CA2822455C

CA2822455C - Integrated xtl and open pit oil sands mining processes

Info

Publication number: CA2822455C
Application number: CA2822455A
Authority: CA
Inventors: Ebrahim Salehi; Sanjiv Save; Wessel Nel; Vining Wolff
Original assignee: Hatch Ltd
Current assignee: Hatch Ltd
Priority date: 2013-08-01
Filing date: 2013-08-01
Publication date: 2014-10-21
Anticipated expiration: 2033-08-01
Also published as: CA2822455A1

Abstract

Systems and processes for producing hydrocarbon products integrate an XTL process for producing hydrocarbons with open pit oil sands mining process. The integration includes one or more of steam integration, process water integration, water treatment system integration, nitrogen integration, and integrated use of carbon-containing products or by-products from one process in another process. An example of an integrated process comprises: (a) converting a carbon- containing feed stream to a first hydrocarbon product stream by an XTL process, wherein waste water is produced by said XTL process; (b) diverting at least a portion of the waste water produced by said XTL process to an open pit oil sands mining process; (c) mixing the waste water with oil sands ore produced by said open pit oil sands mining process to form a slurry; (c) recovering said oil product from the slurry; and (d) converting said oil product to a second hydrocarbon product stream.

Description

INTEGRATED XTL AND OPEN PIT OIL SANDS MINING PROCESSES
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The invention relates to integration of processes for producing hydrocarbon products. More particularly, the invention relates to integration of an XTL process for producing hydrocarbons with an open pit oil sands mining process, and/or a bitumen treatment/upgrading process. The integration includes one or more of steam integration, process water integration, water treatment system integration, nitrogen integration, and integrated use of carbon-containing products or by-products from one process in another process.
BACKGROUND

[0002] The large deposits of oil sands found in parts of western Canada are important sources of heavy crude oil and/or bitumen. There are two primary methods for recovering oil from oil sands: (a) by open pit surface mining, and (b) in-situ extraction whereby steam and/or solvents are injected into underground reservoirs to reduce the viscosity of the bitumen and allow it to be pumped to the surface for processing. An example of an in-situ extraction method is SAGD (steam-assisted gravity drainage), in which steam is injected into the reservoir to reduce the viscosity of the bitumen. In-situ extraction methods are discussed in greater detail in commonly assigned Canadian Patent Application No. 2,806,044.

[0003] In open pit surface mining of oil sands, the ore is mined and is subsequently crushed for size reduction. Large amounts of hot water are then added to the ore to form a slurry, and the slurry is transported to a vessel where the bitumen is at least partially separated from tailings by a flotation or "froth treatment" process whereby bitumen froth is recovered from the flotation process.

[0004] Once the bitumen is recovered, it undergoes various processing and/or upgrading steps in a plant. For example, a diluent may be added to the bitumen to enable it to be transported by pipeline. The bitumen may also undergo further processing on-site, for example to convert it to SCO
(synthetic crude oil). After upgrading, one or more product streams from the upgraded oil product are transported via pipeline to another location, such as a remotely located oil refinery.

[0005] As will be appreciated, open pit mining of oil sands is performed in remote areas. Large amounts of energy are consumed in producing steam to heat water for preparation of the slurry of oil sands. Large amounts of fresh water are also required to generate steam and the water needed for slurry formation. Also, the diluents, solvents and other inputs required for viscosity reduction, dilution and/or upgrading the recovered product are typically transported across great distances to the extraction site. In addition, the transport of certain carbonaceous by-products of the bitumen upgrading processes to off-site locations may not be practical or economically feasible.

Therefore, these by-products, which include asphaltene and coke, are either stockpiled or disposed of.

[0006] The acronym XTL ("X"-to-liquid) is used to describe a group of processes by which various carbon-containing materials are converted to hydrocarbon products such as LPG, naphtha and diesel. XTL processes may produce significant quantities of pressurized steam and water as by-products.

[0007] The carbonaceous feed material of the XTL process can include coal, coke (also referred to as "pet coke"), biomass, natural gas or any combination of these. Where natural gas is used as the feed material, the process may be referred to as GTL (gas-to-liquid). The XTL process includes a first step in which the feed material is converted to a syngas comprising carbon monoxide and hydrogen, a second step whereby the syngas is converted to the liquid hydrocarbon product(s) by a F-T (Fischer-Tropsch) process, and a third step whereby the FT liquid product is converted to saleable hydrocarbon products like = diesel. It will be appreciated that this description of XTL is oversimplified and that the syngas generation and the F-T process steps may themselves include multiple steps. Some of these additional steps are described in the detailed description which follows below.

