1 research outputs found
Mechanistic Study of Water Droplet Coalescence and Flocculation in Diluted Bitumen Emulsions with Additives Using Microfluidics
Synthetic crude oils
derived from mined oil sands processed via
the Clark hot water extraction process do not meet current specifications
for pipeline transport and are corrosive to upgrader equipment by
virtue of the high residual water content (2β5%) and salts.
Formulated chemical additives used in this process can improve the
oil quality by accelerating and enhancing the separation of water
from oil. The identification and selection of these formulated additives
is typically based on performance data collected in field testing
for each component or blend. Herein, two methods are reported to study
the effect of chemical additives on the phase separation behavior
of water in diluted bitumen emulsions prepared in microfluidic devices.
First, water droplets in diluted bitumen were created in the presence
of chemical additives and the kinetics of droplet coalescence were
compared for various additives and concentrations. Second, using a
custom-made device geometry, water droplets in diluted bitumen were
formed and aged prior to the addition of chemical additives. The treated
droplets were observed to calculate the kinetics of droplet coalescence.
The frequency of coalescence events was the same order of magnitude
in both studies. The effectiveness of various additives can be determined
by measuring the coalescence time, which is dominated by film drainage
in the case of the best chemical additives