CA2965581C - Heat recovery from oil sand tailings utilizing a fluidized bed - Google Patents
Heat recovery from oil sand tailings utilizing a fluidized bed Download PDFInfo
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- CA2965581C CA2965581C CA2965581A CA2965581A CA2965581C CA 2965581 C CA2965581 C CA 2965581C CA 2965581 A CA2965581 A CA 2965581A CA 2965581 A CA2965581 A CA 2965581A CA 2965581 C CA2965581 C CA 2965581C
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- stream
- tailings
- oil sand
- fluidized bed
- heat exchanger
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Classifications
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- F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
- F28—HEAT EXCHANGE IN GENERAL
- F28D—HEAT-EXCHANGE APPARATUS, NOT PROVIDED FOR IN ANOTHER SUBCLASS, IN WHICH THE HEAT-EXCHANGE MEDIA DO NOT COME INTO DIRECT CONTACT
- F28D13/00—Heat-exchange apparatus using a fluidised bed
-
- C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
- C10—PETROLEUM, GAS OR COKE INDUSTRIES; TECHNICAL GASES CONTAINING CARBON MONOXIDE; FUELS; LUBRICANTS; PEAT
- C10G—CRACKING HYDROCARBON OILS; PRODUCTION OF LIQUID HYDROCARBON MIXTURES, e.g. BY DESTRUCTIVE HYDROGENATION, OLIGOMERISATION, POLYMERISATION; RECOVERY OF HYDROCARBON OILS FROM OIL-SHALE, OIL-SAND, OR GASES; REFINING MIXTURES MAINLY CONSISTING OF HYDROCARBONS; REFORMING OF NAPHTHA; MINERAL WAXES
- C10G1/00—Production of liquid hydrocarbon mixtures from oil-shale, oil-sand, or non-melting solid carbonaceous or similar materials, e.g. wood, coal
- C10G1/04—Production of liquid hydrocarbon mixtures from oil-shale, oil-sand, or non-melting solid carbonaceous or similar materials, e.g. wood, coal by extraction
- C10G1/045—Separation of insoluble materials
Abstract
A method comprises providing an oil sand tailings stream; providing a fluid having a lower temperature than a temperature of the oil sand tailings stream; and flowing the oil sand tailings stream and the fluid through a fluidized bed heat exchanger to transfer heat from the oil sand tailings stream to the fluid.
Description
HEAT RECOVERY FROM OIL SAND TAILINGS UTILIZING A FLUIDIZED BED
BACKGROUND
Field of Disclosure [0001] The disclosure relates generally to the field of oil sand tailings.
Description of Related Art
BACKGROUND
Field of Disclosure [0001] The disclosure relates generally to the field of oil sand tailings.
Description of Related Art
[0002] This section is intended to introduce various aspects of the art, which may be associated with the present disclosure. This discussion is believed to assist in providing a framework to facilitate a better understanding of particular aspects of the present disclosure.
Accordingly, it should be understood that this section should be read in this light, and not necessarily as admissions of prior art.
Accordingly, it should be understood that this section should be read in this light, and not necessarily as admissions of prior art.
[0003] Modern society is greatly dependent on the use of hydrocarbon resources for fuels and chemical feedstocks. Hydrocarbons are generally found in subsurface formations that can be termed "reservoirs". Removing hydrocarbons from the reservoirs depends on numerous physical properties of the subsurface formations, such as the permeability of the rock containing the hydrocarbons, the ability of the hydrocarbons to flow through the subsurface formations, and the proportion of hydrocarbons present, among other things. Easily harvested sources of hydrocarbons are dwindling, leaving less accessible sources to satisfy future energy needs. As the costs of hydrocarbons increase, the less accessible sources become more economically attractive.
[0004] Recently, the harvesting of oil sand to remove heavy oil has become more economical. Hydrocarbon removal from oil sand may be performed by several techniques. For example, a well can be drilled to an oil sand reservoir and steam, hot air, solvents, or a combination thereof, can be injected to release the hydrocarbons. The released hydrocarbons may be collected by wells and brought to the surface.
[0005] In another technique, strip or surface mining may be performed to access the oil sand, which can be treated with water, steam or solvents to extract the heavy oil.
[0006] Oil sand extraction processes are used to liberate and separate bitumen from oil sand so that the bitumen can be further processed to produce synthetic crude oil or mixed with diluent to form "dilbit" and be transported to a refinery plant. Numerous oil sand extraction processes have been developed and commercialized, many of which involve the use of water as a processing medium. Where the oil sand is treated with water, the technique may be referred to as water-based extraction (WBE). WBE is a commonly used process to extract bitumen from mined oil sand.
