The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of solvent addition to bitumen froth on the wettability of froth solids. The wettability of solids determines the transportation/partitioning of the solids between phases, which in turn affects the solids and water rejection in a Clark hot water extraction process (CHWE). The impact of solvents treatment on the wettability of froth solids was studied using both a model system and a real bitumen froth system. The vulnerabilities of four kinds of model minerals to hydrocarbon contamination/wettability alteration in different solvents were compared and discussed by considering solvent composition and mineral types. The wettability of solids extracted from the industrial froth using different solvents was also compared. The XRD analysis on these solids confirmed the partitioning behavior of solids observed in model solids system. The results from this study indicate that the composition of paraffinic/aromatic solvent in an industrial froth treatment process could be tailor-optimized to achieve a better solids/water rejection. / Materials Engineering

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