Removal of fine solids from bitumen by hetero-aggregation and magnetic separation using surface-modified magnetite nanoparticles. Part 2: Role of surface modification

Stearylamine acetate (SAA) modified magnetite nanoparticles (MNPs) have been previously proven to significantly improve the efficiency of fine solids removal from cyclohexane-diluted non-aqueous extracted (NAE) bitumen following magnetic separation. In this work, asphaltene-modified magnetite nanoparticles (Asp-MNPs) were prepared, and their ability to remove fine solids from NAE bitumen was evaluated. The influence of the surface modification with SAA or asphaltene on MNPs in their interactions with NAE fine solids was studied through quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation monitoring and atomic force microscopy studies. It was demonstrated that modification by SAA increased the adhesion interaction between the MNPs and NAE fine solids through a bridging effect. The use of an external magnetic field also strengthened the hetero-aggregation between surface-modified MNPs and the NAE fine solids. Though the asphaltene modification of MNPs resulted in a repulsive behavior in the interaction between MNPs and NAE fine solids due to steric effect, the applied external magnetic field could drive the Asp-MNPs together and induce the bridging among the Asp-MNPs through an interdigitation process, and the NAE fine solids could be captured through a sweeping effect by the networked Asp-MNPs.