Pipeline conditioning process for mined oil-sand

摘要

As-mined, naturally water-wet oil sand is mixed at the mine site with hot water and NaOH to produce a slurry containing entrained air. The slurry is pumped through a pipeline and is fed directly to a conventional gravity separation vessel. The pipeline is of sufficient length so that, in the course of being pumped therethrough, sufficient coalescence and aeration of bitumen occurs so that, when subsequently retained in the gravity separation vessel under quiescent conditions, a viable amount of the bitumen floats, forms froth, and is recovered.