Asphaltene Precipitation in Paraffinic Froth Treatment: Effects of Solvent and Temperature

In surface-mined oil sands operations, bitumen is extracted from oil sand ore using a warm-water extraction process that produces bitumen froth typically containing 60 wt % bitumen, 30 wt % water, and 10 wt % mineral solids. The bitumen froth is then cleaned in a froth treatment process, in which the froth is diluted with solvent to enhance the separation of bitumen from water and solids. In paraffinic solvent froth treatment, light alkanes,...