[0008] The inventors are not aware of any successful integration of XTL
processes with open pit mining of oil sands and/or bitumen treatment/upgrading processes, despite the fact that sources of XTL feed materials such as natural gas reservoirs are often located in close proximity to oil sands deposits, and despite the fact that products or by-products of one process can be utilized in a different process.
SUMMARY

[0009] In an embodiment, there is provided an integrated process for producing at least two hydrocarbon product streams. The integrated process comprises: (a) converting a carbon-containing feed stream to a first hydrocarbon product stream by an XTL process, wherein waste water is produced by said XTL process; (b) diverting at least a portion of the waste water produced by said XTL process to an open pit oil sands mining process; (c) mixing the waste water with oil sands ore produced by said open pit oil sands mining process to form a slurry; (c) recovering said oil product from the slurry; and (d) converting said oil product to a second hydrocarbon product stream.

[0010] In an embodiment, the XTL process may comprise the steps of: (i) generating a syngas comprising carbon monoxide and hydrogen from a carbon-containing feed stream, wherein the step of generating a syngas produces a first portion of the waste water; (ii) converting at least a portion of said syngas to a first hydrocarbon product stream by a Fischer-Tropsch (F-T) process, wherein said F-T process produces a second portion of the waste water.

[0011] In an embodiment, the waste water may be heated before it is mixed with the oil sands ore. Where steam is produced by the XTL process, at least a portion of the steam produced by the XTL process may be used to heat the waste water before it is mixed with the oil sands ore. Furthermore, a portion of the steam produced by the XTL process may be used to generate power for both the open pit oil sands mining process and the XTL process.

[0012] In an embodiment, a froth containing the oil product is extracted from the slurry, and the oil product is recovered from the froth by a high temperature froth treatment process. At least a portion of the steam produced by the XTL process may be used in the high temperature froth treatment process.

[0013] In an embodiment, the first hydrocarbon product stream produced by the XTL process includes a solvent which is used in the high temperature froth treatment process.

[0014] In an embodiment, the first hydrocarbon product stream comprises one or more liquid or gaseous hydrocarbon products. For example, the liquid or gaseous hydrocarbon products may be selected from one or more members of the group comprising liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), diesel, naphtha, and mixtures of any two or more thereof.

[0015] In an embodiment, a portion of the first hydrocarbon product stream is diverted to the open pit oil sands mining process. The diverted portion of the first hydrocarbon product stream may be mixed with the waste water and the oil sands ore to form a slurry where, for example, the oil product is extracted from the oil sands ore by a solvent-water process. The diverted portion of the first hydrocarbon product stream may comprise a light hydrocarbon fraction comprised predominantly of C5 hydrocarbons.

[0016] In an embodiment, the oil product is bitumen or heavy crude oil.
Where the oil product comprises bitumen, the integrated process may further comprise diluting the bitumen with a sufficient amount of a diluent such that the diluted bitumen is transportable by a pipeline. The diluent may comprise naphtha produced by the XTL process. Also, the step of converting the oil product to a second hydrocarbon product may comprise a bitumen upgrading process, with a carbon-containing by-product of said bitumen upgrading process comprising coke.

[0017] In an embodiment, the integrated process further comprises separation of air into an oxygen stream and a nitrogen stream, wherein the oxygen stream is reacted with said carbon-containing feed stream in the conversion of the carbon-containing feed stream to said syngas. The nitrogen stream may be used for providing an inert atmosphere in process equipment used in the XTL process, the open pit oil sands mining process, and/or the conversion of the oil product to the second hydrocarbon product stream.

[0018] In an embodiment, the XTL process and the open pit oil sands mining process are co-located in close proximity to one another.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the attached drawings, in which:

[0019] Figure 1 illustrates an integrated process and system for production of first and second hydrocarbon product streams according to a first embodiment of the invention;

[0020] Figure 2 illustrates an integrated process and system for production of first and second hydrocarbon product streams according to a second embodiment of the invention; and [0021] Figure 3 illustrates an integrated process and system for production of first and second hydrocarbon product streams according to a third embodiment of the invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0022] The following is a detailed description of various embodiments of the invention, each of which integrates an XTL process and an open pit oil sands mining process for recovery of bitumen or heavy crude oil. Where the oil product is bitumen, there may also be integration of the XTL process with one or more bitumen treatment/upgrading steps. In each embodiment, the integration includes one or more of steam integration, process water integration, water treatment system integration, nitrogen integration, and integrated use of carbon-containing products or by-products from one process in another. In the embodiments described herein, the plants for performing the XTL process and, where applicable, the bitumen upgrading process, are co-located with or in close proximity to the oil sands deposit from which the bitumen is recovered by open pit mining.

[0023] Unless indicated otherwise below, conduits and components shown in dashed lines (except for the boxes labelled "XTL", "Open Pit Mining Oil Sands", "Bitumen Processing", "Froth Processing" and "Bitumen Upgrading") are to be understood as being optional.

