| 摘要 |
<p>The present invention relates to removing hydrophilic minerals from oil sand raw bitumen products. Water flows through a restriction in a pipe to form a vena contracta where the water velocity is high and the pressure is low. Warm bitumen product is introduced into the flowing water near the vena contracta to disperses bitumen product in water. A target downstream from the vena contracta creates high turbulence to help the transfer of hydrophilic mineral particulate from the bitumen phase to the aqueous phase. Reagents may be added to convert bi-wetted and hydrophobic minerals to become water wetted and be transfer to the aqueous phase. After that, the dispersion is agglomerated in a rotating aglomerator and then separated by a revolving apertured oleophilic screen where bitumen adheres to the screen surfaces for subsequent removal as a bitumen product whilst water and hydrophilic mineral particles pass through the screen apertures. Chemical demulsifiers may be added to the agglomerator as needed. Air is removed before a bitumen froth product is processed in the methods of present invention.</p> |
