Demulsification of Water-in-Oil Emulsions Stabilized By Asphaltenes

Bitumen is a chemically rich mixture of hundreds of chemicals that can be separated into four classes based on solubility and polarity: saturates, aromatics, and resins (together known as maltenes) and asphaltenes. The asphaltenes are insoluble in the maltenes, but they are kept in solution as a suspension stabilized by the resins. During processing of bitumen from tar sands, water can be incorporated due to high-shear mixing and the resulting water droplets are stabilized by a resin and asphaltene film which forms at the oil/water interface. A critical step in the processing of bitumen is then to break this film to enable the release of water from the oil. These studies aim to investigate the stability of the interfacial film that forms between aqueous and organic media in the presence of asphaltenes and/or resins. The interfacial films are subjected to chemical additives to understand how water-in-bitumen emulsions can be broken during processing to yield water-free oil.