CN212687967U

CN212687967U - System for extracting asphalt from natural asphalt

Info

Publication number: CN212687967U
Application number: CN201790001781.3U
Authority: CN
Inventors: 汤宜艕
Original assignee: Hong Kong Changlong Group Co ltd
Current assignee: Hong Kong Changlong Group Co ltd
Priority date: 2017-07-31
Filing date: 2017-12-20
Publication date: 2021-03-12
Anticipated expiration: 2027-12-20
Also published as: WO2019027314A1

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to a system for extracting asphalt from natural asphalt. The system of the present disclosure comprises a breaking system (100) for breaking the natural asphalt, a mixing system (200) connectable to the breaking system, the mixing system (200) for mixing the broken natural asphalt with a demulsifier to form a homogeneous mixture, and a separation system (300) connectable to the mixing system for separating the crude asphalt from the homogeneous mixture. The present application also discloses a method of extracting asphalt from natural asphalt, the method comprising crushing natural asphalt in a crusher, mixing the crushed natural asphalt with a demulsifier in a mixer connectable to the crusher to form a homogeneous mixture, and separating asphalt from the homogeneous mixture in at least one thickener.

Description

System for extracting asphalt from natural asphalt

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to extraction of bitumen. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to a system for extracting bitumen (bittmen) from natural bitumen (natural asphal).

Background

Bitumen is a mixture of hydrocarbons, usually obtained as a by-product by refining crude oil, or obtained from natural deposits (e.g. natural bitumen). Bitumen is an oil-based substance that, together with other substances (such as sand and stones), is naturally present in the ore of natural bitumen. Bitumen is used mainly in road construction, also in coatings for buildings, waterproofing, roofing applications, paints and enamels, or in electrical products.

Various methods have been adopted and applied to meet the continuing and extensive demand for bitumen. One conventional method of demulsifying bitumen from natural bitumen is to use water. Natural asphalt is mixed with water to form a mixture of oil, water and sediment. Water and sediment components of the natural asphalt are removed, and an oil component of the natural asphalt is obtained in the form of asphalt. Although proven effective, this process has its drawbacks because of the large amount of water required in the demulsification of bitumen. Furthermore, the purity of the bitumen is affected because the process lacks a suitable method of ensuring that the bitumen obtained from the natural bitumen is properly removed from the mixture

A second method for breaking the asphalt (bittmen) from the surface of asphalt (asphal) involves soaking the surface mixture in a limonene solvent at room temperature. The separation process is then carried out, wherein the solvent and bitumen are separated from the mixture using a centrifuge. The process further comprises repeated solvent washes to remove the solvent and obtain the pitch. However, the cost of performing this method is high. In addition, the method is only applicable to obtaining asphalt from an asphalt (asphal) surface such as a road surface, and does not discuss a method of extracting asphalt from natural asphalt.

Another method for removing organic deposits, particularly deposits containing asphaltene compounds, from surfaces is by dissolving the deposits in a solvent consisting of an aromatic hydrocarbon and an amine, as described in US 3914132 a. Furthermore, US 4108681a describes a method for dissolving bituminous materials by using a liquid aromatic solvent and an additive soluble in the liquid aromatic solvent. However, the use of solvents discussed in both documents leads to an increase in production costs, since the solvents are relatively expensive. It is also desirable to recover the solvent after completion of the demulsification process so that the solvent can be recycled to minimize solvent loss and consumption.

Thus, as is apparent from the above, a number of processes have been employed to meet the large demands on bitumen in different industries. However, the method as described above has limitations, and thus there is a need for a new method for extracting asphalt from natural asphalt that overcomes the above limitations to ensure stable and reliable production of high-quality asphalt.

SUMMERY OF THE UTILITY MODEL

It is an object of the present disclosure to provide an efficient system and method for extracting bitumen from natural bitumen.

It is another object of the present disclosure to provide a system and method for extracting demulsifiers from tailings to minimize the waste of water and demulsifiers.

These and other objects of the present disclosure are achieved by using a system for extracting bitumen from natural bitumen, wherein the system comprises a breaking system for breaking up natural bitumen, a mixing system connectable to the breaking system for mixing broken up natural bitumen with a demulsifier to form a homogeneous mixture, and a separation system connectable to the mixing system for agitating the homogeneous mixture to separate coarse bitumen from the homogeneous mixture.

