Recovery of bitumen from Alberta oil sand using ultrasound irradiation

研究了低频(28℃)和高频(200 KHz)超声联合45℃和85 GHz热水处理对油砂中沥青回收的影响。用机械搅拌器对分离效率进行了比较。沥青回收试验是在氩气、空气和氮气气氛下进行的。结果表明，在85℃下，200 kHz超声波能有效地从油砂中回收沥青。对于低温(45℃)溶液，只有28 kHz的超声波才能从油砂中回收沥青，说明28 kHz的超声波能有效地将油砂聚集体分解成悬浮液。过氧化氢也被用来证实对沥青回收的积极作用。研究了超声波作用下高浓度H_2O_2(&gt；100ppm)对回收沥青的作用。过氧化氢在沥青周围形成气泡，使其在超声作用下更容易上升到溶液表面。结果表明，沥青的回收率较好。

Low (28 kHz) and high (200 kHz) frequency sonication combined with hot water treatments at 45 and 85℃ were investigated to assess the effects of different ultrasound frequencies and water temperatures on the recovery of bitumen from oil sand. A mechanical stirrer was also used to compare the efficiency of separation. Bitumen recovery tests were performed under argon, air, and nitrogen atmospheres. Sonication at 200 kHz was shown to recover bitumen effectively from oil sand at 85℃. For low temperature (45℃) solutions, only sonication at 28 kHz could recover bitumen from oil sand, demonstrating that sonication at 28 kHz can effectively breakdown the oil sand aggregates into a suspension. Hydrogen peroxide was also used to confirm the positive role for bitumen recovery. The role of highly concentrated H_2O_2 (>100 ppm) to recover bitumen during sonication was investigated. Hydrogen peroxide formed a bubble around the bitumen, which made it rise more easily to the solution surface during sonication. The result showed a good recovery rate of bitumen.