THE LONG-TERM OBJECTIVE OF THIS RESEARCH AND DEVELOP- MENT WORK IS TO PRODUCE A DEVICE THAT WILL REMOVE, ON LINE, OIL FROM OIL/WATER EMULSIONS PRODUCED AS WASTE FROM HOT WATER OR STEAM PROCESSED IN TAR SANDS RECOVERY OPERATIONS.

THE LONG-TERM OBJECTIVE OF THIS RESEARCH AND DEVELOP- MENT WORK IS TO PRODUCE A DEVICE THAT WILL REMOVE, ON LINE, OIL FROM OIL/WATER EMULSIONS PRODUCED AS WASTE FROM HOT WATER OR STEAM PROCESSED IN TAR SANDS RECOVERY OPERATIONS. A NEW WAY OF USING ULTRASOUND TO BREAK OIL/WATER EMULSIONS AND CONCENTRATE THE OIL DROPLETS THUS FORMED HAS BEEN DEVELOPED. TWO DIFFERENT METHODS, ONE ELECTRICAL AND THE OTHER ELECTROMECHANICAL, HAVE BEEN DEVELOPED TO MOVE THE OIL DROPS. PHASE I WILL DETERMINE WHICH OF THE TWO APPROACHES IS MOST SUITABLE FOR SCALING, WILL COLLECT DATA THAT WILL BE USED TO SCALE THE SELECTED DEVICE TO INDUSTRIAL CAPACITIES, AND THEN WILL DESIGN A PROTOTYPE SEPARATOR. IN PHASE II, THE DESIGN WILL BE TURNED INTO A FUNCTIONING PROTO- TYPE THAT WILL BE TESTED AT INDUSTRIAL CAPACITIES. SUCCESSFUL COMPLETION OF THE OIL/WATER SEPARATOR WILL AID THE RECOVERY OF OIL FROM PROCESS WATER AND WILL HELP RETURN CLEANER WATER TO THE ENVIRONMENT.