[0024] Figure 1 illustrates an integrated process and system 100 for production of first (XTL) and second (open pit oil sands mining) hydrocarbon product streams according to a first embodiment of the invention. In system 100, the first hydrocarbon product stream comprises one or more XTL products which are produced from a carbon-containing feed stream in the XTL process. In this embodiment, the carbon-containing feed stream comprises natural gas obtained from a natural gas source 12 such as a natural gas reservoir. The natural gas is transported from source 12 through conduit 14 to a syngas generation unit 16 where it is converted to a synthesis gas (hereinafter referred to as "syngas").

[0025] The term "syngas" as used herein refers to a gas mixture containing varying amounts of carbon monoxide and hydrogen. A syngas may be produced by steam reforming, partial oxidation, and/or autothermal reforming, separately or in combination, of natural gas; by gasification/co-gasification of a solid or liquid carbonaceous material; or any combinations of these gaseous, liquid and solid materials. The reforming/gasification reaction consumes water (as steam) and/or oxygen.

[0026] The syngas generation unit 16 in the first embodiment may comprise a reforming unit wherein natural gas (predominantly methane) is converted to syngas by one or more steps, with inputs of steam and molecular oxygen. As shown in Figure 1, the oxygen input is provided by an air separation unit (ASU) 18 which separates oxygen from air, and steam is provided by a steam and condensate system 19, which is further described below. Hydrogen for natural gas desulfurization is provided by a hydrogen separation unit 20 which may separate a portion of the hydrogen from the syngas. Figure 1 shows an oxygen conduit 62 extending from ASU 18 to syngas generation unit 16, a steam conduit 64 between the steam and condensate system 19 and syngas generation unit 16, and a hydrogen conduit 66 between the hydrogen separation unit 20 and syngas generation unit 16.

[0027] The overall syngas generation reaction is exothermic and is cooled by water, more specifically by boiling feed water (BFW) fed to the syngas generation unit 16 through BFW conduit 68. The BFW is heated by the syngas to generate steam which may be at high pressure, typically about 70-120 bar, and high temperature. Steam and liquid waste water are removed from the syngas generation unit 16 through one or more conduits, shown in Figure 1 as syngas unit process water conduit 22 and syngas unit steam conduit 24.

[0028] The syngas is transported from syngas generation unit 16 to an F-T
= (Fischer-Tropsch) unit 26 through syngas conduit 28. In the F-T unit 26 the syngas undergoes an F-T reaction whereby the syngas is catalytically converted to a hydrocarbon product stream, typically a mixture of liquid and/or gaseous hydrocarbons. Steam and liquid water are by-products of the F-T process, and are removed from the F-T unit 26 through one or more conduits, shown in Figure 1 as F-T unit process water conduit 32 and F-T unit steam conduit 34. It can be seen that a portion of the process water from syngas generation unit 16 and F-T
unit 26 is fed to water treatment unit 46 through process water conduit 70 in which the water is treated to produce BFW, wherein the process water conduit receives the process water through the water conduits 22 and 32 mentioned above.

[0029] System 100 also includes an acid removal unit 108 which removes carbon dioxide and sulfur from the syngas produced by unit 16. The carbon dioxide produced by unit 108 may be exhausted, however, it is possible to achieve further integration by using this carbon dioxide in the open pit oil sands mining process, as discussed further below.

[0030] The composition of the hydrocarbon product stream produced by F-T unit 26 is variable, and depends at least partly on the F-T reaction temperature, the reaction pressure, the type of catalyst (typically cobalt- or iron-based), and the composition of the syngas. The specific F-T process shown in Figure 1 favours synthesis of long-chain hydrocarbons, and the XTL process includes the step of converting the long-chain hydrocarbons to shorter-chain hydrocarbon products in an F-T product upgrading unit 30, which receives the F-T product through conduit 72. The shorter-chain hydrocarbons may be separated into different fractions to provide two or more hydrocarbon products such as liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), diesel and naphtha. For example, proper hydrocracking of the FT product can yield winter diesel fuel with the required specification for arctic conditions. The hydrocarbon products produced by the F-T upgrading unit 30 are collectively referred to herein as the "first hydrocarbon product stream".

[0031] As shown in Figure 1, the ASU 18, syngas generation unit 16, hydrogen separation unit 20, F-T unit 26 and F-T product upgrading unit 30 are all included within the box labelled "XTL", indicating that the reactions conducted in these reaction units are part of the overall XTL process.

[0032] Turning now to the open pit oil sands mining process, Figure 1 illustrates the process steps and the system components involved in extracting a highly viscous oil product, such as heavy crude oil or bitumen, from an oil sands deposit by open pit mining. The steps and apparatus for recovering the bitumen-containing ore from the pit and reducing it in size, for example by crushing, are schematically indicated in Figure 1 by box 130 labelled "Mining".

