Bitumen effects on pipeline hydraulics during oil sand hydrotransport

Sanders, R. Sean; Ferre, Alan L.; Maciejewski, W.; Gillies, Randall G.; Shook, C. A.

doi:10.1002/cjce.5450780416

Cited by 15 publications

(21 citation statements)

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“…Given the high viscosity of bitumen, adhesion could result in the creation of a substantial layer of bitumen and consequently an undesirable increase in the pressure required to pump the slurry. Such behaviour was, in fact, o b s e rved by Sanders et al (2000) in their pilot tests of oil sands hydrotransport. For instance, when a high-grade oil sands slurry was c i rculated through a pipe at 48°C, the pressure gradient increased with time and bitumen accumulated in the upper portion of the pipe.…”

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confidence: 91%

Adhesion of Bitumen to a Metal Surface in a Flowing Oil Sands Slurry

Dąbroś

Friesen

et al. 2004

Can J Chem Eng

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A recent development in the oil sands industry is the hydrotransport of oil sands ore by pipeline from the mine to the extraction plant. Hydrotransport offers economic and technological benefits in mining and extraction operations by eliminating existing bottlenecks, such as conveyors, stackers, tumblers, and screens (McDonell et al., 1995). oil sands ore is transported directly from the crusher to the primary separation vessel without an intermediate tumbler to mix the slurry and condition the ore. It has been demonstrated that an oil sands can be conditioned in a pipeline so that satisfactory recovery of bitumen is achieved at a temperature of 50°C to 60°C. However, as variables such as oil sands grade and residence time change, the operating conditions that will ensure both effic i e n t transport of the slurry and optimal conditioning of the ore need to be known.Good conditioning of an oil sands ore involves two important microscopic processes. First, bitumen is separated from the sand particles as the sand-bitumen interface is displaced by a sand-water interface. Second, the liberated bitumen droplets collide and coalesce with each other and with air bubbles to form larger, more buoyant droplets that are readily separated from the slurry. Droplets that are sufficiently large break up due to shear forces in the fluid. The processes of bitumen liberation and droplet growth and breakup are complex functions of slurry composition, interfacial properties of the constituents, flow conditions, and chemical composition of the water phase. Furthermore, the interfacial properties of the bitumen and the chemical composition of the water phase may vary in time.If the conditioning process occurs during hydrotransport, the state of the dispersed bitumen may influence flow conditions in the pipe. Small droplets are uniformly distributed in the slurry, whereas larger droplets may accumulate at the top of the slurry and adhere to the pipe wall. Given the high viscosity of bitumen, adhesion could result in the creation of a substantial layer of bitumen and consequently an undesirable increase in the pressure required to pump the slurry. Such behaviour was, in fact, o b s e rved by Sanders et al. (2000) in their pilot tests of oil sands hydrotransport. For instance, when a high-grade oil sands slurry was c i rculated through a pipe at 48°C, the pressure gradient increased with time and bitumen accumulated in the upper portion of the pipe. The pipeline friction loss for the slurry was up to three times greater than that of a tailings slurry (i.e., one containing very little bitumen) with a similar * Author to whom correspondence may be addressed. E-mail addre s s : yxu@nrcan.gc.caBench-scale experiments were conducted to study the behaviour of oil sands slurries. While a slurry was being stirred with a standard impeller, the mass of bitumen, M ad , that adhered to a steel probe dipped into the slurry was measured. M ad remained small up to a critical adhesion time, τ ad, and then increased rapidly. τ ad depended on ore grade, t...

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confidence: 91%

Adhesion of Bitumen to a Metal Surface in a Flowing Oil Sands Slurry

Dąbroś

Friesen

et al. 2004

Can J Chem Eng

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“…In spite of this simplification, we obtained a good fit to the experimental data on the axial pressure gradient distribution [1] (see Fig. 4).…”

Section: Numerical Examples and Discussionmentioning

confidence: 74%

“…The constant of digestion rate n, and parameters x and g were found by matching numerical results against experimental data describing the pressure gradient along the pipeline transporting oil sand at relatively low temperature (22 C) with velocity V = 3 m/s [1]. As a first approximation, parameters x and g were identified by the above algorithm for calculating the pressure gradient at the initial cross section, and then these parameters were adjusted (by choosing the corresponding constant n) to match the experimental data for pressure gradient along the pipeline.…”

Section: Numerical Examples and Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The total volumetric concentration 1) of polydispersed solids in the bottom layer (lumps + clearances filled with the mixture) can be estimated to be as high as c lim = 0.58±0.6 [2].…”

Section: The Model 21 Assumptions and The Basic Model Principlesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…During the hydrotransport of oil sands in a pipeline [1] for the purpose of bitumen extraction, the oil sand lumps segregate because of the scatter of their sizes: small particles become suspended in a turbulent flow while the larger nonfragmented lumps and a small number of relatively large particles gravitate towards the bottom of the pipe. The latter ones form a granular bed: a packed system of lumps distributed within some size limits and spread along the pipeline.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Simulation of Pipeline Slurry Flow under Conditions of Granular Phase Ablation

Eskin

Leonenko

Vinogradov³

2003

Chem Eng & Technol

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A model of granular flow in the regime of a moving bed under conditions of granular phase ablation is developed. The model is based on the well-known two-layer representation of stratified slurry flow, which assumes a dynamic equilibrium between the bottom (granular) layer and the upper layer of solids-liquid suspension. The mass transfer rate from the bottom layer to the upper one is defined on the basis of digestion model for a single spherical lump. The model developed allows estimation of the lengths required for the total digestion of lumps in a moving bed and the axial pressure gradient distribution for different flow regimes.

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International Conference on Hydrotransport special issue section: Preface

Sanders

2016

Can J Chem Eng

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Selected papers presented at the 19th International Conference on Hydrotransport (HYDROTRANSPORT 19, Golden, CO, 24–26 September 2014) are published as a special section in this issue. The transport of solid‐liquid mixtures (or slurries) in pipelines or in open‐channel flow is ubiquitous in Canada's mining, mineral processing, and oil sands industries. In particular, processes designed to produce dewatered waste tailings, which are crucial components in any strategy to reduce land disturbance and minimize water usage, involve the transport and deposition of complex, highly non‐Newtonian, settling mixtures. The specific focus of each study in this special issue section varies quite widely, ranging from a historical perspective on slurry flow modelling to fluid‐structure interactions during pump operation. The papers presented, though, are united in that they contribute to step‐change improvements in the ability to understand slurry flow behaviour through model development and advanced measurement techniques.

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Bitumen effects on pipeline hydraulics during oil sand hydrotransport

Cited by 15 publications

References 2 publications

Adhesion of Bitumen to a Metal Surface in a Flowing Oil Sands Slurry

Adhesion of Bitumen to a Metal Surface in a Flowing Oil Sands Slurry

Simulation of Pipeline Slurry Flow under Conditions of Granular Phase Ablation

International Conference on Hydrotransport special issue section: Preface

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