The system is also capable of extracting demulsifiers from tailings of the homogeneous mixture, thereby reusing the demulsifiers.

Also disclosed is a method of extracting bitumen from natural asphalt, the method comprising breaking natural asphalt in a breaker, mixing the broken natural asphalt with a breaker in a mixer to form a homogeneous mixture, and agitating the homogeneous mixture in at least one thickener to separate coarse asphalt from tailings of the homogeneous mixture. The crude bitumen extracted from the homogeneous mixture may be refined by a desalting process and a distillation process.

The application also discloses a method for extracting demulsifier from the tailings of the homogeneous mixture, so that the final oil and water content in the solid tailings for disposal does not exceed 2% and 40% of the weight of the dry solid tailings respectively. The extracted demulsifier can be reused to reduce the overall costs involved and to minimise waste.

Brief description of the drawings

Fig. 1 is an overview of a crushing system for crushing natural asphalt to extract asphalt according to the present embodiment.

Fig. 2 shows a mixing system for mixing the crushed natural asphalt with the demulsifier in this embodiment.

Fig. 3 shows a separation system for separating coarse asphalt from crushed natural asphalt according to the present embodiment.

Fig. 4 shows a distillation system for refining crude asphalt extracted from natural asphalt according to the present embodiment.

It should be noted that fig. 1-4 are sequential, as indicated by the labeled flow.

Detailed Description

The present disclosure will now be described in more detail in connection with the accompanying drawings of preferred embodiments. However, it is not intended to limit the disclosure to the precise form disclosed, but, to the contrary, this disclosure is to be regarded as thorough and complete.

The present disclosure relates to a system for extracting asphalt from natural asphalt, which generally includes a breaking system for breaking the natural asphalt, a mixing system for mixing the broken natural asphalt with a demulsifier to form a homogeneous mixture, and a separation system for stirring the homogeneous mixture to separate coarse asphalt from the homogeneous mixture.

Fig. 1-4 illustrate one embodiment of the present disclosure. In fig. 1, a crushing system 100 is shown, which comprises a crusher 104 having a gear with outwardly extending teeth at the edge of the gear. Activation of the crusher 104 rotates the gears, thereby crushing the natural asphalt received from the hopper 102. Utilizing hopper 102 provides a uniform and smooth flow of natural asphalt to crusher 104 by preventing build-up of natural asphalt in crusher 104.

A weighing device 108 is connected to the crusher 104 by the conveyor belt 106 and receives and weighs the crushed natural asphalt to determine the amount of crushed natural asphalt present in each cycle to ensure that the system is fully utilized and meets production requirements. The weighing device 108 in this embodiment is a belt scale in the form of a circular belt.

The shredded natural asphalt is transferred from the weighing apparatus 108 through a valve 110 to a pre-mixer, planetary mixer 112 and then a mixing tank 114. The planetary mixer 112 includes fast rotating blades that premix the cracked natural asphalt and the demulsifier in a circular motion. In this embodiment, planetary mixer 112 provides an inlet for introducing a demulsifier into the broken natural asphalt received from valve 110. The premixer is a general purpose mixer known in the art and functions as a premixer prior to transferring the crushed natural asphalt to the mixing system 200. The use of a premixer increases and prolongs the reaction time between the demulsifier and the broken natural asphalt.

Valve 110 assists in transferring the shredded asphalt from weighing device 108 to planetary mixer 112 to enable smooth one-way dispensing of the shredded asphalt. The surge tank 116 receives and temporarily stores the cracked natural asphalt and demulsifier from the mix tank 114 to smooth the flow of the cracking system 100, particularly if the cracked natural asphalt and demulsifier premix is in excess, exceeding the capacity of the cracking system.

Referring to fig. 1 and 2, it can be seen that a pump 118, preferably a mud pump, connects the crushing system 100 to a mixing system 200, as shown in flow 101. In this embodiment, the mud pump 118 provides an inlet for introducing additional emulsion breaker as the premix exits the buffer 116 and passes through the pump 118 to the mixer 202 of the mixing system 200. The mixer 202, preferably a heated mixer, mixes the pre-mixture and the freshly added demulsifier thoroughly to form a homogeneous mixture.

