One of biggest challenges in the production of bitumen from the Canadian oilsands is the lack of bitumen fluidity. Depending on the origin of the oilsands derived bitumen, its viscosity is in the range of 10~2-10~4 Pas at 20 °C and its density is in the range 990-1030 kg·m~(-3) (6-12 °API). Once the bitumen is recovered, the poor fluidity remains a problem. In order to transport the bitumen by pipeline to market, the viscosity and density must be reduced to 350 cSt and 940 kg·m~(-3) (19 °API) at minimum pipeline temperature (7.5 °C).
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