Petroleum industry, suspensions

The petroleum industry suspension applications and problems have in common the same basic principles of colloid science that govern the nature, stability, and properties of suspensions. The widespread importance of suspensions in general and scientific interest in their formation, stability, and properties have precipitated a wealth of published literature on the subject. This chapter provides an introduction intended to complement the other chapters on suspensions in this book. A good starting point for further basic information, although focused on clays, is van Olphen s classic book, An Introduction to Clay Colloid Chemistry (I). There are several other good books on suspensions (2, 3), and most good colloid chemistry texts contain introductions to suspensions and some of their properties (4-8). 

Suspensions are created and must be processed during the application of the hot water flotation process to Canada s Athabasca oil sands, a large-scale commercial application of mined oil sands technology. These suspensions are more than just two-phase dispersions, being comprised of not only solids and water but also dispersed oil and gas. As such, they form interesting petroleum industry suspensions. A review of the hot water flotation process is presented with an emphasis on the occurrence, nature, and properties of suspensions. 

At the bottom of the primary separation vessels, successfully sedimented tailings are withdrawn, combined with other tailings, and transported to a tailings pond. Tailings ponds form other examples of important petroleum industry suspensions and are discussed in Chapter 14. 

J Mikula, VA Munoz. Characterization of emulsions and suspensions in the petroleum industry using cryo-SEM and CLSM. Colloids Surfaces A Physicochem Eng Aspects, 174(1—2) 23—36, 2000. 

Suspensions are created at an early stage of processes used to separate valuable minerals or oil by froth flotation (Chapter 10). Suspensions are also quite important and widespread in the petroleum industry (Chapter 11) and, like emulsions and foams, suspensions may be encountered throughout each of the stages of petroleum recovery and processing (in reservoirs, drilling fluids, production fluids, process-... 

Table ll.1 Some emulsions, foams, and suspensions in the petroleum industry. ... 

Schramm, L.L. (Ed.), Suspensions Fundamentals and Applications in the Petroleum Industry, American Chemical Society Washington, 1996. 

Shaw, R.C. Schramm, L.L. Czamecki, J. Suspensions in the Hot Water Flotation Process for Canadian Oil Sands in Suspensions, Fundamentals and Applications in the Petroleum Industry, Schramm, L.L. (Ed.), American Chemical Society Washington, 1996, pp. 639-675. 

His research interests have included many aspects of colloid and interface science applied to the petroleum industry, including research into mechanisms of processes for the improved recovery of light, heavy, or bituminous crude oils, such as in situ foam, polymer or surfactant flooding, and surface hot water flotation from oil sands. These mostly experimental investigations have involved the formation and stability of dispersions (foams, emulsions, and suspensions) and their flow properties, elec-trokinetic properties, interfacial properties, phase attachments, and the reactions and interactions of surfactants in solution. 

Overall, the book illustrates how to make and use desirable suspensions and how to approach destabilizing, or preventing the occurrence of undesirable suspensions. It also completes a natural trilogy, serving as a companion volume to my earlier books Emulsions Fundamentals and Applications in the Petroleum Industry and Foams Fundamentals and Applications in the Petroleum Industry, both published by the American Chemical Society, Washington, DC. 

This chapter introduces the occurrence, properties, and importance of suspensions in the petroleum industry. The principles of colloid science are central to an understanding of these suspensions. These principles may be applied to suspensions in different ways to achieve quite different results a stable useful suspension in one application and the destabilization of an undesirable suspension in another. 

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