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How is bitumen separated from sand after tar sand is mined?
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heavy oil and tar sand
Major oil fields of the Arabian-Iranian basin region.
After tar sand is excavated via surface mining, the bitumen must be separated from the sand in a mill to reach commercial quality.12
The separation process involves the following steps:
- Crushing: The mined ore is crushed to prepare it for processing.1
- Mixing: The crushed material is mixed with steam and hot water to facilitate the release of the bitumen from the sand grains.1
- Floating: The bitumen is concentrated by allowing it to float to the surface of the mixture.1
- Solvent Treatment: The concentrated bitumen is treated with a solvent to achieve final separation from any remaining sand and water.1
Once cleaned, the crude bitumen is processed in a delayed coking unit to produce lighter hydrocarbon fractions, such as naphtha, kerosene, and synthetic crude oil.12