METHOD OF EXTRACTING AND RECOVERING BITUMEN FROM BITUMEN FOAM AND COUNTERCURRENT DECANTATION TECHNIQUE INVOLVED Russian patent published in 2003 - IPC

FIELD: petroleum processing. SUBSTANCE: bitumen is extracted from bitumen foam processing waste obtained from tar sand utilizing aqueous process requiring no soda ash. In order to remove precipitated asphaltenes, water, and solids, bitumen foam is treated with paraffin solvent in countercurrent decantation circuit to give diluted bitumen product with final water and solids content from about 0.01 to about 1 wt %. Such product can be directly conveyed into hydrocracking process. Invention also proposes a method for biological treatment of bitumen foam treatment waste reducing volume of waste and by-products. EFFECT: avoided formation of sludge waste owing to dispersing clay. 36 cl, 1 dwg, 4 tbl, 2 ex