[0033] After the ore is recovered and crushed during the open pit mining process 130, it is mixed with a large volume of hot water at a temperature of about 50-80 C to form a pumpable slurry, the temperature of the slurry being about 40-60 C, the slurry formation step and apparatus being schematically illustrated in Figure 1 by box 132. In the system 100 of Figure 1, at least a portion of the process water used for slurry formation at 132 comprises waste (process) water recovered from the syngas generation unit 16 and the F-T unit 26. Accordingly, Figure 1 illustrates that a portion of the process water in conduit 70, which receives the waste water from units 16 and 26, is diverted toward the slurry formation process and apparatus through conduit 134.
Therefore, the system 100 of Figure 1 provides process water integration between the XTL process and the open pit oil sands mining process, reducing the amount of fresh water which is consumed by the open pit oil sands mining process.

[0034] The process water for slurry formation is typically heated to a temperature of about 50-80 C before it contacts the recovered ore, and therefore Figure 1 shows that the process water diverted from process water conduit 70 is passed through a heat exchanger 136, in which the process water is heated by steam, and the heated process water flows from heat exchanger 136 to the slurry formation apparatus 132 through a hot water conduit 142. In the system 100 of Figure 1, at least a portion of the steam required for heating the process water for slurry formation is provided by the steam and condensate system 19 which, as mentioned above, receives waste steam produced by the syngas generation unit 16 and the F-T unit 26. As shown in Figure 1, steam from steam and condensate system 19 may be provided to the heat exchanger 136 through a steam conduit 138, and condensate produced by cooling the steam in heat exchanger 136 may be returned to the steam and condensate system 19 through condensate conduit 140. Therefore, the system 100 of Figure 1 provides steam integration between the XTL process and the open pit oil sands mining process, reducing the amount of steam which must be generated for the open pit oil sands mining process, reducing the amount of energy which must be generated to heat water for the open pit oil sands mining process. This results in energy saving and a reduction in the amount of water which must be treated.

[0035] It can be seen that Figure 1 also includes an auxiliary boiler 31 which may be regarded as belonging to the XTL process, and which is primarily used during start-up of the XTL process, for example to drive the ASU 18 turbine. The auxiliary boiler 31 generates pressurized steam from BFW received from water treatment unit 46 through BFW conduit 78, using heat from the combustion of natural gas obtained from the natural gas source 12, and optionally from off gases recovered from the XTL process and/or bitumen recovery. Figure 1 shows a conduit 80for feeding natural gas from source 12 to the auxiliary boiler 31. The steam produced by auxiliary boiler 31 is fed to the steam and condensate system 19 through steam conduit 82.

[0036] As shown in Figure 1, the steam and condensate system 19 also provides steam to, and receives condensate from, a power generation unit 33 through respective conduits 84 and 86, wherein the power generation unit 33 produces power for the XTL process and/or the open pit mining process.

[0037] Once the slurry of ore is produced at 132, it undergoes a bitumen extraction step whereby bitumen is at least partially separated from the other components of the slurry. In the system 100 of Figure 1, the slurry is pumped through conduit 144 to a bitumen extraction unit, and the bitumen extraction step and apparatus are schematically illustrated in Figure 1 by box 146, and the bitumen extraction step is considered part of the overall open pit mining process.
The bitumen is recovered from the slurry as bitumen froth, the froth typically comprising about 60 wt.% bitumen, 30 wt.% water and 10 wt.% solids. The tailings separated during the bitumen extraction step 146 primarily comprise sand and water.

[0038] Following extraction of bitumen froth from the oil sands slurry, the tailings from the bitumen extraction unit 146 may be processed so as to recover process water therefrom. In the system of Figure 1, the tailings management step and apparatus are schematically illustrated in Figure 1 by box 148. The process water recovered from the tailings is fed back into the process water system, for example through water conduit 150. For example, the recovered process water may be fed through conduit 150 directly to the water treatment unit 46 or to the process water conduit 70. Therefore, the system 100 of Figure 1 provides process water integration between the XTL process and the open pit oil sands mining process, reducing the amount of fresh water which is consumed by the open pit oil sands mining process and the XTL process.

[0039] As shown in Figure 1, carbon dioxide may be separated from the tail gas of the F-T unit 26, for example as by the SelexolTM process, in a CO2 removal unit 152. A portion of the tail gas treated by the CO2 removal unit 152 may be combusted, for example in auxiliary boiler 31, to which it may be fed through conduit 168. The combustion of the tail gas helps to generate steam for the steam and condensate system 19. Another portion of the tail gas from CO2 removal unit 152 may be fed to the sygas generation unit 16, for example to adjust the H2:CO ratio of the syngas leaving the syngas generation unit 16.

[0040] The CO2 separated from the tail gas may be fed to the tailings management unit 148 through CO2 conduit 154. In addition, the CO2 separated from the syngas by acid removal unit 108 may also be fed to the tailings management unit 148 through a CO2 conduit 162. Research has shown that injection of CO2 into the tailings can help the tailings settle out faster. As indicated by the use of dotted lines in Figure 1, the removal of CO2 from the syngas and/or the FT tail gas and the transfer of the recovered CO2 to the tailings management unit 148 are optional. Therefore, the system 100 of Figure 1 provides CO2 integration between the XTL process and the open pit oil sands mining process, reducing the amount of CO2 which must be supplied from off-site.

