Reducing Diluent Cost in Dilbit Preparation
Why are diluents needed?Bitumen produced from the oil sands is rich in long-chain hydrocarbon molecules. The long hydrocarbon chains are the main reason for the high viscosity of the bitumen. In order to transport bitumen through pipelines, its viscosity must be lowered to meet pipeline specifications. One treatment that is commonly used to lower the viscosity is to blend bitumen with a less viscous diluent producing what is known as Dilbit. However, the addition of diluent adds significant cost affecting the profit margins of the bitumen product.How to reduce costs?To reduce the costs associated with the diluent, part of the diluent can be substituted by a second, cheaper, diluent such as b...
