Patent ID: 9550944
Date: 2017-01-24
CPC Classifications: C10G

Claim:
1. A process for recovery of bitumen from an oil sand, the process comprising, in the following order: (a) mixing an oil sand with a diluent capable of reducing a viscosity and density of the bitumen contained in the oil sand, in order to obtain a first mixture, which is a slurry comprising diluted bitumen; (b) mixing the slurry with a basic aqueous solution (BAS) having an ionic strength within the range of 0.5-1, optionally comprising a salt to increase an ionic strength thereof, wherein the basic aqueous solution is capable of removing the diluted bitumen from the oil sand, in order to obtain a second mixture of a BAS slurry which is separated into (c) separating the liquid phase comprising the diluted bitumen from the BAS-slurry; and (d) recovering, from the liquid phase separated in the separating (c), a removed diluted bitumen contained therein.