Formulations and methods for removing oil-wet solids from aqueous streams

Abstract

The invention encompasses methods for aggregating oil-wet solids in an aqueous suspension comprising providing an aqueous suspension containing oil-wet solids, and treating the aqueous suspension with an effective amount of a formulation comprising a tunable surfactant, thereby aggregating the oil-wet solids as removable aggregates. The invention also encompasses methods for extracting bitumen from oil sands ore and systems for separating bitumen from inorganic oil sands ore.

1 . A method for aggregating oil-wet solids in an aqueous suspension, comprising:
 providing an aqueous suspension containing oil-wet solids; and   treating the aqueous suspension with an effective amount of a formulation comprising a tunable surfactant, thereby aggregating the oil-wet solids as removable aggregates.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising removing the removable aggregates. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising providing a flocculant and adding the flocculant to the aqueous suspension before, during or after the step of treating the aqueous suspension with the effective amount of the formulation comprising a tunable surfactant. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising providing a particulate formulation and adding the particulate formulation to the aqueous suspension, before, during or after the step of treating the aqueous suspension. 
     
     
         5 . A method for separating oil or solids from an aqueous slurry, comprising:
 providing an aqueous slurry comprising oil and solids;   treating the slurry with an effective amount of a formulation comprising a tunable surfactant, thereby segregating the oil or the solids from the slurry; and   physically sequestering at least one of the oil and the solids, thereby separating the oil or the solids from the slurry.   
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein the slurry is derived from spent drilling fluid. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 6 , wherein the step of physically sequestering yields a reclaimable spent drilling fluid. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 6 , wherein the step of physically sequestering yields a brine solution. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 5 , further comprising providing a particulate formulation and adding the particulate formulation to the slurry, before, during or after the step of treating the slurry. 
     
     
         10 . A method for desorbing oil from oil-wet solids, comprising:
 providing a sample comprising oil-wet solids;   treating the sample with an effective amount of a formulation comprising a tunable surfactant to segregate the oil from the oil-wet solids; and   sequestering the segregated oil, thereby separating the oil from the oil-wet solids.   
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10 , further comprising isolating the sequestered segregated oil, thereby recovering the oil. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11 , further comprising reusing the recovered oil. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein the desorbing of oil from the oil-wet solids reduces the amount of a waste material for disposal. 
     
     
         14 . A method for extracting bitumen from oil sands ore, comprising:
 providing an oil sands ore containing bitumen;   treating the oil sands ore with a hydrocarbon diluent to form a hydrocarbon-based slurry;   treating the hydrocarbon-based slurry with at least one tunable surfactant to separate the bitumen from the oil sands ore, thereby forming a bitumen-containing portion and a separate inorganic-containing portion comprising the oil sands ore; and   separating the bitumen-containing portion from the inorganic-containing portion, thereby extracting the bitumen from the oil sands ore,   wherein each step takes place at a process fluid temperature within in a lower temperature environment.   
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the process fluid temperature is between 10 and 35 degrees Centigrade. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the hydrocarbon diluent is diesel or naphtha. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the at least one tunable surfactant is an aromatic surfactant. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the at least one tunable surfactant is an aliphatic surfactant. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 14 , further comprising treating the hydrocarbon-based slurry with a second tunable surfactant, wherein the second tunable surfactant is added to the hydrocarbon-based slurry with the at least one tunable surfactant to separate the bitumen from the oil sands ore. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the at least one tunable surfactant is an aromatic surfactant and the second tunable surfactant is an aliphatic surfactant. 
     
     
         21 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the inorganic-containing portion comprises an aqueous phase containing suspended fines and a solid particulate phase containing sand. 
     
     
         22 . The method of  claim 14 , further comprising the step of mechanically agitating the hydrocarbon-based slurry before the step of treating the hydrocarbon-based slurry with the at least one tunable surfactant. 
     
     
         23 . The method of  claim 14 , further comprising applying mechanical agitation after the step of treating the hydrocarbon-based slurry with the at least one tunable surfactant. 
     
     
         24 . The method of  claim 14 , further comprising the step of adding an acid after the step of treating the hydrocarbon-based slurry with the at least one tunable surfactant. 
     
     
         25 . The method of  claim 24 , wherein the step of adding the acid adds the acid to the aqueous phase containing suspended fines. 
     
     
         26 . A system for separating bitumen from inorganic oil sands ore, comprising:
 a mixing chamber, whereby oil sands ore containing bitumen bound to inorganic oil sands ore is collectable in the mixing chamber;   an introducer in fluid communication with the mixing chamber and in fluid communication with a reservoir containing a hydrocarbon diluent, wherein the hydrocarbon diluent is flowable from the reservoir through the introducer into the mixing chamber to contact the oil sands ore;   a mechanical agitator disposed within the mixing chamber, wherein the agitation produced by the mechanical agitator mixes the hydrocarbon diluent and the oil sands to form a hydrocarbon-based slurry;   a dispenser for a tunable surfactant in fluid communication with the hydrocarbon-based slurry, wherein the tunable surfactant is flowable at the ambient temperature into the hydrocarbon-based slurry to form a treated slurry, the treated slurry comprising a first phase containing bitumen and a second phase containing inorganic oil sands ore; and   a separator adapted for separating the first phase from the second phase,   wherein each component of the system operates at a temperature within a lower process fluid temperature environment.   
     
     
         27 . The system of  claim 26 , wherein process fluid temperature is between 10 and 35 degrees Centigrade. 
     
     
         28 . The system of  claim 26 , further comprising a mixer adapted for applying mechanical agitation to the treated slurry.