CA2654611A1 - Method of removing solids from bitumen froth - Google Patents
Method of removing solids from bitumen froth Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- CA2654611A1 CA2654611A1 CA 2654611 CA2654611A CA2654611A1 CA 2654611 A1 CA2654611 A1 CA 2654611A1 CA 2654611 CA2654611 CA 2654611 CA 2654611 A CA2654611 A CA 2654611A CA 2654611 A1 CA2654611 A1 CA 2654611A1
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- particle
- instrumentation
- sizing
- solvent
- stream
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Abstract
A paraffinic solvent, gravity-based process is disclosed for removing solids content from bitumen froth streams comprising the steps of placing particle-sizing instrumentation in a bitumen froth inlet stream to a gravity settling vessel subsequent to the addition of paraffinic solvent. The addition of solvent forming aggregates. A
representative particle size distribution of entrained aggregates is measured with the particle-sizing instrumentation. The settling rate of the aggregates from the particle size distribution is determined mathematically. Operating data is collected while repeating one or more times the foregoing process steps and while changing one or more process conditions of the gravity-based process. A set of operating conditions are then established based upon particle size and settling rate from the generated data. The paraffinic solvent, gravity--based process is operated by adjusting process conditions to optimize the settling rate of the aggregates based upon the established set of operating conditions.
representative particle size distribution of entrained aggregates is measured with the particle-sizing instrumentation. The settling rate of the aggregates from the particle size distribution is determined mathematically. Operating data is collected while repeating one or more times the foregoing process steps and while changing one or more process conditions of the gravity-based process. A set of operating conditions are then established based upon particle size and settling rate from the generated data. The paraffinic solvent, gravity--based process is operated by adjusting process conditions to optimize the settling rate of the aggregates based upon the established set of operating conditions.
Claims (21)
1. A paraffinic solvent, gravity-based process for removing solids content from bitumen froth streams comprising the steps of:
a) placing particle-sizing instrumentation in a bitumen froth inlet stream to a gravity settling vessel subsequent to the addition of the paraffinic solvent, said solvent addition forming aggregates;
b) measuring a representative particle size distribution of entrained aggregates with said instrumentation;
c) determining mathematically the settling rate of said aggregates from said particle size distribution;
d) collecting operating data while repeating one or more times the steps of a), b), and c) after changing one, or a combination of two or more, of a process condition of the gravity-based process;
e) establishing a set of desired operating conditions based upon particle size and settling rate from the data generated in step d); and f) operating said paraffinic solvent, gravity-based process for aggregate removal by adjusting the process conditions to optimize the settling rate of the aggregates based upon the set of desired operating conditions established in step e).
a) placing particle-sizing instrumentation in a bitumen froth inlet stream to a gravity settling vessel subsequent to the addition of the paraffinic solvent, said solvent addition forming aggregates;
b) measuring a representative particle size distribution of entrained aggregates with said instrumentation;
c) determining mathematically the settling rate of said aggregates from said particle size distribution;
d) collecting operating data while repeating one or more times the steps of a), b), and c) after changing one, or a combination of two or more, of a process condition of the gravity-based process;
e) establishing a set of desired operating conditions based upon particle size and settling rate from the data generated in step d); and f) operating said paraffinic solvent, gravity-based process for aggregate removal by adjusting the process conditions to optimize the settling rate of the aggregates based upon the set of desired operating conditions established in step e).
2. The method of claim 1 wherein process step c) comprises (i) converting said particle size distribution to a volume-based distribution of particle sizes, and (ii) determining mathematically a hindered settling rate of said aggregates from said volume-based distribution of particle sizes.
3. The method of claim 2 wherein said instrumentation measures chord-length distribution in step b) and algebraic means are used to convert said chord-length distribution to a volume-based distribution of particle sizes in step c).
4. The method of claim 3 wherein the hindered settling rate of aggregates is determined from said volume-based distribution of aggregate sizes by application of the Richardson-Zaki correlation.
5. The method of claim 1 wherein the repeating of step e) one or more times is done after one or more cleaning process steps of aromatic solvent washes and cleaning gas purges of the instrumentation in the inlet stream have been conducted.