As shown in fig. 3, the mixer 202 of the mixing system 200 may be connected to the separation system 300 by a pump 302. The separation system 300 includes a thickener 304 for separating coarse pitch from the homogenized mixture by gravity settling. Two

additional thickeners

308, 312 are also provided in the separation system 300 to separate and extract as much oil and water as possible from the tailings of the homogeneous mixture to reduce waste. The three

thickeners

304, 308, 312 are interconnected by

pumps

306, 310a, 310b, 314, 318. The thickener in the present embodiment may include a conventional thickener or a high-rate thickener, but should not be limited thereto.

As the homogenized mixture enters the thickener 304 from the pump 302, the rake at the bottom of the tank spins and agitates the homogenized mixture at a sufficient speed so as not to cause sufficient agitation to interfere with settling. The contents of the homogeneous mixture begin to separate according to their density, and the concentrated slurry thickens and moves toward the center of the tank 304. At the end of the separation process, three distinct layers of oil, water and solids are formed in the thickener 304. The oil layer, i.e., coarse asphalt, in the thickener 304 is extracted from the thickener 304 and transferred through a series of devices, a surge tank 320 and a heater 322, to a desalination system 324, which desalination system 324 refines the coarse asphalt by removing any impurities, such as inorganic salts, water, and/or sediment, that may be present in the coarse asphalt.

As previously described, surge tank 320 is used to ensure smooth operation of the overall system. The raw bitumen is stored in the buffer tank 320 for a period of time before being heated in the heater 322, if necessary, to facilitate the refining process in the desalination system 324. The desalination system 324 is an electrical desalination system in this embodiment, and separates impurities from the raw asphalt by electrostatic coalescence. The desalination system 324 can include any of a single stage dehydrator, a single stage desalter, and a two stage desalter.

If further refinement is preferred, this embodiment provides a distillation system 400, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the distillation system 400 may be connected to the desalination system 324 of the separation system 300 via a process flow 321. Distillation system 400 includes an atmospheric distillation column 402 and a vacuum distillation column 406 connected by a furnace 404. Vacuum distillation column 406 uses a liquid ring vacuum pump to maintain a negative pressure within column 406.

Referring now again to the separation system 300 in fig. 3, the first thickener 304 may also be connected to the second thickener 308 by a pump 306, and the second thickener 308 may be connected to the third thickener 312 by a pump 310 b. The second and third thickeners are similar to the first thickener 304 and function to separate and extract as much oil and water as possible from the solid tailings. At the end of the separation in the third thickener 312, the solid tailings are transferred to a vacuum filter 328 by a pump 326, as shown in process flow 311, and filtered before disposal of the solid tailings.

The oil layer separated from the second thickener and the third thickener and the water layer separated in the first thickener, the second thickener and the third thickener are extracted from their respective thickeners and transferred in the present system to be reused as a demulsifier to reduce waste and production costs. It can also be seen that the second thickener 308 may be connected by a pump 314 to an ultrafilter 316 that filters the aqueous layer extracted from the second thickener 308 to remove any impurities. The second thickener 308 is also configured to be connectable to the planetary mixer 112 of the crushing system 100, as shown by process flow 111, so that the oil layer extracted from the second thickener 308 can be transferred to the planetary mixer 112 for reuse as a demulsifier.

All of the

pumps

302, 310a, 310b, 314, 318, 326 used in this embodiment are mud pumps.

In the alternative, the crusher 104 may comprise a cooling device that prevents heat generated by friction in the crusher from damaging the gears. Advantageously, the addition of the device in the crusher contributes to a smoother operation of the crusher, which enhances and maximizes the operation of the crusher by extending the life of the crusher. However, the cooling device does not alter in any way the properties or quality of the final product.

In the alternative, the crusher 104 may be modified and include other components instead of gears to grind, shear, or perform other types of cutting methods to reduce the size of the natural asphalt to its desired size. The size of the natural asphalt can be adjusted and modified accordingly.

In the alternative, where more than one planetary mixer 112 is preferred, the valve 110 is a three-way valve to enable the broken natural asphalt to be evenly distributed to the planetary mixer.

In the alternative, the belt scale of the weighing device is adapted in any manner other than a round belt.

In the alternative, the crushed natural asphalt is transferred from the crusher 104 or the weighing device 108 of the crushing system 100 to the mixer 202 of the mixing system 200. In this form, mixer 202 includes an inlet for introducing a demulsifier into the broken natural asphalt.

In the alternative, the mixing system 200 includes a static mixer that receives the homogenized mixture from the mixer 202 to enhance mixing of the homogenized mixture to improve the process of extracting bitumen from the natural bitumen.