[0041] The bitumen froth produced by the bitumen extraction unit 146 contains bitumen, fine clays and water, and undergoes a high temperature froth treatment process (HTFT) in order to purify and recover bitumen contained in the froth. HTFT typically involves cleaning froth generated in extraction by adding a paraffinic solvent consisting of light alkanes, without aromatics, with the primary component of the solvent being pentanes, with less than about 5% butanes and hexanes by mass. A typical paraffinic solvent may comprise about 0.44%
hexane, 1.22% cyclopentane, 77.95% n-pentane, 19.82% isopentane, and 0.57%butane by mass. When an amount of the paraffinic solvent is combined with bitumen froth, a clean, diluted bitumen product (dilbit) is produced, the dilbit containing less than about 0.5% sediment and water by mass. The solvent also precipitates a quantity of asphaltene which, when the solvent is distilled off, produces a quantity of dry bitumen.

[0042] The HTFT step and apparatus are schematically illustrated in Figure 1 by box 156, and Figure 1 shows that the froth from bitumen extraction unit 146 is transferred through conduit 158 to HTFT unit 156. In the HTFT unit, the bitumen froth is treated with solvents to purify the bitumen and remove water, fine sand and clay. In the system 100 of Figure 1, the steam for the HTFT
process is supplied through a steam conduit 160 from the steam and condensate system 19, which receives waste steam from the syngas generation unit 16 and the F-T unit 26. Furthermore, the HTFT process is supplied with a paraffinic solvent of variable composition from the FT product upgrading unit 30 which may have a composition as described above, the paraffinic solvent being supplied through conduit 112. At least a portion of the tailings of the HTFT process may be processed in the tailings management apparatus 148 and/or the asphaltene in the tailings may be incorporated into the carbon-containing feed stream fed to the syngas generation unit 16, either on its own or in combination with natural gas, as disclosed in Canadian Patent Application No. 2,806,044 mentioned above.

[0043] Therefore, the system 100 of Figure 1 provides steam integration and solvent integration between the XTL process and the froth treatment process, reducing the amount of steam which must be generated, and reducing or eliminating the supply of paraffinic solvents from outside sources.

[0044] To reduce the viscosity of the purified bitumen to a sufficient level that it can be transported by a pipeline, a diluent is added to the bitumen.
In the process and system of Figure 1, the diluent is added to the bitumen through conduit 92 and comprises paraffinic diluents such as naphtha produced by the XTL process, in the FT product upgrading step. The diluted bitumen product is referred to as "Di!bit" in Figure 1. The use of naphtha produced by the XTL
process co-located with the SAGD process saves considerable costs in transporting naphtha to the SAGD process location.

[0045] As mentioned above, steam and water are by-products of both steps of the XTL process, i.e. the syngas generation process and the F-T
process.
The condensed water (process water) by-products from the syngas generation process and the F-T process enter the integrated water treatment system shown in Figure 1 through conduits 22 and 32, leading to water treatment unit 46 through process water conduit 94, where it is treated in water treatment unit 46.
However, these two process water streams 22 and 32 are not of the same quality. The water separated from the syngas stream is usually clean water which can be sent directly to a demineralization unit (DM) to produce BFW.

However, the process water from the F-T unit 26 is contaminated with organic acids and alcohols and typically requires biological treatment.
[0046] As mentioned above, process water separated by bitumen extraction unit 146 is sent to the water treatment unit 46 through water conduit 96 for treatment. Therefore, it can be seen that the water treatment unit 46, serves both the XTL process and the open pit oil sands mining process. The integration of the water treatment saves costs due to the fact that one water treatment unit 46 serves both processes.

[0047] In addition, the amount of water processed by the water treatment unit 46 may be less than the amount which would be processed if the two processes were operated separately. In this regard, the XTL process is a net producer of water, and open pit oil sands mining consumes water. Thus, integration of water treatment saves energy in that less water needs to be treated, reduces or eliminates the need to import fresh water, and also saves capital costs in that a single water treatment unit serves both the XTL and open pit oil sands mining processes.

[0048] With regard to the steam by-products of the syngas generation unit 16 and the F-T unit 26, the steam conduits 24 and 34 transfer the steam to the open pit oil sands mining process, ASU unit 18, and power generation unit 33 through the steam and condensate system 19, in which steam is conditioned, separated from condensate, and distributed to users. As shown in Figure 1, the steam and condensate system 19 may also provide steam and receive condensate from steam condensation at a number of steps in the process.
Although not shown in the drawings, the steam from steam and condensate unit 19 could be utilized in the water treatment unit 46 where evaporative water treatment is used.

