Effect of addition of dodecyl trimethyl ammonium bromide surfactant toward recovery of bitumen from asbuton with modified hot water process method

Abstract

Asbuton is a natural asphalt that contained in rock deposits in Buton Island, South East Sulawesi. Asbuton used as an alternative of oil asphalt by separating bitumen from its minerals. The study was conducted to measure bitumen to improve bitumen with the addition of surfactant. In this study, the surfactant used is Dodecyl Trimethyl Ammonium Bromide (DTAB), which acts as a wetting agent to decrease the surface tension between bitumen and minerals. Bitumen was separated from asbuton using a modified hot water process that involved mixing and digesting process. Both of these processes performed on a stirred disc turbine tank and four baffles. The process of mixing preheating by stirring asbuton with diesel oil at 250 rpm for 30 minutes. Then the diesel-asbuton mixture was digested with surfactant Dodecyl Trimethyl Ammonium Bromide (DTAB) and Sodium Hydroxide and mixed at 1500 rpm for 30 minutes. The surfactant concentration used are 0.125%, 0.25%, and 0.375% and the temperature of 70°C, 80°C. The highest result obtained when the surfactant concentration is 0.25% and temperature of 80°C with 56, 46% recovery.