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Effect of Solid Contamination on Stability of Model Oil-Water Emulsions
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- Author / Creator
- Khademi, Sima
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Stabilization of water droplets in froth treatment process results in poor de-watering efficiency and potentially affects final bitumen quality. The purpose of this research is to study the effect of solid contamination by diluted bitumen on water droplet stabilization in water in oil emulsions. To model froth solids different types of minerals were ground to similar sizes and exposed to solutions of different bitumen concentrations as encountered in froth cleaning process. Complementary surface characterization techniques were used to characterize surface composition. It was revealed that all type of minerals were capable of adsorbing bitumen components when the solid surface was dry. To mimic the cleaning process, contaminated solids were added to the diluted bitumen and water so that the emulsion formation could be studied and linked with surface properties of solids. The results from this study indicated that partially hydrophobic kaolinite, siderite and silica could stabilize water droplets very well.
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- Subjects / Keywords
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- Graduation date
- Fall 2012
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- Type of Item
- Thesis
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- Degree
- Master of Science
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- License
- This thesis is made available by the University of Alberta Libraries with permission of the copyright owner solely for non-commercial purposes. This thesis, or any portion thereof, may not otherwise be copied or reproduced without the written consent of the copyright owner, except to the extent permitted by Canadian copyright law.