Sodium hydroxide caustic is added to the extraction process to balance many competing processing challenges which include undesirable slime coating. Steam assisted gravity drainage or sagd is a method that is widely used to extract bitumen from underground oil sands deposits. Generally, oil sands ore quality is defined in terms of the bitumen. This paper is to be presented at the petroleum societys canadian international petroleum conference 2001, calgary, alberta. This process is used when bitumen is close to the surface. Role of fine clays in bitumen extraction from oil sands. The main focus of this research is to understand the effects of the type and wettability of clays on the performance of bitumen extraction from mined oil sands to develop a viable solution in dealing with clayfines in operations. This method involves forcing steam into subsurface oil sands deposits to heat the bitumen locked in the sand, allowing it to flow well enough to be extracted. This is achieved through a simple waterbased gravity separation process, most of which. In situ refers to methods of oil sands production that use drilling and steam to produce bitumen. In particular, it reduces the fresh water demand of the extraction process and eliminates tailing ponds. Role of clays in bitumen extraction of waterbased oil sands.
Hot water is used to separate the bitumen from the sands. While albertas oil sands proven reserves are currently stated to be 178 billion barrels, the estimated total volume of bitumen in place is 1. The largest of those dirty and expensive sources, the bitumen found under the forests of. Photodegradation of bitumenderived organics in oil sands. It is estimated that the deposit contains 73 billion barrels of recoverable bitumen. A nonaqueous process was developed using ionic liquids ils to extract bitumen from alberta oil sands at room temperature. Oil sands are either loose sands or partially consolidated sandstone containing a naturally occurring mixture of sand, clay, and water, soaked with a dense and extremely viscous form of petroleum technically referred to as bitumen. Jun 26, 2008 system, apparatus and process for extraction of bitumen from oil sands. A region of boreal forest in alberta, canada, that covers a deposit of oil sands will be cut and removed during the process of bitumen extraction. Canadian natural resources oil sands mining and upgrading. Clay minerals such as montmorillonite and kaolinite are considered as fine solids that could adversely affect bitumen extraction from oil sands. Pilot evaluation of an aqueousnonaqueous hybrid bitumen.
Comparing venezuelan and canadian heavy oil and tar sands. In late 2017, the phase 3 expansion was completed at horizon, the final step in the companys transition to a long life low decline asset base. For the determination of organic part natural bitumen of oil sands the extraction methods was used in soxhlet apparatus by solvent. The original process for extraction of bitumen from the sands was developed by dr. Refining of the crude oil into final products such as gasoline, lubricants and diluents. Oil sands operators must adhere to stringent regulations. Solvent bitumen extraction methods take the steam out of.
Bitumen extraction from the oilsands ore is performed using the clark hot water extraction process. Oil sands extraction and processing natural resources canada. Epic oil extractors epic is at the centre of a fundamental shift in the way that mineable oil sands resources are extracted. The oil is in the form of bitumen, a very heavy liquid or sticky black solid with a low melting temperature. Pdf an overview of oil sand tar sand extraction and processing. Extraction of bitumen from oil sands using deep eutectic.
Motivated process engineer with strong problemsolving skills. Oil sand, as mined commercially, contains an average of 1012 per cent bitumen, 8385 per cent mineral matter and 46 per cent water. Using techniques that are similar to conventional oil production, we inject steam into the reservoir to heat the bitumen so it can be pumped to the surface. Oil sands brochure fact sheet ressources naturelles canada. Improved recovery occurs by maximizing the fraction of bitumen that is sent to upgrading and conversely minimizing the fraction that escapes to the tailings ponds. Robust aqueousnonaqueous hybrid process for bitumen extraction from mineable athabasca oil sands. The extraction process requires moving four tons of earth to.
Insitu extraction methods are used to recover bitumen that lies too deep beneath the surface for mining greater than 75 metres underground. In this work, the dewatering behaviors of tailings suspensions generated on a. Currently, two to four barrels of water are required to extract one barrel of oil, and 4 cubic meters of ospw are produced for each cubic meter of oil sands processed. Surface mining is used when bitumen is within 250 feet of the surface. Knowledgeable in oil sands, bitumen extraction and midstream processes. Environmental consequences of oil production from oil sands. Of the worlds known oil, the large deposits of canada. Pdf interaction forces in bitumen extraction from oil. Role of fine clays in bitumen extraction from oil sands liu.
