Coagulant-Flocculant Chemistry of SAGD Emulsion Breaker (EB) - Reverse Emulsion Breaker (REB) and Warm Lime Softener (WLS)****

蒸汽辅助重力泄油（SAGD）是一种热强化稠油开采方法，在加拿大阿尔伯塔省的油砂中广泛应用。沥青水分离和蒸汽生成的采出水处理是油砂SAGD开采的两个关键工序。复杂的乳剂通常在SAGD操作的沥青萃取中形成，必须经过处理以分离沥青和水。这些稳定的乳剂的出现给石油运输或催化中毒带来了挑战，因此需要不断寻找更有效、更可持续的方法来处理和破坏这些乳剂。因此，在生产液到达分离容器之前，通常采用添加破乳剂（EB）、反破乳剂（REB）和稀释剂等试剂的化学处理方法。温热石灰软化剂（WLS）也被用来去除硬度和微量油从水预定用作锅炉给水。对乳化、破乳、添加这些化学物质的影响以及沥青/水界面特性的基本理解和表征对于作业者更好地控制化学处理过程至关重要，从而实现更有效的油水分离，并为进一步处理提供更好的产出水质量。因此，拟议的NSERC合作研究与发展（CRD）计划将在混凝-絮凝剂化学领域进行全面的基础和应用研究。我们建议系统地表征乳液和WLS颗粒的物理化学性质，并提供更好的理解EB， REB，在SAGD热原位操作中使用的混凝剂和絮凝剂特种化学品的基本原理。该研究将有助于更好地了解SAGD乳剂的界面特性，从而预测SAGD乳剂的聚结机制，促进下一代SAGD脱油装置的设计。* * * *

Steam-assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) is a thermally enhanced heavy oil recovery method that is broadly practiced for bitumen extraction from oil sands in Alberta, Canada. Bitumen-water separation and produced water treatment for steam generation are two critical processes in SAGD operations for oil sands extraction. Complex emulsions are normally formed in bitumen extraction in SAGD operations which have to be treated to separate the bitumen and water. The occurrence of these stable emulsions induces challenges associated with oil transportation or catalytic poisoning, enforcing a constant need to find more efficient and sustainable methods to handle and break such emulsions. Therefore, chemical treatment by adding reagents such as emulsion breaker (EB), reverse emulsion breaker (REB), and diluent has been normally applied to the production fluid before it reaches the separation vessel. Warm lime softener (WLS) is also used to remove hardness and trace oil from water destined for use as boiler feed water. The characterization and an improved fundamental understanding of the emulsification, demulsification, the impact of the addition of these chemicals as well as the interfacial properties of bitumen/water interfaces would be critical for the operators to better control the chemical treatment process to achieve a more efficient oil/water separation and better quality of the produced water for further treatment. Therefore, the proposed NSERC Collaborative Research and Development (CRD) Program will conduct a comprehensive fundamental and applied research in the area of coagulant-flocculant chemistry. We propose to systematic characterize the physiochemical properties of the emulsions and WLS particle, and to provide an improved understanding of the fundamentals of EB, REB, coagulant and flocculant specialty chemicals used in thermal in-situ operations of SAGD. This research will provide a better understanding of interfacial properties, leading to a predictable coalescence mechanism in SAGD emulsions, facilitating the design of next-generation SAGD deoiling unit operations. ****