[0007] One WBE process is the Clark hot water extraction process (the "Clark Process"). This process typically requires that mined oil sand be conditioned for extraction by being crushed to a desired lump size and then combined with hot water and perhaps other agents to form a conditioned slurry of water and crushed oil sand. In the Clark Process, an amount of sodium hydroxide (caustic) may be added to the slurry to increase the slurry pH, which enhances the liberation and separation of bitumen from the oil sand. Other WBE
processes may use other temperatures and may include other conditioning agents, which are added to the oil sand slurry, or may operate without conditioning agents. This slurry is first processed in a Primary Separation Cell (PSC), also known as a Primary Separation Vessel (PSV), to extract the bitumen from the slurry.
100081 In one bitumen extraction process, a water and oil sand slurry is separated into three major streams in the PSC: bitumen froth, middlings, and a PSC underflow (also known as primary separation tailings or coarse sand tailings (CST)).
[0009] Regardless of the type of WBE process employed, the process will typically result in the production of a bitumen froth that requires treatment with a solvent. For example, in the Clark Process, a bitumen froth stream comprises bitumen, solids, and water. Certain processes use naphtha to dilute bitumen froth before separating the product bitumen by centrifugation. These processes are called naphtha froth treatment (NFT) processes. Other processes use a paraffinic solvent, and are called paraffinic froth treatment (PFT) processes, to produce pipelineable bitumen with low levels of solids and water. In the PFT
process, a paraffinic solvent (for example, a mixture of iso-pentane and n-pentane) is used to dilute the froth before separating the product, diluted bitumen, by gravity. A portion of the asphaltenes in the bitumen is also rejected by design in the PFT process and this rejection is used to achieve reduced solids and water levels. In both the NFT and the PFT processes, the diluted tailings (comprising water, solids and some hydrocarbon) are separated from the diluted product bitumen.
[0010] Solvent is typically recovered from the diluted product bitumen component before the bitumen is delivered to a refining facility for further processing.
[0011] The PFT process may comprise at least three units: Froth Separation Unit (FSU), Solvent Recovery Unity (SRU) and Tailings SRU (TSRU). Mixing of the solvent with the feed bitumen froth may be carried out counter-currently in two stages in separate froth separation units. The bitumen froth comprises bitumen, water, and solids. A typical composition of bitumen froth is about 60 wt. % bitumen, 30 wt. % water, and 10 wt. % solids.
The paraffinic solvent is used to dilute the froth before separating the product bitumen by gravity. The foregoing is only an example of a PFT process and the values are provided by way of example only. An example of a PFT process is described in Canadian Patent No.
2,587,166 to Sury.
[0012] From the PSC, the middlings, comprising bitumen and about 10-30 Crecycl wt.
% solids, or about 20-25 wt. % solids, based on the total wt. % of the middlings, is withdrawn and sent to the flotation cells to further recover bitumen. The middlings are processed by bubbling air through the slurry and creating a bitumen froth, which is recycled back to the PSC.
Flotation tailings (FT) from the flotation cells, comprising mostly solids and water, are sent for further treatment (e.g. thickener or centrifuge) or disposed in an external tailings area (ETA).
[0013] In ETA tailings ponds, a liquid suspension of oil sand fines in water with a solids content greater than 2 wt. %, but less than the solids content corresponding to the Liquid Limit are called Fluid Fine Tailings (FFT). FFT settle over time to produce Mature Fine Tailings (MFT), having above about 30 wt. % solids.
[0014] It would be desirable to recover heat from oil sand tailings.
, SUMMARY
[0015] It is an object of the present disclosure to provide a method of recovering heat from oil sand tailings.
[0016] A method comprises providing an oil sand tailings stream;
providing a fluid having a lower temperature than a temperature of the oil sand tailings stream;
and flowing the oil sand tailings stream and the fluid through a fluidized bed heat exchanger to transfer heat from the oil sand tailings stream to the fluid.
[0017] The foregoing has broadly outlined the features of the present disclosure so that the detailed description that follows may be better understood. Additional features will also be described herein.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0018] These and other features, aspects and advantages of the disclosure will become apparent from the following description, appending claims and the accompanying drawings, which are briefly described below.
[0019] Figure 1 is a schematic of a method of recovering heat from oil sand tailings.
[0020] Figure 2 is a schematic of another method of recovering heat from oil sand tailings.
[0021] Figure 3 is a schematic of another method of recovering heat from oil sand tailings.
[0022] It should be noted that the figures are merely examples and no limitations on the scope of the present disclosure are intended thereby. Further, the figures are generally not drawn to scale, but are drafted for purposes of convenience and clarity in illustrating various aspects of the disclosure.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0023] For the purpose of promoting an understanding of the principles of the disclosure, reference will now be made to the features illustrated in the drawings and specific language will be used to describe the same. It will nevertheless be understood that no limitation of the scope of the disclosure is thereby intended. Any alterations and further modifications, and any further applications of the principles of the disclosure as described herein are contemplated as would normally occur to one skilled in the art to which the disclosure relates.