In the alternative, the separation system 300 may include only one thickener to perform multiple separation processes, rather than three thickeners.

It should be understood that a distributed control system is used to control the entire system of the present embodiment, thereby enabling automation of the entire system.

A second aspect of the present disclosure is directed to a method of extracting bitumen from natural asphalt according to the system of the present embodiment, the method generally comprising crushing natural asphalt in a crusher 104, mixing the crushed natural asphalt with a demulsifier in a mixer 202 to form a homogeneous mixture, and agitating the homogeneous mixture in at least a thickener to separate coarse asphalt from tailings of the homogeneous mixture. The present disclosure further provides a method of extracting a demulsifier from tailings of a homogeneous mixture.

After extracting the coarse bitumen from the homogeneous mixture, it should be noted that the tailings of the homogeneous mixture may be subjected to a further separation process to extract as much demulsifier as possible so that the extracted demulsifier can be reused and added to subsequent batches of broken natural bitumen. Thus, the method of extracting asphalt from natural asphalt according to the present embodiment may be slightly different depending on whether the process is performed on the first crushed natural asphalt or the subsequent batch after extracting asphalt from the previous batch of natural asphalt.

Prior to breaking the natural asphalt, a sample of natural asphalt is first measured to determine the asphalt, diesel and sand weight compositions of the natural asphalt. Although natural asphalt is understood to contain 20 to 30 wt.% of the weight composition of high grade asphalt and diesel, a sample of natural asphalt is examined using an extractor (preferably a soxhlet extractor) to extract and determine the weight composition of asphalt and diesel in natural asphalt.

Specifically, 100 grams of sample was placed in a cannula and then loaded into the chamber of a soxhlet extractor. The soxhlet extractor was placed on a flask containing an extraction solvent comprising an organic compound and a solvent. As the extraction solvent heats up, the vapors of the extraction solvent fill the cavity of the soxhlet extractor, dissolving the sample. The vapors were then cooled and allowed to drip back into the flask along with the bitumen and diesel oil extracted from the dissolved sample. This was done multiple times to ensure that all bitumen and diesel were extracted from the natural bitumen sample. Thereafter, the sample was reweighed, the difference in weight of the sample being the weight composition of bitumen and diesel present in 100 grams of sample, before and after extraction of the bitumen and diesel.

The sample of natural asphalt is then dried to remove any water present in the sample to determine the weight composition of the sand in the sample. The weight of the dried sample remaining after removal of bitumen, diesel and water was taken as the weight percentage of sand in 100g of sample.

The weight composition of the natural asphalt is determined to ensure that the extraction process will proceed at an optimal rate, as the amount of demulsifier added to the natural asphalt during this process depends on the composition of the natural asphalt.

To extract bitumen from the first batch of natural bitumen, the natural bitumen is crushed in a crusher 104 to a diameter of less than 3 cm. By breaking the particle size of the natural asphalt, the surface area of the natural asphalt that reacts with the demulsifier is increased. The crushed natural asphalt is transferred from the crusher 104 and weighed to determine the amount of crushed natural asphalt present in each batch. The weight of the crushed natural asphalt is compared to the weight of the sample to determine the weight composition of asphalt, diesel and sand present in the crushed natural asphalt.

The weighed amount of crushed natural asphalt is transferred to a premixing device where an amount of a first demulsifier is added and mixed with the crushed natural asphalt for at least 10 minutes. The amount of the first demulsifier added depends on the weight composition of the bitumen and diesel oil present in the broken natural bitumen. In this particular embodiment, the weight percentages of bitumen and diesel oil per 100 grams of sample previously extracted and obtained are used as criteria and adjusted according to the total weight of the crushed natural bitumen present in the batch. Then, the first demulsifier is added in an amount of 0.5 to 1.5 times the adjusted weight composition of the asphalt and diesel oil of the crushed natural asphalt. The reaction of the first demulsifier with the natural asphalt causes the temperature within the premixing device to rise to about 35 to 40 ℃.

