  In this study, capillary-driven flow of different pure liquids and diluted
bitumen samples were studied using microfluidic channel (width of 30 um and
depth of 9 um). Capillary filling kinetics of liquids as a function of time
were evaluated and compared with theoretical predictions. For pure liquids
including water, toluene, hexane, and methanol experimental results agreed well
with theoretical predictions. However, for bitumen samples, as concentration of
bitumen increased the deviation between theoretical and experimental results
became larger. The higher deviation for high concentrations (i.e. above 30%)
can be due to the difference between dynamic contact angle and bulk contact
angle. Microchannels are suitable experimental devices to study the flow of
heavy oil and bitumen in porous structure such as those of reservoirs.
