Biodiesel-Assisted Ambient Aqueous Bitumen Extraction (BA3BE) from Athabasca Oil Sands

The water-based extraction process has been almost exclusively used in the current industry for Athabasca oil sands extraction to produce bitumen and heavy oil. However, the current method is facing various challenges, primarily including high energy intensity, poor processability with poor-quality ores, large consumption of fresh water, and concerns on considerable volume of tailings. Although the technology of using nonaqueous solvent as extraction medium has numerous advantages, problems such as solvent loss to tailings and high capital/operating costs are difficult to address. A biodiesel-assisted ambient aqueous bitumen extraction (BA(3)BE) process has been herein proposed as an alternative to water-based and solvent-based extraction processes. The results showed a significant improvement in both froth quality and bitumen recovery (increased from similar to 10% to similar to 80% with biodiesel addition) for processing poor-quality ores at ambient temperature (25 degrees C), which is much lower than the temperatures used in the current industrial practice (40-55 degrees C). The aqueous tailings generated in the BA(3)BE process were found to feature faster settling and enhanced densification, which is favorable for recovering processing water and improving land reclamation. Furthermore, the innovative BA(3)BE extraction process requires similar facilities and procedures as the current industrial processes, which can be considered as an advantage for commercialization.