Literature Review of Diluted Bitumen (Dilbit)

The growth in oil production in North America is due primarily to the increase in production and distribution of Canadian oil sands products. Several recent spills of oil sands products (e.g., diluted bitumen (dilbit)) have demonstrated that they behave differently than conventional crude oil when spilled. In order to better understand next steps in response, an in-depth literature review of dilbit research was performed to determine gaps and identify needed research. There have been many studies on oil research. Twelve studies from 1992 to 2020 were selected and reviewed. These studies were chosen because they either provide the latest understanding of dilbit gained from actual spill recovery (EPA, 2013; Brown, 1992); are the most in-depth studies of research on dilbit (Ortmann, 2020; Stoyanovich, 2019; RDC, 2018; Yang, 2016; King, 2014; Canada, 2013; SL Ross, 2013) or include innovative development or testing (RDC, 2019; RDC, 2017; Zhou, 2015). Five of the studies covered dilbit interaction in salt water, six studies involved fresh water, and one study performed testing in both salt and fresh water.