The second emulsion breaker is added to the pre-mix of the broken natural asphalt and the first emulsion breaker by a pump 118 at a temperature of 60 ℃ to 95 ℃, the pump 118 connecting the pre-mixing device to the mixer. As the premix exits the premixing device and passes through the pump 118, a second emulsion breaker is injected into the pump 118 and transferred to the mixer 202 along with the premix. The amount of second demulsifier added depends on the weight composition of the sand present in the crushed natural asphalt. Similarly, in this embodiment, the weight percentage of sand previously extracted and obtained for a 100g sample is used as a criterion and adjusted with respect to the total weight of the crushed natural asphalt present in the batch. Then, a second demulsifier is added in an amount of 1 to 1.5 times the adjusted weight composition of sand in the crushed natural asphalt. The pump 118 operates at a temperature of 55 ℃ to 60 ℃.

The pre-mix, now comprising the broken natural asphalt, the first demulsifier and the second demulsifier, is thoroughly mixed in the mixer 202 at 60 ℃ to 95 ℃. The mixer, preferably a heated mixer, thoroughly mixes the pre-mixture to form a homogenous mixture that is well balanced. The homogeneous mixture is mixed in the mixer 202 for about 180 minutes.

The homogenized mixture is received from mixer 202 and transferred by pump 302 to thickener 304. The pump 302 is operated at 60 ℃ to 95 ℃ so that the temperature of the homogenized mixture is maintained at 60 ℃ to 95 ℃ to ensure that the bitumen can be properly extracted from the homogenized mixture.

In thickener 304, a new second demulsifier is again added in the range of 1 to 1.5 times the adjusted weight composition of the sand in the crushed natural asphalt. The rake in the thickener 304 stirs the homogeneous mixture entering the thickener 304 at 60 c to 95 c for about 120 to 150 minutes to separate the homogeneous mixture according to its different densities. The lightest density, a layer of bitumen oil floating at the top of the thickener, followed by a layer of water, and a layer of solid tailings that settle at the bottom of the thickener 304.

After the separation process is complete, the raw asphalt is discharged from the thickener 304 and transferred to a desalting system 324 for refining, where the raw asphalt undergoes a desalting process. The crude bitumen was heated to 150 ℃ and thoroughly mixed with the wash water to form an emulsion. The emulsion is then separated by electrostatic coalescence to remove any remaining impurities, such as inorganic salts, water or precipitates. The crude bitumen is refined in the desalination system 324 for about 30 minutes. The refined bitumen obtained thereafter may be used as a blending material for paving roads or sold to refineries for further refinement to obtain light-distillate products.

After the coarse asphalt is extracted from thickener 304, an aqueous layer and a solid tailings layer remain in tank 304. To extract the remaining first and second demulsifiers, the solid tailings in the thickener 304 are subjected to a second round of separation and then discharged from the thickener 304 by a pump 306 and transferred to a second thickener 308. Here, fresh first and second demulsifiers are added to the thickener in similar amounts as described above to maintain the ratio of demulsifier to broken natural asphalt. The separation process similar to that in the first thickener is performed at a temperature of 60 to 95 ℃ for about 120 to 150 minutes, wherein the content of the solid tailings is separated according to the density thereof. And separating and extracting the residual oil and water in the solid tailings, and recycling the residual oil and water as a demulsifier. The solid tailings obtained after the second round of separation in the second thickener 308 may be subjected to further separation as many times as necessary in order to extract as much oil and water as possible from the solid tailings. It should be noted, however, that fresh first and second demulsifiers should be added to the thickener during each separation cycle to maximize the "extraction effect," e.g., to ensure that all of the oil remaining in the solid tailings is extracted to minimize waste.

However, for the purposes of this embodiment, the solid tailings are subjected to two rounds of separation, one in the second thickener and the other in the third thickener 312 via pump 310 b.

At this point, the solid tailings obtained after the third round of separation in the third thickener 312 will be condensed into a portion of sand and water. The solid tailings are transferred to a filter 328 that filters out as much water as possible from the solid tailings before the solid tailings are treated. The filter 328, preferably a vacuum filter, operates at a temperature of 75 ℃ to 85 ℃. It must be noted that the disposed solid tailings have been filtered to contain no more than 40% water and less than 2% oil by weight of the dry solid tailings. Obviously, the present embodiment aims to reduce waste as much as possible before disposal of the solid phase. The water filtered from the solid phase is collected and filtered and recycled for use as a second demulsifier.

For continuous batches of bitumen extraction, the process remains relatively similar, except that the first and second demulsifiers can be recycled. For example, instead of adding fresh first demulsifier to the pre-mixing apparatus, the oil extracted from the second thickener 308 during the first batch of bitumen extraction is instead used as the first demulsifier. Similarly, instead of adding fresh second demulsifier to the homogeneous mixture in thickener 304, the water extracted from second thickener 308 during the first batch of asphalt extraction, which contains the second demulsifier, is reused. The same is true of the oil and water extracted in the third thickener 312 during the first bitumen extraction and is added to the second thickener 308.