6. The method of claim 1 wherein the exposed portion of the instrumentation in the inlet stream is coated with an anti-fouling agent prior to the introduction of the bitumen froth in said inlet stream in step a).
7. The method of claim 1 wherein an initial start-up process precedes the process of claim 1, said start-up process comprising: 1) isolating the particle-sizing instrumentation from the bitumen process stream, 2) then introducing hot process gas to the particle-sizing instrumentation for purging, 3) withdrawing the process gas after purging but without passing into the bitumen froth stream, 4) continuing said purging and withdrawing until process temperatures are reached, and then 5) reopening the flow of the bitumen froth stream through the particle-sizing instrumentation.
8. The method of claim 1 wherein said particle-sizing instrumentation is in a particle-sizing instrumentation loop and wherein the paraffinic solvent, gravity-based process having an initial start up process, prior to steps a) of claim 1, comprising the steps of: 1) isolating the particle-sizing instrumentation loop from the bitumen froth stream, 2) opening a waste gas withdrawal valve located in particle-sizing instrumentation loop, 3) heating the particle-sizing instrumentation by applying heat to said instrumentation and at least a portion of connecting fittings and piping until process temperatures are reached, 4) increasing pressure in the particle-sizing instrumentation loop by closing said withdrawal valve and opening a process valve in said loop, 5) and then reopening the flow of the bitumen froth stream through the particle-sizing instrumentation.
9. The method of claim 4 additionally having a particle-sizing instrumentation cleaning process comprising: 1) isolating the particle-sizing instrumentation loop from the bitumen froth stream, 2) opening a waste gas withdrawal valve located in the particle-sizing instrumentation loop, 3) introducing a solvent stream to the particle-sizing instrumentation and withdrawing the solvent after passing through the particle-sizing instrumentation, 4) monitoring the particle size distribution statistics in the particle-sizing instrumentation, 5) continuing steps 1) through 4) until the observed particle count is less than 100 counts/sec, 6) then stopping the introducing and the withdrawing of solvent (3), 7) draining any accumulated solvent in the particle-sizing instrumentation, 8) flushing with process gas, and adding heat and any pressure needed with said gas to match operating conditions, 9) stopping the introduction and withdrawal of process gas, and 10) re-opening the flow of the bitumen froth process stream to the particle-sizing instrumentation.
10. The method of claim 1 wherein the particle-sizing instrumentation has an access window and said access window is coated with a transparent coating.
11. The method of claim 10 wherein said transparent coating comprises at least one of dichlorodimethylsilane or Teflon.
12. The method of claim 1 wherein in step a) said placing of the particle-sizing instrumentation is in the diluted bitumen product stream instead of the bitumen froth inlet stream.
13. The method of claim 1, wherein steps a), b), and c) are completed in real-time.
14. The method of claim 13, wherein steps a), b), c), d), and e) are completed in about
15 minutes.
15. The method of claim 1, wherein the process conditions are selected from the group consisting of: a process temperature, a process pressure, a process solvent to bitumen ratio, a flow rate in the gravity settling vessel, and any combination thereof.
15. The method of claim 1, wherein the process conditions are selected from the group consisting of: a process temperature, a process pressure, a process solvent to bitumen ratio, a flow rate in the gravity settling vessel, and any combination thereof.
16. The method of claim 15, wherein the process temperature is from about 50 degrees Celsius (°C) to about 100 °C.
17. The method of claim 15, wherein the process pressure is from about 100 pounds per square inch (psi) to about 150 psi.
18. The method of claim 15, wherein the solvent to bitumen ratio (S:B) is from about 1.4 to about 1.8.
19. The method of claim 15, wherein the flow rate in the gravity settling vessel is from about 1,000 millimeters per minute (mm/min) to about 2,500 mm/min.
20. The method of claim 1, wherein the particle size distribution is measured using Focused Beam Reflectance Measurements (FBRM).
