On bitumen liberation from oil sands

摘要

Laboratory experiments were performed to investigate the effect of pH on (a) bitumen film thinning and film rupture process (b) bitumen/water contact line displacement and (c) the static contact angle of bitumen on a glass surface in the presence of an aqueous medium. A coated bitumen film on a glass surface was found to thin down and rupture sponta- neously when a few drops of water having a pH of 11 was placed on it. In another experiment, a bitumen coated glass plate was submerged in water.