduced water droplets modified with these biomolecules can facilitate the settling of the solid particles in toluene although the underlying mechanisms differ between these two biomolecule cases. Specifically, in the case of LGG, the added water droplets with the interfacial amphiphilic LGG can strengthen the attachment of solid particles from bulk toluene to the LGG surface. This research work provides useful insight into the development of effective approaches for destabilization and removal of bitumen-coated fine solids from NAE bitumen.
关键词
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Non-aqueous extraction;Guar gum;Fine solids;Aggregates;Solid content;Chord length