Effect of Solid Wettability on Processability of Oil Sands Ores

Abstract

The wettability of mineral solids and bitumen isolated from nine different Athabasca oil sands ores was determined to establish its role in water-based extraction of bitumen from oil sands. The processability of oil sands ores was determined using Denver flotation tests. The contact angle of a water drop on a bitumen-coated silica wafer was measured using the sessile drop method. For fine solids (<45 μm), the water drop penetration time was measured on a surface of a compressed disk of fine solids. For coarse solids (106−250 μm), the wettability of solids was evaluated by determining the partitioning of the solids between an oil and a water phase. It was found that the processability of different oil sands ores varies significantly in term of bitumen recovery, bitumen froth quality, and bitumen froth morphology. The wettability of bitumen, on the other hand, does not significantly depend on the source of oil sands ores. However, the wettability of the fine and coarse mineral solids is ore-dependent, which...