Enhanced steam extraction of bitumen from oil sands

• US 10,633,593 B2
• Filed: 05/18/2017
• Issued: 04/28/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 05/26/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Dow Global Technologies LLC (Dow, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Dow Global Technologies LLC (Dow, Inc.)
• Inventors: Witham, Cole A., Mukherjee, Biplab
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Tam M
• Application Number:
  US16/096,101
• Publication Number:
  US 20190119577A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,076 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: C10G 1/04 by extraction
• CPC Class Codes: C10G 1/047 Hot water or cold water extraction processes
• CPC Class Codes: C10G 2300/80 Additives
• CPC Class Codes: E21B 43/24 using heat, e.g. steam injection
• CPC Class Codes: E21C 41/31 for oil-bearing deposits

Abstract

The present invention relates to an improved bitumen recovery process from oil sands. The oil sands may be surface mined and transported to a treatment area or may be treated directly by means of an in situ process of oil sand deposits that are located too deep for strip mining. Specifically, the present invention involves the step of treating oil sands with an ethylene oxide capped glycol ether described by the structure: RO—(CH₂CH(CH₃)O)_m(C₂H₄O)_nH wherein R is a linear, branched, cyclic alkyl, phenyl, or alkyl phenyl group of greater than 5 carbons and m and n are independently 1 to 3.

Claims

1. A method to recover bitumen comprising the step of contacting oil sands with an ethylene oxide capped glycol ether described by the following structure:

RO—

(CH₂CH(CH₃)O)_m(C₂H₄O)_nH

wherein R is a linear, branched, cyclic alkyl, phenyl, or alkyl phenyl group of greater than 5 carbons

and

m and n are independently 1 to 3

wherein the treatment is to oil sands recovered by surface mining or in situ production.

2. The method of claim 1 by surface mining comprising the steps of:

i) surface mining oil sands,

ii) preparing an aqueous slurry of the oil sands,

iii) treating the aqueous slurry with the ethylene oxide capped glycol ether,

iv) agitating the treated aqueous slurry,

v) transferring the agitated treated aqueous slurry to a separation tank,

and

vi) separating the bitumen from the aqueous portion.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein the ethylene oxide capped glycol ether is present in the aqueous slurry in an amount of from 0.01 to 10 weight percent based on the weight of the oil sands.

4. The method of claim 1 by in situ production comprising the steps of:

i) treating a subterranean reservoir of oil sands by injecting steam containing the ethylene oxide capped glycol ether into a well,

and

ii) recovering the bitumen from the well.

5. The bitumen recovery process of claim 4 wherein the concentration of the ethylene oxide capped glycol ether in the steam is in an amount of from 100 ppm to 10 weight percent.

6. The process of claim 1 wherein the ethylene oxide capped glycol ether is ethylene oxide capped n-butyl ether of propylene glycol, ethylene oxide capped n-hexyl ether of propylene glycol, or ethylene oxide capped 2-ethylhexyl ether of propylene glycol.