Hydrocarbon-containing feedstocks are processed to produce useful intermediates or products, such as fuels. For example, systems are described that can process a petroleum-containing feedstock, such as oil sands, oil shale, tar sands, and other naturally-occurring and synthetic materials that include both hydrocarbon components and solid matter, to obtain a useful intermediate or product.

The invention relates to a device for extracting carbon-containing substances, in particular bitumen, from oil sands. The device comprises two separate steam circuits. The first steam circuit is a closed steam circuit, in which a steam turbine (3) is operating. The second steam circuit is an open steam circuit and is used for extracting carbon-containing substances, in particular bitumen, from oil sands. The steam turbine (3) comprises an intermediate steam removal facility (4), wherein the intermediate steam is used to evaporate the water/vapor in the second steam circuit via a heat exchanger. The invention further relates to a method for extracting carbon-containing substances by means of the previously described device.

A water-based extraction process for extracting bitumen from mined oil is provided comprising providing a water-based mixture containing bitumen; and introducing nanobubbles to the mixture to attach to bitumen and, thereby, extract the bitumen from the water-based mixture, wherein a nanobubble has a diameter of less than 5,000 nm.

Methods of producing organic materials, and in particular methods of producing petroleum materials and organic compounds such as aromatic acids, phenols, and aliphatic poly-carboxylic acids using an oxidative hydrothermal dissolution (OHD) process are disclosed.

A method for processing a froth treatment tailings separated from a bitumen froth produced in a process for recovering bitumen from oil sand ore, includes subjecting the froth treatment tailings to a first solvent extraction process to produce a first extract including bitumen, and a first raffinate, subjecting the first raffinate to a separation process to produce a fine mineral material fraction including fine solid mineral material having a particle size less than 44 microns and a coarse mineral material fraction including a coarse mineral material having a particle size equal to or greater than 44 microns, subjecting the coarse mineral material fraction to a froth flotation process to produce a heavy mineral concentrate and a coarse mineral material tailings, and subjecting the heavy mineral concentrate to a second solvent extraction process to produce a second extract including bitumen and a second raffinate including a debitumenized heavy mineral concentrate.

Process for the production of bio-oil from biomass comprising the following steps: (a) feeding a biomass to a liquefaction reactor, said biomass having a protein content higher than or equal to 1% by weight, preferably ranging from 5% by weight to 50% by weight, with respect to the weight (dry weight) of said biomass, a lipid content higher than or equal to 1% by weight, preferably ranging from 5% by weight to 60% by weight, with respect to the weight (dry weight) of said biomass, a pH higher than or equal to 4, preferably ranging from 4.5 to 10; (b) subjecting said biomass to liquefaction operating at a temperature ranging from 220 C. to 350 C., preferably ranging from 230 C. to 310 C., even more preferably ranging from 240 C. to 300 C., at a pressure higher than the vapour pressure of water at the temperature in which said liquefaction is carried out, for a time ranging from 30 minutes to 300 minutes, preferably ranging from 50 minutes to 270 minutes, obtaining a mixture comprising an oily phase consisting of bio-oil, a solid phase, a gaseous phase and an aqueous phase. The bio-oil (or bio-crude) thus obtained can be advantageously used as such, or, after optional upgrading treatments, in the production of biofuels or biocombustibles that can, in turn, be used as such or in a mixture with other fuels, for motor vehicles. Or, said bio-oil (or bio-crude) can be used in a mixture with fossil fuels (fuel oil, coal, etc.) for the generation of electric energy or heat.

Modified polysaccharides, acrylamide copolymers, water-soluble amino acid copolymers, and combinations thereof are described for uses including flocculation of solids, particularly flocculation of soil in an agricultural settings and clarification of process waters from oil-sands mining operations. Also described are methods of preparing selected amino acid copolymers and modified polysaccharides.

Hydrocarbon-containing feedstocks are processed to produce useful intermediates or products, such as fuels. For example, systems are described that can process a petroleum-containing feedstock, such as oil sands, oil shale, tar sands, and other naturally-occurring and synthetic materials that include both hydrocarbon components and solid matter, to obtain a useful intermediate or product.

Techniques described herein relate to producing bitumen while monitoring various aspects of paraffinic froth treatment (PFT) operations using near infrared (NIR) spectrometry and chemometric analysis to continuously monitor and enable measurements of physical and chemical properties of various streams in PFT operations, which can be done in real time online and can facilitate process control. NIR spectrometry can be used to acquire NIR spectra measurements from a PFT process stream and the NIR spectra measurements and chemometric analysis can, in turn, be used to determine composition characteristics of the PFT process stream as well as operational features of a PFT process unit. For example, NIR spectra can be used to determine upward velocity in a PFT settler to facilitate settler operation for diluted bitumen quality control. NIR spectra can be obtained using reflectance or transmission probes which can be positioned within particular phase of a stratified PFT process stream.

A process of separating a suspension of particulate solids dispersed in an aqueous liquid into a liquid portion and a solids portion by transferring the suspension by flowing it to a deposition area, subjecting the suspension to a treatment system during the transfer, and at the deposition area allowing the suspension to separate into the liquid portion and the solids portion, in which the treatment system contains (a) a water soluble polymer; and (b) a chemical agent selected from at least one of an oxidising agent, a reducing agent, and/or a free radical agent.
The treatment system enables a solids portion to be deposited and formed by an initial rigidification of the solids accompanied by an initial release of fluid, followed by a further consolidation of the rigidified solids with the further release of liquid.