| Recently, a commercially available biodegradable polymer, ethyl cellulose (EC) has been found to be effective in destabilizing water-in-diluted bitumen emulsions. In this study, the role of hydroxyl content and molecular weight of ECs and the effect of mixing and operating temperature in demulsifiation process were studied. In addition, the behavior of EC at the water-oil interface and changes in surface properties of the protective interfacial films with EC addition were investigated. Finally, the role of EC in bitumen extraction was explored.;In this communication, Langmuir trough isotherms demonstrated the ability of EC to soften, weaken and finally displace the interfacial film with progressive increase in EC addition. EC of an intermediate molecular weight operating bitumen-froth cleaning at high temperature was found to be most effective. Furthermore, the bitumen froth quality was improved greatly by the addition of EC-in-toluene solutions during a flotation process without scarifying bitumen recovery. |
