Bitumen is a highly viscous form of petroleum which is widely produced in the oil and gas industry. Large natural deposits of bitumen may be found, for example, in Canadian oil sands. The high viscosity of bitumen is at least partly due to the asphaltenes content of bitumen, which can complicate the recovery and transportation of bitumen. Increasing energy demands worldwide mean that accessible heavy or viscous oils, such as bitumen, will become increasingly important sources of energy moving forward, despite the challenges associated with recovery and transportation.
Bitumen is commonly transported by either rail or pipeline infrastructure. However, the sticky and high viscosity nature of bitumen presents challenges in both cases, complicating removal of bitumen from rail cars and reducing pipeline flowability requiring the use of costly diluent.
A need exists for methods and/or apparatuses for preparing bitumen for transport given the increased demand for energy.