However, care must be taken that fresh first breaker is always added to the last separation round (i.e. the third thickener in this embodiment) to ensure that the "extraction effect" of the solid tailings is exerted to the maximum extent.

In addition, quality control checks are performed on each batch to ensure that the quality of the re-used emulsion breaker meets the requirements for establishing the efficiency of bitumen extraction from natural bitumen.

All pumps 118, 302, 306, 310a, 310b, 314, 318, 326 are operated at 60 ℃ to 95 ℃.

In the method, the first and second demulsifiers comprise a combination of silicate and solvent naphtha.

In an alternative method, the broken natural asphalt is transferred from the breaker 104 or weighing device 108 to the mixer 202 where a first breaker and a second breaker are added to the mixer 202.

In an alternative method, the natural asphalt is weighed and then crushed.

In an alternative method, the weight composition of bitumen, diesel and sand in the natural asphalt is not predetermined.

In an alternative method, the pre-mixture is stored in a buffer tank at 35 ℃ to 40 ℃ before being transferred to the mixer 202.

In an alternative approach, the homogeneous mixture is further mixed in a static mixer connected to the mixer 202 to enhance the mixing device of the present disclosure.

In an alternative method, the raw asphalt is stored in a 90 ℃ surge tank and heated to a temperature of 90 ℃ to 150 ℃ to facilitate the desalting process, before being transferred to the desalting system 324.

In an alternative process, the pitch is further refined by a distillation process. The pitch is extracted from the desalting system 324 and heated to 190 ℃ to 200 ℃, and then subjected to atmospheric distillation in the atmospheric distillation column 402. The vapor, which consists of light gases formed by the pressure reduction in column 402, is withdrawn and condensed so that it can be reused as the first demulsifier. The residual liquid, including pitch, is withdrawn from column 402 and heated in a furnace to 300 ℃.

In the furnace 404, the residual liquid is vacuum distilled in a vacuum distillation column 406. In the case where the pressure in the vacuum distillation column 406 is reduced to be less than the vapor pressure of the residual liquid, the components of the residual liquid are caused to separate according to their densities. The byproduct light distillate is extracted and stored so that it can be reused as the first demulsifier. The second by-product diesel is extracted and can be reused as fuel for the furnace 404. The heaviest density bitumen is extracted for use.

It will be appreciated that the bitumen obtained at the end of the distillation process meets the standard bitumen grade and does not require further refining.

Thus, embodiments of the present system and method have been disclosed. By these embodiments, the limitations previously faced by conventional approaches are reduced in an efficient manner that reduces cost and reduces losses. The embodiments should not be limited to the above description as it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications can be made therein without departing from the principles of the disclosure or the scope of the appended claims.

Claims

1. A system for extracting asphalt from natural asphalt comprises

A crushing system (100) for crushing and weighing natural asphalt, comprising at least a crusher (104) and a weighing device (108),

a mixing system (200) connected to the breaking system (100) for mixing broken natural asphalt with a demulsifier to form a homogeneous mixture; and

a separation system (300) connected to the mixing system (200) for separating coarse bitumen from the homogeneous mixture; wherein the separation system comprises

At least one thickener for separating coarse bitumen from the homogenized mixture; and

a desalting system (324) for refining the separated crude bitumen.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the crushing system (100) is connectable to the separation system (300).

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the mixing system (200) comprises a mixer (202), the mixer (202) for mixing the crushed natural asphalt received from the crushing system (100) with the emulsion breaker to produce the homogeneous mixture.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein the mixer (202) includes an inlet for introducing the emulsion breaker into the mixer (202) to mix with the broken natural asphalt.

5. The system of claim 3, wherein the mixer (202) is a heated mixer.

6. The system of claim 1, comprising a distillation system (400), the distillation system (400) being connected to the separation system (300) for further refining the crude bitumen.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the distillation system (400) comprises any one of an atmospheric distillation column (402) and a vacuum distillation column (406), or a combination thereof, for further refining the crude asphalt.

8. The system of any of claims 1-7, wherein the disruption system (100), mixing system (200), separation system (300), and distillation system (400) are connected by a pump.