Effective sapphire repellency treatment to reduce fouling of a focused beam reflectance measurement (FBRM) probe in bituminous systems

Saraka, Colin; Machado, Márcio B.; Webster, Scott; Gómez, Clara M.; Kresta, Suzanne M.

doi:10.1002/cjce.23465

Cited by 6 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…Mitigation strategies for the fouling are needed to improve the long‐time performance of the insertion light‐scattering sensor. Such mitigation strategies could include the use of longer wavelengths (Ramm et al., 2016) and antifouling materials and treatments for optical windows (Akhtar et al., 2015; Saraka et al., 2019).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A real‐time light‐scattering technique for tailings solids measurement

Gupta

Srivastava

et al. 2021

J of Env Quality

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This study presents the concept of an economic in situ light-scattering sensor for real-time measurement of the solid content in tailings facilities. An experimental setup using a blue (405 nm wavelength) laser diode and silicon photodiodes was constructed to measure the angular distribution of the intensity of scattered light. It was found that the angular intensity of scattered light for tailing samples follows a cos n (θ) relation with n ≈ 1.5, where θ is the angle between the laser beam and the photodiode. An angular value of θ = 20˚was chosen for the sensor design based on a high signal-to-noise ratio. The setup was used to determine the relation between scattered light intensity and solids content using a thickened tailings underflow from an oil sands facility and Kaolin as a model material. It was observed that the intensity of scattered light tends to increase with an increase in solids content, with qualitatively similar settling behavior for the two materials but at largely different time scales. An insertion-based prototype was built and tested in a large (2.7 m height) settling column with treated mature fine tailings, and the light-scattering data were verified by standard gravimetric method and gamma-ray measurements. In general, good agreement was established between these measurements in the absence of optical fouling, which demonstrates the potential of the sensor as an effective tool for tailings management.Abbreviations: MFT, mature fine tailings; TTU, thickened tailings underflow.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A real‐time light‐scattering technique for tailings solids measurement

Gupta

Srivastava

et al. 2021

J of Env Quality

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“…It has been demonstrated that variations in FBRM results typically track with operating changes (Gumfekar et al, 2019; 2018 COSIA Tailings Report) but it is not proven that the floc sizes or size distributions reported by an FBRM are quantitatively meaningful in flocculated oil sand tailings applications. Moreover, there are known to be issues with probe fouling due to the presence of bitumen (Saraka et al, 2019). The purpose of the present study, then, is to determine if differential pressure measurements made downstream of the mixing location could be used as a flocculation performance indicator.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Use of Pipeline Pressure Gradients to Monitor Inline Polymer Flocculation of Oil Sand Fine Tailings

Kumar,

Moyls,

Sadighian

et al. 2023

The 20th International Conference on Transport and Sedimentation of Solid Particles. 50th Anniversary

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In Canada’s oil sands industry, the processing and storage of fluid fine tailings is important because it directly impacts land usage and reclamation, water and thermal energy requirements as well as environmental stewardship and mine sustainability. A key technology used for this purpose is inline flocculation, wherein existing inventories of fluid fine tailings are withdrawn from tailings storage facilities and mixed with polymer flocculants. These flocculated tailings can be then sent through additional process stages (e.g. evaporation, centrifugation, filtration) to promote dewatering and improved geotechnical characteristics of the resulting deposits. The polymer type, dosage and inline mixing conditions primarily dictate the efficacy of the inline flocculation process. Presently, numerous measurements are taken to establish flocculation performance. Some of these require samples to be collected and analyzed, meaning that such measurements cannot be used for real-time process control. Others, such as online FBRM (focus beam reflectance measurement), can be used for real-time process control but are often challenging and expensive to deploy in a commercial operation. The present study represents a preliminary assessment of the use of pressure measurements to monitor flocculation performance using a pilot-scale inline flocculation rig. Tests were conducted at different flow rates and polymer injection rates/concentrations. The test rig was fitted with 4 differential pressure sensors positioned at different axial locations. The pressure gradients measured just downstream of the inline mixer were primarily dictated by the production, and subsequent break-up, of the shear-sensitive floc structures and thus were highly sensitive to changes in polymer dosage at any given fluid tailings feed rate. A relationship among conventional performance metrics (e.g. floc size from FBRM) and maximum pressure gradient measured downstream of the mixer was observed, i.e. the same optimal polymer dosage was indicated by conventional measures and peak pressure gradient.

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