1. A method for selectively depositing a polymer in spatially selected regions, comprising:
providing a substrate comprising a substrate surface, the substrate surface comprising a patterned electrically conductive portion and an electrically non-conductive portion;
contacting the substrate surface with an aqueous solution comprising a selectively insolubilizable polysaccharide dissolved in the aqueous solution;
and
subjecting the aqueous solution to electrochemically treatment to deposit, with spatial selectivity, the selectively insolubilizable polysaccharide on the patterned electrically conductive portion.
2. A method according to claim 1, wherein the selectively insolubilizable polysaccharide comprises an ionizable group that is ionized to provide a positive charge.
3. A method according to claim 2, wherein the ionizable group comprises a member selected from an, an alkyl amine group, a primary amine group, a secondary amine group, a tertiary amine group, a guanidinium group, an imidazole group, an indole group, a purine group, a pyrimidine group, and a pyrrole group.
4. A method according to claim 2, wherein the ionizable group comprises a primary amine group.
5. A method according to claim 4, wherein the selectively insolubilizable polysaccharide comprises chitosan.
6. A method according to claim 2, further comprising treating the deposited selectively insolubilizable polysaccharide with a sufficiently basic solution to stabilize the deposited selectively insolubilizable polysaccharide.
7. A method according to claim 1, wherein the selectively insolubilizable polysaccharide comprises an ionizable group that is ionized to provide a negative charge.
8. A method according to claim 7, wherein the ionizable group comprises a member selected from an alkoxide group, carboxyl group, hydroxy acid group, phenolic group, phosphate group, and sulfhydryl group.
9. A method according to claim 7, further comprising treating the deposited selectively insolubilizable polysaccharide with a sufficiently acidic solution to stabilize the deposited selectively insolubilizable polysaccharide.
10. A method according to claim 1, wherein the substrate comprises a non-conducting, inorganic material.
11. A method according to claim 10, wherein the substrate comprises silicon.
12. A method according to claim 11, wherein the patterned electrically conductive portion comprises gold.
13. A method according to claim 1, further comprising modifying the selectively insolubilizable polysaccharide to improve conjugatability with a reactive group of a component to be coupled to the selectively insolubilizable polysaccharide.
14. A method according to claim 1, further comprising coupling a component to the selectively insolubilizable polysaccharide, the component selected from a biomolecule and cellular species.
15. A method according to claim 14, wherein said coupling is performed prior to the electrochemical treatment.
16. A method according to claim 14, wherein said coupling is performed subsequent to the electrochemical treatment.
17. A method according to claim 14, wherein said coupling comprises covalently bonding the component directly or indirectly to the selectively insolubilizable polysaccharide.
18. A method according to claim 14, wherein said coupling comprises covalently bonding the component to chitosan.
19. A method according to claim 14, wherein the component comprise one, two, three or more enzyme species.
20. A method according to claim 14, wherein the component comprise one, two, three or more antibody species.
21. A method according to claim 14, wherein the component comprise one, two, three or more receptor molecule species.
22. A method according to claim 14, wherein the component comprise one, two, three or more nucleic acid molecule species.
23. A method according to claim 1, further comprising:
suspending a nanoscale component in the aqueous solution; and
physically entrapping and immobilizing the nanoscale component in the polysaccharide deposited on the patterned electrically conductive portion.
24. A method for selectively depositing a polymer in spatially localized regions of a micro-electrochemical device, comprising:
providing a micro-electromechanical device comprising a substrate surface, the substrate surface comprising a patterned electrically conductive portion and an electrically non-conductive portion;
contacting the substrate surface with an aqueous solution comprising a selectively insolubilizable polysaccharide dissolved in the aqueous solution; and
subjecting the aqueous solution to electrochemically treatment to deposit, with spatial selectivity, the selectively insolubilizable polysaccharide on the patterned electrically conductive portion.
25. A method according to claim 24, wherein the device comprises microchannels fabricated in a substrate such that electrodes are located within the microchannels to enable selective electrodeposition using fluidic flow in the microchannels.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
1. A method of recovering hydrocarbons, comprising:
providing a bitumen-froth emulsion containing asphaltenes and mineral solids;
adding a solvent to the bitumen-froth emulsion to induce a rate of settling of at least a portion of the asphaltenes and mineral solids from the bitumen-froth emulsion and generate a solvent bitumen-froth mixture; and
adding water droplets by a spray nozzle system to the solvent bitumen-froth mixture to increase the rate of settling of the at least a portion of the asphaltenes and mineral solids, wherein the water droplets are added in a concentration of from about 0.01 weight percent (wt %) relative to bitumen to about 10 wt % relative to bitumen, and wherein the addition of the water droplets increases the size of the asphaltenes from about 10 microns to at least about 1,000 microns.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the solvent is a paraffinic solvent to form a paraffinic froth-treated (PFT) bitumen stream.
3. The method of claim 1, further comprising processing the solvent bitumen-froth mixture in at least a first separation vessel to form a processed solvent bitumen-froth mixture and a separation tailings stream.
4. The method of claim 3, further comprising processing the separation tailings stream in at least a second separation vessel.
5. The method of claim 3, wherein the water droplets are added to the solvent bitumen-froth mixture before the solvent bitumen-froth mixture is processed in the first separation vessel.
6. The method of claim 3, further comprising adding the water droplets to the separation tailings stream before the separation tailings stream is added to the second separation vessel.
7. The method of claim 3, wherein the water droplets are added in the first separation vessel.
8. The method of claim 7, wherein the water is added above or below a feed injection point in the first or separation vessel.
9. The method of claim 1, wherein the water droplets are one of fresh river water, distilled water from a solvent recovery unit, recycled water, rain water, or aquifer water.
10. The method of claim 1, wherein the addition of the water droplets increases the rate of settling by a factor of greater than two.
11. The method of claim 1 further comprising: optimizing a variable selected from the group consisting of: water-to-bitumen ratio, water droplet size, temperature, solvent addition rate, location of water addition, mixing energy, and any combination thereof.
12. A method of recovering hydrocarbons, comprising:
providing a bitumen-froth emulsion containing asphaltenes and mineral solids;
adding a solvent to the bitumen-froth emulsion to induce a rate of settling of at least a portion of the asphaltenes and mineral solids from the bitumen-froth emulsion and generate a solvent bitumen-froth mixture;
producing water droplets at a size of at least about 1 micron to about 1,000 microns; and
adding the water droplets by a spray nozzle system to the solvent bitumen-froth mixture to increase the rate of settling of the at least a portion of the asphaltenes and mineral solids, wherein the water droplets are added in a concentration of from about 0.01 weight percent (wt %) relative to bitumen to about 10 wt % relative to bitumen, and wherein the addition of the water droplets increases the size of the asphaltenes from about 10 microns to at least about 1,000 microns.
13. The method of claim 12, further comprising processing the solvent bitumen-froth mixture in at least a first separation vessel to form a processed solvent bitumen-froth mixture and a separation tailings stream.
14. The method of claim 13, wherein the water droplets are added to the solvent bitumen-froth mixture before the solvent bitumen-froth mixture is processed in the first separation vessel.
15. The method of claim 13, wherein the water droplets are added in one of the first separation vessel.
16. The method of claim 12, wherein the addition of the water droplets increases the rate of settling by a factor of greater than two.
17. The method of claim 12, further comprising optimizing the water droplet size.
18. The method of claim 3, further comprising adding the water droplets in the second separation vessel.
19. The method of claim 18, wherein the additional water droplets are added above or below a feed injection point in the second separation vessel.