[0049] The steam produced by syngas cooling in the syngas generation unit 16 is a high pressure (HP) steam (about 70-120 bar) which, along with the F-T
steam from the F-T unit 26, is sent to the steam and condensate system 19.

From the steam and condensate unit, the HP steam may be used to heat water for the open pit oil sands mining process. However, all or part of the HP
steam may be sent to the ASU 18 through steam conduit 98 to drive the extraction turbine (not shown in Figure 1), and the resulting intermediate pressure (IP) steam may be extracted from the steam extraction turbine and then, along with the turbine condensate, is sent to steam and condensate system 19 through conduit 102.

[0050] On the other hand, steam produced by the F-T unit 26 may not be directly usable to heat water for the open pit oil sands mining process. In this regard, F-T steam generated by a low temperature F-T process has a pressure of about 10-20 bar, and at least a portion of this steam may instead be used for power generation or process heating. The power generated by the F-T steam may be consumed in both the XTL and open pit oil sands mining processes.
However, where a high temperature F-T process is conducted in the F-T unit, the F-T steam could be used to heat water for the open pit oil sands mining process.

[0051] Further integration of the processes is possible. For example, as noted above, the air separation unit 18 separates oxygen from air. The air separation unit produces a nitrogen fraction which can be used for providing an inert atmosphere in one or more process vessels in the integrated system 100, for example to purge a system for routine maintenance procedures. This reduces the amount of nitrogen which must be transported to the site from a remote location.

[0052] Figure 2 illustrates an integrated process and system 200 for production of first and second hydrocarbon product streams according to a second embodiment of the invention. Integrated system 200 includes many of the same elements as integrated system 100, and like reference numerals are used to show like elements of systems 100 and 200.

[0053] It can be seen that system 200 shares many elements with system 100, and includes the production of a first hydrocarbon product stream by an XTL

process and a second hydrocarbon stream by an open pit oil sands mining process. The primary difference between systems 100 and 200 is that system 200 includes a bitumen upgrading process conducted in bitumen upgrading unit 52. The presence of a bitumen upgrading process and unit in system 200 allows for additional process integration.

[0054] The bitumen upgrading unit 52 receives bitumen, which may be diluted with a paraffinic solvent from the XTL process, through conduit 104 from the HTFT unit 156 of the open pit oil sands mining process. The bitumen upgrading unit 52 converts the bitumen to products such as diesel, naphtha and gasoil, either as separate product streams or as a blended product stream, the blended product being shown in Figure 2 as "SCO (synthetic crude oil). The individual or blended products may be transported to another location for further processing, typically by pipeline. Alternatively, the individual products produced by the bitumen upgrading unit may be blended with products produced by the XTL process.

[0055] For example, the relatively low quality diesel produced by the bitumen upgrading unit 52 may be blended with the higher quality diesel produced by the XTL process. The XTL diesel has a high cetane number, almost zero sulfur, low density, but poor cold flow properties. On the other hand, the bitumen upgrader diesel has a low cetane number, relatively high sulfur content, higher density, and better cold flow properties. The XTL and bitumen upgrader diesel streams can be blended to produce a diesel which can meet on-road specifications, even for arctic conditions.

[0056] Similarly, the XTL naphtha and bitumen upgrader naphtha streams can be blended and sold to the bitumen dilution market. Alternatively, the bitumen upgrader naphtha can be mixed with gasoline, and/or the highly paraffinic XTL naphtha could be used as a solvent in the HTFT or for bitumen dilution.

[0057] The gasoil stream from the bitumen upgrading unit 52 may be sold to refineries or can be converted to gasoline by adding a fluid catalytic cracker (FCC) unit to the bitumen upgrading unit 52.

[0058] Rather than undergoing complete bitumen upgrading in unit 52, the bitumen may be only partially upgraded to provide a partially upgraded bitumen having an API (American Petroleum Institute) gravity less than 20 API, normally considered the minimum density for transport by pipeline. A pipelinable blend may be produced by blending the partially upgraded bitumen with XTL naphtha.

[0059] Therefore, it can be seen that the present process is capable of producing a variety of product streams, and also provides integration of the product streams from the XTL and open pit oil sands mining processes.

[0060] The bitumen upgrading process increases the relatively low H:C
ratio of the bitumen by a process referred to as "coke rejection", or by hydrogen addition, and both of these alternatives are shown as options in Figure 2.

[0061] Where the bitumen upgrading process comprises coke rejection, the coke by-product generated by bitumen upgrading is typically considered a waste product and may be stockpiled or landfilled. However, in the integrated process and system 200 according to Figure 2, the coke is incorporated into the carbon-containing feed stream which is fed to the syngas generation unit 16 of the XTL
process through a conduit (not shown), either on its own or in combination with natural gas, similar to the manner disclosed in above-mentioned Canadian Patent Application No. 2,806,044. In this regard, the natural gas conduit 14 is shown in dotted lines in Figure 2 to show that natural gas is optionally not included in the carbon-containing feed stream containing coke. It will be appreciated that the syngas generation unit 16 of this embodiment may include both a reforming unit to convert natural gas to syngas and a gasification unit in order to convert the coke to syngas. The co-gasification of carbon- containing materials in one unit could also be considered.

