Cavitation-Assisted Transformations in Bitumen Processing: A Review

Petroleum refineries are one of the largest greenhouse gas (GHG)-emitting industrial sectors. One of the ways by which refineries can reduce emissions is by reducing the consumption of utilities (heat and steam) required in the refineries or by increasing the throughput of the refinery. Process intensification is one way by which throughput can be increased, and also process heat requirements can be reduced. Cavitation-driven process intensification has created many opportunities in the field of nanoparticle synthesis, wastewater treatment, water disinfection, crystallization, depolymerization, extraction, and emulsification. In recent years, cavitation-assisted bitumen processing has been explored in petroleum refineries. The present Review focuses on the studies related to cavitationally driven transformations in bitumen processing. Case studies have been critically reviewed in various aspects related to the use of cavitation in bitumen recovery from sands, bitumen viscosity reduction, bitumen desulfurization, improving compatibility of rubberized bitumen, bitumen nanoemulsion, and bitumen wastewater treatment. The present Review would be a ready reckoner highlighting the relative advantages and the current status of cavitation-assisted applications of bitumen. This Review also highlights the research gap and proposes future work in the area of cavitation technology for bitumen processing.