Patent ID: 9469814
Filing Date: 2016-10-18
CPC Classification: C10G

Claim Text:
1. A process of extracting bitumen from oil sand ores, comprising: determining a dosage (wt %) of caustic necessary to maximize the bitumen recovery for the oil sand ore to be processed when using caustic alone as a processing aid; determining an amount of caustic (wt %) and an amount of sodium citrate (wt %) which yields substantially the same bitumen recovery or greater as the dosage (wt %) of caustic alone; mixing the oil sand ore with heated water to produce an oil sand slurry; and adding the amounts of caustic (wt %) and sodium citrate (wt %) before, during or after mixing the oil sand ore with heated water to condition the oil sand slurry and to improve bitumen recovery from the oil sand ore; wherein the sum of the amounts of caustic (wt %) and sodium citrate (wt %) is equal to or less than the dosage (wt %) of caustic alone.