The current water-based method of bitumen extraction requires withdrawal of fresh water which leads to the continual buildup of tailings ponds and other environmental concerns. There is now a real need to explore the possibility of an alternative non-aqueous extraction technology. The main challenge is the recovery of residual oil from oil-laden sand grains. A possible solution is washing the sand grains with aqueous surfactant solutions. From an interfacial science perspective, a good surfactant must create low oil-water interfacial tensions (IFTs) and desirable wetting characteristics. For...