Resources Conservation Company

Reflux Corporation

Robert K Ames

Hans H Peters

A method for in situ separation of bitumen from bitumen-bearing subterranean deposits includes the step of injecting a solvent composition into the deposit. The solvent composition must have an inverse critical solution temperature in a two-phase system with water and be selected from a particular group of amines that includes triethylamine and diisopropylamine. When the solvent composition contacts the bitumen in the deposit, the bitumen is dissolved by the solvent. Thereafter, the bitumen/solvent mixture is removed and separated into a bitumen component and a solvent component. The bitumen is thereafter processed to yield a usable petroleum product.

In situ separation of bitumen from bitumen-bearing deposits

A method for processing an oil-water emulsion to remove oily material therefrom comprising forming a mixture of the oil-water emulsion with liquid amine, in which oils of the emulsion are soluble and having an inverse critical solution point with water, at a temperature below the phase separation temperature of the amine and water so as to form a single liquid phase of amine, oil and water, separating said single liquid phase from any solids which may be contained in the emulsion, raising the temperature of the resulting single liquid phase above the critical solution temperature to effect liquid phase separation whereby an amine phase containing substantially all of the oily material of the emulsion and a water phase containing substantially no oily material are formed, and then separating the two liquid phases. The amine phase is readily processed to recover oily matter therefrom and may be recycled for the processing of additional oil emulsion. The filtration of solids from the single phase mixture is improved by addition of lime and/or filter aids. The method is applicable to a wide range of oil-water emulsions, including oil-in-water and water-in-oil emulsions, and finds particular utility in the processing of waste emulsions which have been difficult to process with known methods. Representative of these are the wool grease-in water emulsions resulting from wool scouring processes.

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Seattle, WA, United States of America

Robert K Ames