21
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| US6618308P | 2008-02-19 | 2008-02-19 | |
| US61/066,183 | 2008-02-19 |
Publications (2)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| CA2654611A1 true CA2654611A1 (en) | 2009-08-19 |
| CA2654611C CA2654611C (en) | 2013-01-08 |
Family
ID=40983709
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA2654611A Expired - Fee Related CA2654611C (en) | 2008-02-19 | 2009-02-18 | Method of removing solids from bitumen froth |
Country Status (1)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| CA (1) | CA2654611C (en) |
Cited By (9)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US9207019B2 (en) | 2011-04-15 | 2015-12-08 | Fort Hills Energy L.P. | Heat recovery for bitumen froth treatment plant integration with sealed closed-loop cooling circuit |
| US9546323B2 (en) | 2011-01-27 | 2017-01-17 | Fort Hills Energy L.P. | Process for integration of paraffinic froth treatment hub and a bitumen ore mining and extraction facility |
| US9587176B2 (en) | 2011-02-25 | 2017-03-07 | Fort Hills Energy L.P. | Process for treating high paraffin diluted bitumen |
| US9676684B2 (en) | 2011-03-01 | 2017-06-13 | Fort Hills Energy L.P. | Process and unit for solvent recovery from solvent diluted tailings derived from bitumen froth treatment |
| US9791170B2 (en) | 2011-03-22 | 2017-10-17 | Fort Hills Energy L.P. | Process for direct steam injection heating of oil sands slurry streams such as bitumen froth |
| US10041005B2 (en) | 2011-03-04 | 2018-08-07 | Fort Hills Energy L.P. | Process and system for solvent addition to bitumen froth |
| US10226717B2 (en) | 2011-04-28 | 2019-03-12 | Fort Hills Energy L.P. | Method of recovering solvent from tailings by flashing under choked flow conditions |
| US10954448B2 (en) | 2017-08-18 | 2021-03-23 | Canadian Natural Resources Limited | High temperature paraffinic froth treatment process |
| US11261383B2 (en) | 2011-05-18 | 2022-03-01 | Fort Hills Energy L.P. | Enhanced temperature control of bitumen froth treatment process |
-
2009
- 2009-02-18 CA CA2654611A patent/CA2654611C/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
Cited By (11)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US9546323B2 (en) | 2011-01-27 | 2017-01-17 | Fort Hills Energy L.P. | Process for integration of paraffinic froth treatment hub and a bitumen ore mining and extraction facility |
| US9587176B2 (en) | 2011-02-25 | 2017-03-07 | Fort Hills Energy L.P. | Process for treating high paraffin diluted bitumen |
| US10125325B2 (en) | 2011-02-25 | 2018-11-13 | Fort Hills Energy L.P. | Process for treating high paraffin diluted bitumen |
| US9676684B2 (en) | 2011-03-01 | 2017-06-13 | Fort Hills Energy L.P. | Process and unit for solvent recovery from solvent diluted tailings derived from bitumen froth treatment |
| US10041005B2 (en) | 2011-03-04 | 2018-08-07 | Fort Hills Energy L.P. | Process and system for solvent addition to bitumen froth |
| US10988695B2 (en) | 2011-03-04 | 2021-04-27 | Fort Hills Energy L.P. | Process and system for solvent addition to bitumen froth |
| US9791170B2 (en) | 2011-03-22 | 2017-10-17 | Fort Hills Energy L.P. | Process for direct steam injection heating of oil sands slurry streams such as bitumen froth |
| US9207019B2 (en) | 2011-04-15 | 2015-12-08 | Fort Hills Energy L.P. | Heat recovery for bitumen froth treatment plant integration with sealed closed-loop cooling circuit |
| US10226717B2 (en) | 2011-04-28 | 2019-03-12 | Fort Hills Energy L.P. | Method of recovering solvent from tailings by flashing under choked flow conditions |
| US11261383B2 (en) | 2011-05-18 | 2022-03-01 | Fort Hills Energy L.P. | Enhanced temperature control of bitumen froth treatment process |
| US10954448B2 (en) | 2017-08-18 | 2021-03-23 | Canadian Natural Resources Limited | High temperature paraffinic froth treatment process |
Also Published As
| Publication number | Publication date |
|---|---|
| CA2654611C (en) | 2013-01-08 |
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Legal Events
| Date | Code | Title | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| EEER | Examination request | ||
| MKLA | Lapsed |
Effective date: 20210218 |