Viscous characteristics of a Utah tar sand bitumen

Abstract The viscous behaviour of an extracted tar sand bitumen has been experimentally examined and the results summarized in this Paper. The material studied was from the Asphalt Ridge, Utah area. The viscosity of the bitumen has been determined as a function of temperature (293–422 K), toluene (solvent) content (0–10%), composition (0–14.6% asphaltenes), oxidation and shear history. In all cases studied, the Arrhenius plots were significantly non-linear at temperatures s> 373 K, with viscous behaviour becoming less sensitive to toluene content with increasing temperature. Low temperature behaviour was strongly dependent on toluene content. The presence of asphaltenes in the bitumen was shown to be a strong viscosity enhancer. Oxidation and shear history were also shown to measurably increase the bitumen viscosity.