Here, the slurry is put through a separation process where sand sinks to the bottom and impure bitumen froth rises to the. Upgrading of the heavy bitumen to a lighter, intermediate crude oil product. To address this issue, an aqueousnonaqueous hybrid bitumen extraction process hbep, in which a portion of the diluent solvent was added upfront to soak mined oil sands prior to its water. Process animation athabasca oil sands project youtube. Cold heavy oil production with sand chops chops is a nonthermal primary heavy oil production method. Radio frequency heating is regarded as a novel approach for bitumen extraction from oil sands.
There are two ways to extract bitumen from the oil sands. The difference is that the accelerated solvent extraction technique introduces a pressure component which, when combined with heat, enables the extraction process to occur in about onetenth the time and thus shows potential to replace sdse as the industry standard for bitumen extraction from oil sands. An aqueousnonaqueous hybrid bitumen extraction hbe process for mined oil sand has the potential to reduce thermal energy demand and greenhouse gas emissions while integrating the productivity and robustness of the current commercial process. A film of water coats most of the mineral matter, and this property permits extraction by the hotwater process. Pdf microwave applications to oil sands and petroleum. The nheptane asphaltene content in the extracted bitumen was measured by saturate, aromatic, resin, and asphaltene sara analysis, and the. Today, a majority of the oil derived from oil sands is obtained via surface mining, although only about 20 percent of all oil sand resources are recoverable through this method. It is demonstrated that bitumen can be separated from waterwet alberta oil sands and oilwet utah oil sands using a socalled analogue ionic liquid il based on deep eutectic mixtures of choline chloride and urea chclu together with a diluent such as naphtha. Coating of bitumen by clays, known as slime coating is detrimental to bitumen recovery from oil sands using the warm slurry extraction process. This step is called extraction and is not required for in situ.
Pdf understanding waterbased bitumen extraction from. Us20256092a1 oil from oil sands extraction process. Comparing venezuelan and canadian heavy oil and tar sands m. Oil sands have been surface mined from this location since 1967. After the sand is brought to an extraction plant, it undertakes a dilution process in which it is mixed with hot water and chemicals so that it may flow freely into pipelines. Although the overall upgrading process flow diagram varies from company to.
Extraction of the bitumen from the oil sands, where the solids and water are removed. Mar 26, 2015 in situ refers to methods of oil sands production that use drilling and steam to produce bitumen. Oil sands contain bitumen, which can be processed into a synthetic crude oil. Pdf further development of oil sand deposits requires processing poorer quality oil sands while maximizing bitumen recovery, minimizing the. In alberta the amount of water required to extract and process bitumen from oil sands is of the same order of magnitude as the provinces water consumption for irrigated agriculture. The athabasca oil sands representing about 80% of canadas bitumen reserves also happens to be the only one shallow enough to lend itself to surface mining, which, as we will see, is the primary method for removing oil sands. Oil sands ore is a complex mixture of bitumen, sand and clay frequently referred to as fines and water. Many innovative chemical and engineering aspects have been incorporated into the process to achieve over 98% of bitumen extraction from the oil sands, and a greater than 99. Among a wide spectrum of thermal recovery methods, steam assisted gravity drainage sagd is known as one of the promising enhanced oil recovery eor methods for heavy oil and bitumen extraction. Although tested, this technology is not in commercial use yet.
Hybrid bitumen extraction hbe at ambient conditions has potential, as an alternative to the commercially used modified clark hot water extraction chwe for mined oil sands. Continuous production of sand improves the recovery of heavy oil from the reservoir. Facts about albertas oil sands and its industry open government. In oil sands, an incremental improvement in bitumen recovery can have dramatic financial benefits.
Hydrocyclonebased process for rejecting solids from oil sands at the mine site while retaining bitumen transportation to a processing plant. Oil sands slurry produced in the slurry preparation plant spp contains about 5055% sand and less than 10% bitumen. Thus, it can be argued that in this state the oil sands industry was able to develop because the region is relatively rich in water resources. A liquid extractant is heated and then pumped, under pressure, into the reaction chamber through a plurality of jet inlets to suspend the oil sand in the.
