Hydrothermal Treatment of Bitumen Froth: Impact of Mineral Solids and Water on Bitumen Properties
2021
Turuga, Sowmya | Klerk, Arno de
Hydrothermal treatment, i.e., thermal treatment of bitumen in the presence of water and solids, as a potential approach for combined froth treatment and upgrading was investigated in this work. Reactions were performed in batch reactors at 250 °C with the bitumen, water, and solid phases separated from industrially obtained bitumen froth, and the impact of the presence or absence of water and/or solids on the bitumen conversion was studied. Statistical analysis of bitumen properties revealed that the hydrothermal treatment of the bitumen froth at 250 °C did not lead to upgrading of the bitumen. Treatment at the conditions used in this study was beneficial only when the bitumen was converted on its own. Water and/or mineral solids contributed to an increase in viscosity, which was accompanied by an increase in free radical content. These observations were tentatively explained based on the generation of free radicals by redox reactions and heavier product formation promoted by free radical addition reactions. While the treatment did not significantly impact the density of bitumen, changes in the H/C ratio, n-heptane insoluble content, and metal content of bitumen were noted. The total acid number (TAN) of bitumen increased in the presence of water and mineral solids. Base-catalyzed hydrolysis of esters and anhydrides in bitumen might be responsible for the increase in TAN, and the solids and water appeared to promote these reactions.
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