Suntech, Inc.

Sun Oil Company of Pennsylvania

Suncor, Inc.

Sunoco Energy Development Co.

Sun Ventures, Inc.

Walter H Seitzer

Abraham Daniel Schneider

Oscar L Norman

Victor M Chong

Vythilingam Elanchenny

Robert B Roth

Bitumen recovery from a tar sands emulsion or other bituminous oil-in-water emulsion is increased by milling the emulsion for a time sufficient to cause a bitumen-rich liquid fraction to rise to the surface, and separating such fraction. Addition of water to the starting emulsion or during milling further enhances the recovery of bitumen.

Recovery of bitumen from bituminous oil-in-water emulsions

The pour point of shale oil is lowered by contacting with fresh oil shale. The temperature of contacting is preferably below 350.degree. F.

Reduction in pour point of shale oil

An improvement in the treatment of sludge recovered from a pond containing tailings from a water extraction process of tar sands characterized in that the froth produced from a treatment of the sludge is diluted with water which is at an ambient temperature, and the diluted froth is agitated and aerated vigorously for a short time to obtain an upper froth layer which contains most of the bitumen and substantially reduced amounts of mineral and water. The upper froth layer is obtained by, e.g., skimming it from the froth produced by the agitation and aeration.

Beneficiation of froth obtained from tar sands sludge

A method is disclosed for the recovery of bitumen from a sludge. The sludge is diluted with water and subjected to high-shear agitation and aeration and the sludge settled to obtain an upper bitumen-containing froth layer and a lower sludge layer of reduced bitumen content. The recovery of bitumen is increased over that obtained with aeration and mixing with mild agitation or with aeration alone or with agitation alone.

Recovery of bitumen from tar sands sludge using additional water

Whole crude shale oil is contacted with a suitable catalyst, e.g., cobalt molybdate on alumina, and hydrogen within a temperature range of about 600.degree. F.-850.degree. F. and a pressure range of about 200 psig-5000 psig until a substantial amount of nitrogen compounds contained in the oil are converted to at least basic nitrogen compounds. Hydrogen consumption is high, about 700-3000 SCF/Bbl of fresh oil charged. The contacted oil, containing basic nitrogen compounds in the oil, formed by the hydrogen contacting, is reacted with dry HCl and resulting reaction product is removed from the oil. The reaction product can be converted into hydrogen and HCl for use in the process. As a result of the severe hydrogen contacting and the HCl treatment, a major amount of the whole crude shale oil can be converted to jet fuel.

Processing shale oil to jet fuel

A single step process for removing moisture from low rank coal using in-situ generated thermal energy by passing the wet low rank coal at room temperature into a moving bed of hot coal at a temperature in the range of from about 200.degree. C. to about 300.degree. C. at a rate to maintain partial combustion of the coal at atmospheric pressure, and in the presence of a gas at atmospheric pressure containing from about 5% to about 20% by volume of oxygen, the heat generated by the combustion being absorbed by the wet coal being fed to the system and being effective for drying the coal to the desired level, and separating the dried coal from the combustion zone, whereby the dry coal obtained is highly resistant to spontaneous combustion.

Coal drying process

A process for preparing iron oxide with a controlled purity and large particle size which comprises oxidizing at a constant pH a vigorously agitated aqueous suspension of iron oxide crystals while continuously, but slowly adding a water soluble iron solution and continuously withdrawing a portion of the aqueous solution containing large size iron oxide crystals as product.

Process for making iron oxide of controlled particle size

A process for stabilizing lignitic and subbituminous coal containing from about 25 to about 40% by weight water which comprises treating said dried coal with steam at a temperature of from about 100.degree. C. to about 115.degree. C. so as to enable said coal to be rehydrated to a moisture level of from about 2% to about 10% by weight whereby said coal is stabilized against spontaneous combustion.

Process for drying and stabilizing coal

Aromatic hydrocarbons useful as fuels are formed by passing a mixture of CO and hydrogen (synthesis gas) over a mixture of a copper-chromium promoted iron catalyst and a type Y mole sieve at elevated temperatures and pressures.

Catalysts for preparing aromatics from synthesis gas

A process for producing a mixture of shale oils containing spherulites which comprises adding an effective amount of an about 1050.degree. F. plus fraction of a raw shale oil containing spherulites, e.g. prepared by a solid-upflow fluid-downflow oil shale retorting process, to a waxy shale oil not containing spherulites, e.g. prepared by a solid-downflow fluid-upflow oil shale retorting process. The formation of spherulites in the mixture is accompanied by a lowered reduction in the pour point of the resulting shale oil mixture.

Pour point depressant for shale oil

Aromatics from synthesis gas

A process for separating oxygen from its admixture with other gases (e.g. air) by contacting one side of a solid electrolyte membrane in which ionic oxygen transport can occur with the oxygen-containing gas and separating essentially pure oxygen from the other side of the membrane.

Oxygen separation with membranes

In the process of methylating toluene to obtain a mixture of xylenes by contacting toluene with hydrogen and a carbon oxide-containing gas in the presence of a catalyst, the improvement of using as catalyst zinc chromite mixed with an alkali metal exchanged molecular sieve containing a stoichiometric excess of an alkali metal carbonate, whereby a more favorable proportion of p-xylene is obtained.

Manufacture of xylenes

Extraction of 2,6-dimethylnaphthalene from isomeric mixtures containing the same by clathrate complex formation with m-nitrobenzoic acid may be significantly increased by first purifying the m-nitrobenzoic acid before forming the clathrate.

2,6-Dimethylnaphthalene extraction process

In the process of preparing hydrogen by passing a gas containing carbon monoxide over one side of a membrane which transports ionic oxygen and by passing steam over the other side of said membrane whereby the steam is converted to hydrogen and the carbon monoxide is oxidized to carbon dioxide, the improvement which comprises employing as said membrane a metal salt where the metal cation is selected from metals of Groups IB, IIB, and VA, and the salt anion is an oxygen containing anion of a metal from Group VB, VIB, and VIIB.

Growing community of inventors

West Chester, PA, United States of America

Walter H Seitzer