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

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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.