[0062] The coke is fed to the syngas generation unit 16 as an aqueous slurry. The slurry may be prepared by combining process water with the coke in a wet mill (not shown), and feeding the slurry to the syngas generation unit where it is gasified or co-gasified (where natural gas is present), and converted to syngas by reaction with steam and oxygen.

[0063] Rather than upgrading bitumen by coke rejection, system 200 also includes the option of upgrading the bitumen by hydrogen addition in the bitumen upgrading unit 52. Bitumen upgrading by hydrogen addition also increases the H:C ratio of the bitumen and converts the bitumen to SCO.
System 200 produces additional process integration in that a portion of the hydrogen separated from the syngas by the hydrogen separation unit 20 is diverted through hydrogen conduit 56 and is used in the bitumen upgrading unit 52.

[0064] Figure 3 illustrates an integrated process and system 300 for production of first and second hydrocarbon product streams according to a third embodiment of the invention. Integrated system 300 includes many of the same elements as integrated systems 100 and 200, and like reference numerals are used to show like elements of systems 100, 200 and 300.

[0065] System 300 also includes the production of a first hydrocarbon product stream by an XTL process and a second hydrocarbon stream by an open pit oil sands mining process. The primary difference between system 300 and system 100 is that system 300 uses a "solvent-water" process to extract the bitumen from the oil sands ore in the slurry formation step and apparatus 132.

According to the solvent-water process, the ore is combined with process water and solvent which may or may not be mixed together prior to contacting the ore.
According to this system 300, the process water and solvent do not need to be heated before contacting the oil sands ore, and therefore system 300 does not include a heat exchanger 136.

[0066] As in system 100, the process water for slurry formation in system 300 includes waste water produced by the syngas generation unit 16 and the F-T

unit, thereby providing process water integration and reducing the amount of fresh water consumed by the system 300.

[0067] The solvent for slurry formation in system 300 is a paraffinic solvent produced by the F-T product upgrading unit 30, and may be predominantly comprised of a light hydrocarbon fraction, such as a C5 hydrocarbon fraction.
This fraction may be fed to the slurry formation apparatus through a solvent conduit 164. Therefore, the system 300 provides both process water integration and solvent or product integration since the process water and a paraffinic solvent produced by the XTL process are utilized to form the slurry of ore in the open pit oil sands mining process.

[0068] The system 300 includes a bitumen extraction step and apparatus 146 by which the bitumen is separated from the tailings, and the tailings may be processed in the tailings management apparatus 148 as discussed above. In the system 300 the extracted bitumen is not in the form of a froth, and therefore no high temperature froth treatment apparatus is provided in system 300.
However, the system 300 may include a solvent recovery unit 166 in which at least a portion of the paraffinic solvent is recovered from the bitumen. The recovered solvent may be recycled for use in the slurry formation step, for example by entering conduit 164.

[0069] Although a number of the processes described above utilize natural gas as a feed material for the XTL process, it will be appreciated that the carbon-containing feed material can include other carbon sources, such as coal and/or biomass, either in addition to or instead of natural gas.

[0070] Although the word "conduit" is used in the above description to describe means for transferring gases, liquids and solids between various system components, the use of the word "conduit" does not limit the means by which gases, liquids and solids are transferred between system components. In some cases, the conduits may be process piping, but this is not necessarily the case.
For example, solids are generally transferred by means other than process piping.

[0071] Furthermore, because the drawings illustrate the systems and processes of the invention in a schematic manner, the routing of conduits, the connections between two or more conduits, and the connections between the conduits and system components, is not necessarily as shown in the drawings.

[0072] The scope of the claims should not be limited by the specific embodiments set forth in the description, but should be given the broadest interpretation consistent with the description as a whole.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. An integrated process for producing at least two hydrocarbon product streams, the integrated process comprising:
(a) converting a carbon-containing feed stream to a first hydrocarbon product stream by an XTL process, wherein waste water is produced by said XTL
process;
(b) diverting at least a portion of the waste water produced by said XTL
process to an open pit oil sands mining process;
(c) mixing the waste water with oil sands ore produced by said open pit oil sands mining process to form a slurry;
(c) recovering an oil product from the slurry; and (d) converting said oil product to a second hydrocarbon product stream.

2. The integrated process of claim 1, wherein the XTL process comprises the steps of:
(i) generating a syngas comprising carbon monoxide and hydrogen from a carbon-containing feed stream, wherein the step of generating a syngas produces a first portion of the waste water;
(ii) converting at least a portion of said syngas to a first hydrocarbon product stream by a Fischer-Tropsch (F-T) process, wherein said F-T process produces a second portion of the waste water.

