Mineral oils: processes and products – Asphalts – tars – pitches and resins; making – treating and... – Chemical modification of asphalt – tar – pitch or resin
Reexamination Certificate
2005-12-09
2011-10-25
Griffin, Walter (Department: 1774)
Mineral oils: processes and products
Asphalts, tars, pitches and resins; making, treating and...
Chemical modification of asphalt, tar, pitch or resin
C208S006000, C208S390000, C208S391000
Reexamination Certificate
active
08043494
ABSTRACT:
In a method for increasing the efficiency of bitumen recovery from oil sands, bitumen asphaltenes naturally present in the oil sands ore are treated with selected chemical agents to produce surfactants which reduce surface and interfacial tensions and promote the production of bitumen-water emulsions, thus facilitating the extraction and recovery of bitumen for use in producing synthetic crude oil. The agents react with the asphaltenes by oxidation, sulfonation, sulfoxidation, or sulfomethylation reactions, or by a combination of such reactions. These reactions may be initiated by adding selected agents into water-based oil sand slurries in process vessels or in pipelines. Alternatively, the agents may be injected directly into subsurface oil sand formations for in situ production of surfactants to enhance the efficiency of in situ thermal bitumen recovery processes. The methods of the invention may also be used to improve the stability of bitumen-water emulsions to facilitate transportation of the emulsions by pipeline, and to enhance the recoverability of bitumen from oil sands tailings.
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Shue, F.F. et al. (1981). “A Comparison of Asphaltenes from Naturally Occurring Shale Bitumen and Retorted Shale Oils: The Influence of Temperature on Asphaltene Structure,” in Oil Shale, Tar Sands, and Related Materials, Ch 9, pp. 129-138.
Apex Engineering Inc.
Griffin Walter
McCaig Brian
LandOfFree
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