A Comparison of the Properties of Diluted Bitumen Crudes with other Oils

A Comparison of the Properties of Diluted Bitumen

Crudes with other Oils

POLARIS Applied Sciences, Inc. (2013)

Abstract

Diluted bitumen (dilbit) crude oil represents a range of oils produced from bitumen extracted from oil

sands in Western, Canada. As these reserves are increasingly in demand, more transportation options

are being sought to deliver the product to refineries both in North America and abroad. Concerns over

potential spills have been the point of discussion with questions raised about applicable

countermeasures and limitations, the possible fate and behavior of these oils, and environmental

effects. Limited related research has been conducted on these oils over the past 30 years although

recent testing was completed in 2013. Laboratory and mesoscale weathering experiments show dilbits

have physical properties very much aligned with a range of intermediate fuel oils and other heavy crude

oils and generally, depending the initial blend and the state of weathering, and are not characterized as

nonfloating oils. This paper provides a review of dilbit oil properties, applicable countermeasures, and

potential fate and behavior for spills to land, freshwater, and marine settings and compares these oils to

other oil commodities transported and used over the past decades.

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