Influence of oil sands composition on bitumen quality. Oil sands, tar sands, crude bitumen, or more technically bituminous sands, are a type of unconventional petroleum deposit. The classical commercial method for bitumen extraction is the hot water extraction process hwep, which was developed by clark in the 1920s. Several waterless extraction methods being piloted that use less energy, produce fewer emissions. System, apparatus and process for extraction of bitumen from. Us8968579b2 system, apparatus and process for extraction of. Hybrid bitumen extraction hbe at ambient conditions has potential, as an alternative to the commercially used modi. Oil sands are recovered using two methods, depending on the depth of the reserves.
In aostra technical handbook on oil sands, bitumen and heavy oils, aostra technical. Interaction forces in bitumen extraction from oil sands. In this process, oilsands ore and water slurry are prepared, usually with the addition of some caustic naoh to increase the ph. Once mined, bitumen is separated from the sand using a hot water extraction process. The horizon oil sands include a surface oil sands mining and bitumen extraction plant, complemented by onsite bitumen upgrading with associated infrastructure to produce high quality sco. Us8968579b2 system, apparatus and process for extraction. Abstract process economics program report 266 heavy oil from.
Extraction of the bitumen from the oil sands, where the solids and water are removed upgrading of the heavy bitumen to a lighter, intermediate crude oil product refining of the crude oil into final products such as gasoline, lubricants and diluents traditionally, a majority of the bitumen produced. During the hotwater process the oil sand is mixed with water in either a processing drum or pipeline. The nsolv extraction conditions are very gentle and preferentially extract the most mobile and valuable components of the bitumen. Conventional oil is a liquid at atmospheric temperature and pressure, so it can flow through a wellbore and a pipeline unlike bitumen oil sands. Insitu recovery techniques are used to extract deep deposits of bitumen without removing the soil and materials above it. Bitumen can be extracted using two methods depending on how deep the deposits are below the surface. A system for extracting bitumen from oil sands includes an extractor tank having a reaction chamber. The most common in situ method is called steam assisted gravity drainage sagd. Currently, 80 % of oil sands reserves are accessible via insitu techniques. By moving away from the traditional clark hot water process and transitioning into a more sustainable, waterfree approach to extraction, epic is ready to support operators as the world enters into a lowercarbon future. Improved recovery occurs by maximizing the fraction of bitumen that is sent to upgrading and conversely minimizing the fraction that escapes to. The canadian oil sands or tar sands are a large area of petroleum extraction from bitumen, located primarily along the athabasca river with its centre of activity close to fort mcmurray in alberta, approximately 400 km northeast of the provincial capital, edmonton. Bitumen can be extracted using two methods depending on how. Centre for oil sands innovation cosi, university of alberta, edmonton, alberta nonaqueous extraction of bitumen from oil sands has the potential to overcome the shortcomings of the current aqueous extraction process.
The chemical composition of watersoluble organics in oil sands process affected water ospw is primarily composed of natural constituents of bitumen that are solubilized and concentrated during aqueous extraction of oil sands. Optimization of cyclohexane extraction of alberta oil sands. Experience processing and analyzing high volumes of data, identifying patterns, developing engineering design and explaining physical concepts behind data. Approvals from numerous regulatory agencies are required at every phase, from construction and operations. Based on an il design platform of balancing lipophilichydrophilic properties with possible interfacial interactions, trialkylaminefatty acidbased ils were studied and downselected considering performance, cost, composition, and interaction with water. Physical and mechanical characteristics of natural bitumen nb are established by standard methods. Suncor extracts and upgrades bitumen using the following process. Effects of chemical fractions from an oil sands endpit. Extraction of oil from oil sands using thermoresponsive. Apr 08, 2014 solvent bitumen extraction methods take the steam out of oilsands development.
Ambient temperature 25 c processing solvent addition at low dosage common solvent. Impact of a hybrid bitumen extraction process on mined oil. In the field operations, the radio frequency device is installed inside casings and used to. Alberta lies a promise of addiction tar sands that can be. Environmental concerns regarding oil sands mining focus on the toxic waste byproduct of the extraction process and land disturbance.
