Bitumen recovery from surface sources

3 Bitumen Recovery from Surface Sources 5.3.1 Introduction 

Bitumen recovery from surface sources, such as tar sands, their tailings, shale oil, and surface spills ranges from thermal (Bouck, U.S. Patent No. 4,412,585), steam assisted (Widmyer, U.S. Patent No. 4,34,812 Needham, U.S. Patent No. 4,068,717), chemical (Hardin, U.S. Patent No. 4,110,195 Mitchell, U.S. Patent No. 4,410,551 Miller, U.S. Patent No. 4,470,899 Graham et ah, U.S. Patent No. 4,722,782 Taylor, U.S. Patent No. 4,822,481 Graham et ah, U.S. Patent No. 5,143,598), and surfactant-based methods (Merchant Jr. and Smith Jr., U.S. Patent No. 4,407,707  

1 Extraction of Heavy Crude Oil from Standard Sand 

Most of the oil that settled with sand on the top of the sand pack was extracted by heating it with water. Also, this oily fraction definitely has a higher density than the rest of the crude oil, indicating the possible presence of heavy metals, such as vanadium, nickel, or sulfur. Also, the oily portion that separated after heating which rose to the water surface could be crude residuum. The heavier oily material indicates a portion that is complexed with heavy metals and sulfur. 

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