3. The integrated process of claim 1 or 2, wherein the waste water is heated before it is mixed with the oil sands ore.

4. The integrated process of claim 3, wherein steam is produced by the XTL
process, and wherein at least a portion of the steam produced by the XTL
process is used to heat the waste water before it is mixed with the oil sands ore.

5. The integrated process of claim 4, wherein a portion of said steam produced by the XTL process is used to generate power for both the open pit oil sands mining process and the XTL process.

6. The integrated process of claim 4 or 5, wherein a froth containing the oil product is extracted from the slurry, and wherein the oil product is recovered from the froth by a high temperature froth treatment process.

7. The integrated process of claim 6, wherein at least a portion of the steam produced by the XTL process is used in the high temperature froth treatment process.

8. The integrated process of claim 6 or 7, wherein said first hydrocarbon product stream produced by the XTL process includes a solvent which is used in the high temperature froth treatment process.

9. The integrated process of any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein said first hydrocarbon product stream comprises one or more liquid or gaseous hydrocarbon products.

10. The integrated process of claim 9, wherein the liquid or gaseous hydrocarbon products are selected from one or more members of the group consisting of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), diesel, naphtha, and mixtures of any two or more thereof.

11. The integrated process of claim 10, wherein a portion of the first hydrocarbon product stream is diverted to the open pit oil sands mining process.

12. The integrated process of claim 11, wherein the oil product is extracted from the oil sands ore by a solvent-water process in which said portion of the first hydrocarbon product stream is mixed with the waste water and the oil sands ore to form said slurry.

13. The integrated process of claim 12, wherein the portion of the first hydrocarbon product stream comprises a light hydrocarbon fraction comprised predominantly of C5 hydrocarbons.

14. The integrated process of any one of claims 1 to 13, wherein said oil product is bitumen or heavy crude oil.

15. The integrated process of any one of claims 1 to 14, wherein the oil product comprises bitumen and wherein the integrated process further comprises diluting said bitumen with a sufficient amount of a diluent such that the diluted bitumen is transportable by a pipeline; and wherein the diluent comprises naphtha produced by said XTL process.

16. The integrated process of claim 1, wherein the oil product comprises bitumen, wherein said step of converting said oil product to a second hydrocarbon product comprises a bitumen upgrading process, and wherein a carbon-containing by-product of said bitumen upgrading process comprises coke.

17. The integrated process of claim 2, further comprising separation of air into an oxygen stream and a nitrogen stream, wherein the oxygen stream is reacted with said carbon-containing feed stream in the conversion of the carbon-containing feed stream to said syngas.

18. The integrated process of claim 17, wherein the nitrogen stream is used for providing an inert atmosphere in process equipment used in said XTL process, said open pit oil sands mining process, and/or the conversion of said oil product to said second hydrocarbon product stream.

19. The integrated process of any one of claims 1 to 18, wherein the XTL
process and the open pit oil sands mining process are co-located in proximity to one another.

20. The integrated process of claim 1, wherein the waste water produced by said XTL process comprises process water, at least a portion of which is heated by heat from the XTL process, before the process water is mixed with the oil sands ore.

21. The integrated process of claim 20, wherein the process water is heated in a heat exchanger before it is mixed with the oil sands ore.

22. The integrated process of claim 20 or 21, wherein a source of the heat is steam produced by the XTL process.

23. The integrated process of claim 2, wherein the first hydrocarbon product stream comprises one or more liquid or gaseous hydrocarbon products; and wherein a portion of the first hydrocarbon product stream produced by the XTL process is diverted to the open pit oil sands mining process.

24. The integrated process of claim 23, wherein the liquid or gaseous hydrocarbon products are selected from one or more members of the group consisting of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), diesel, naphtha, and mixtures of any two or more thereof.

25. The integrated process of claim 23 or 24, wherein the portion of the first hydrocarbon product stream which is diverted to the open pit oil sands mining process comprises a light hydrocarbon fraction.

26. The integrated process of claim 25, wherein the light hydrocarbon fraction is comprised predominantly of C5 hydrocarbons.

27. The integrated process of any one of claims 23 to 26, wherein said step of converting the oil product to the second hydrocarbon product stream comprises diluting the oil product with a sufficient amount of a diluent such that the diluted oil product is transportable by a pipeline; and wherein the diluent comprises said portion of the first hydrocarbon product stream from the XTL process.

28. The integrated process of claim 27, wherein the oil product comprises bitumen.

29. The integrated process of claim 27 or 28, wherein the diluent includes naphtha.

30. The integrated process of any one of claims 23 to 29, wherein a froth containing the oil product is extracted from the slurry, and wherein the oil product is recovered from the froth by a high temperature froth treatment process, and wherein said first hydrocarbon product stream produced by the XTL process includes a solvent which is used in the high temperature froth treatment process.