Oil sands process affected water ospw is a byproduct of bitumen extraction in the surfacemining oil sands industry in alberta, canada. A refill kit is available and contains only consumable component items. In the present study, solvent extraction of bitumen from xinjiang oil sands was investigated using solvents, such as alkanes, toluene, and chloroform, and mixed solvents, such as nhexaneethyl. Pdf the effect of oil sands bitumen extraction conditions on. First, at the slurry preparation plant water is added to the mined oil sands ore to obtain a slurry with a density of 1500 kg m. Jul 15, 2005 considerable research efforts over the last several decades have led to the commercial application of waterbased extraction process wbep for recovering bitumen from oil sands. How tar sands oil is produced high oil prices and technological advances have made it economically viable to ramp up oil production from canadas tar sands. Currently, 80% of oil sands reserves are accessible via insitu techniques. Previous mining methods included using a bucketwheel, dragline, and conveyor system that was eventually phased out by 2006.
Each plant maybe set up differently due to different compositions of bitumen extracted. Influence of oil sands composition on bitumen quality during. New technology and innovation are critical to developing the oil sands and improving environmental performance. Process modelling and simulation of bitumen mining and. Organic compounds in ospw can be acutely or chronically toxic to aquatic organisms, so part of a longterm strategy for remediation of ospw is ageing of water in. Conditioning starts the process of separating sand and bitumen and breaks apart any large pieces of oil sands. Impact of a novel bitumen extraction process on mined oil. Bitumen can be extracted using two methods, depending on how deep the deposits.
In the present study, solvent extraction of bitumen from xinjiang oil sands was investigated using solvents, such as alkanes, toluene, and chloroform, and mixed solvents, such as nhexaneethyl acetate and cyclohexanemethyl ethyl ketone mek. The physicochemical properties of the oil sands constituents have significant effects on the bitumen extraction and recovery process dai and chung, 1995, sanford, 1983. Dec 16, 2016 bitumen is extracted from mined oil sands using a water intensive process known as hot water extraction clark, 1944. This warms the oil sand, and causes the bitumen to separate and flow. Ospw organics are persistent and acutely toxic, and a leading remediation strategy is l. New extraction technique could replace sdse for bitumen. Pdf the current state of knowledge on the fundamentals of bitumen recovery from athabasca oil sands using waterbased extraction methods. Petroteqs oil sands extraction process has been designed utilizing good engineering practices and confirmed chemical and physical principles. At the extraction plant more hot water is added to this mixture of sand, clay, bitumen, and water in a large separation vessel where settling time is provided to allow the various components to separate. Pdf role of fine clays in bitumen extraction from oil. In the paper physical and chemical properties of natural bitumen of oil sands were investigated.
The extraction temperature is a critical process parameter, because it. Oil sands emissions in a global and canadian context. Using actual oil sands from the athabasca oil sand deposits in alberta, students will examine the nature and characteristics of oil sand and then formulate and test methods of bitumen extraction. Petroleum products are produced from the oil sands through 3 basic steps. During this process, oil sand is moved through a rotating drum, cracking the bitumen with heat and producing lighter hydrocarbons. Canadas oil sands sector is a hightech, knowledgebased industry. Understanding waterbased bitumen extraction from athabasca oil sands article pdf available in the canadian journal of chemical engineering 824. Beside the chweprocess, direct coking of the oil sands1 is. Once the oil sand is crushed, hot water is added so it can be pumped to the extraction plant. The nsolv process works as follows, refer to figure 3 for a diagrammatic representation of the process. Role of caustic addition in bitumenclay interactions. Oil sands, also known as tar sands, are sediments or sedimentary rocks composed of sand, clay minerals, water, and bitumen.
342 276 1636 863 581 858 632 904 798 1316 976 1327 1438 727 676 107 392 98 1299 120 1611 636 973 283 1127 1525 720 152 1482 390 1432 1128 1435 699 140 1391 1361 995 828 55 1399 1374 31 692 1036 1384 1295 612 1063