It will be apparent to those skilled in the relevant art that some features that are not relevant to the present disclosure may not be shown in the drawings for the sake of clarity.
[0024] At the outset, for ease of reference, certain terms used in this application and their meaning as used in this context are set forth below. To the extent a term used herein is not defined below, it should be given the broadest definition persons in the pertinent art have given that term as reflected in at least one printed publication or issued patent. Further, the present processes are not limited by the usage of the terms shown below, as all equivalents, synonyms, new developments and terms or processes that serve the same or a similar purpose are considered to be within the scope of the present disclosure.
[0025] Throughout this disclosure, where a range is used, any number between or inclusive of the range is implied.
[0026] A "hydrocarbon" is an organic compound that primarily includes the elements of hydrogen and carbon, although nitrogen, sulfur, oxygen, metals, or any number of other elements may be present in small amounts. Hydrocarbons generally refer to components found in heavy oil or in oil sand. However, the techniques described are not limited to heavy oils but may also be used with any number of other reservoirs to improve gravity drainage of liquids.
Hydrocarbon compounds may be aliphatic or aromatic, and may be straight chained, branched, or partially or fully cyclic.
[0027] "Bitumen" is a naturally occurring heavy oil material. Generally, it is the hydrocarbon component found in oil sand. Bitumen can vary in composition depending upon the degree of loss of more volatile components. It can vary from a very viscous, tar-like, semi-solid material to solid forms. The hydrocarbon types found in bitumen can include aliphatics, aromatics, resins, and asphaltenes. A typical bitumen might be composed of:
19 weight (wt.) % aliphatics (which can range from 5 wt. % - 30 wt. %, or higher);
19 wt. % asphaltenes (which can range from 5 wt. % - 30 wt. %, or higher);
30 wt. % aromatics (which can range from 15 wt. % - 50 wt. %, or higher);
32 wt. % resins (which can range from 15 wt. % - 50 wt. %, or higher); and some amount of sulfur (which can range in excess of 7 wt. %), based on a weight of the bitumen.
In addition, bitumen can contain some water and nitrogen compounds ranging from less than 0.4 wt. % to in excess of 0.7 wt. %, based on a weight of the bitumen. The percentage of the hydrocarbon found in bitumen can vary. The term "heavy oil" includes bitumen as well as lighter materials that may be found in a sand or carbonate reservoir.
[0028] "Heavy oil" includes oils which are classified by the American Petroleum Institute ("API"), as heavy oils, extra heavy oils, or bitumens. The term "heavy oil" includes bitumen. Heavy oil may have a viscosity of about 1,000 centipoise (cP) or more, 10,000 cP or more, 100,000 cP or more, or 1,000,000 cP or more. In general, a heavy oil has an API gravity between 22.3 API (density of 920 kilograms per meter cubed (kg/m3) or 0.920 grams per centimeter cubed (g/cm3)) and 10.00 API (density of 1,000 kg/m3 or 1 g/cm3).
An extra heavy oil, in general, has an API gravity of less than 10.0 API (density greater than 1,000 kg/m3 or 1 g/cm3). For example, a source of heavy oil includes oil sand or bituminous sand, which is a combination of clay, sand, water and bitumen. The recovery of heavy oils is based on the viscosity decrease of fluids with increasing temperature or solvent concentration. Once the viscosity is reduced, the mobilization of fluid by steam, hot water flooding, or gravity is possible. The reduced viscosity makes the drainage or dissolution quicker and therefore directly contributes to the recovery rate.
[0029] "Fine particles" are generally defined as those solids having a size of less than 44 microns ( m), that is, material that passes through a 325 mesh (44 micron).
[0030] "Coarse particles" are generally defined as those solids having a size of greater than 44 microns (jam).
[0031] A "fine tailings stream" (also referred to herein as "fine sand tailings" or "FST") is defined herein as a stream derived from an oil sands extraction process wherein at least 75 %
of the solids in the stream have a size of less than 44 microns (p.m).
[0032] A "coarse tailings stream" (also referred to herein as "coarse sand tailings" or "CST") is defined herein as a stream derived from an oil sands extraction process wherein at least 75 % of the solids in the stream have a size of greater than 44 microns (1,1m).
[0033] A "bitumen extract" is generally defined as bitumen that has been extracted from oil sand.
[0034] A "bitumen product stream" or "bitumen product" is generally defined as a high grade bitumen product that may be suitable for transport within pipelines and processing within downstream refineries. A high grade bitumen product stream may have a solids content of less than 1 wt. %, or less than 0.1 wt. %, on a dry bitumen basis.
[0035] The term "solvent" as used in the present disclosure should be understood to mean either a single solvent, or a combination of solvents.
[0036] The terms "approximately," "about," "substantially," and similar terms are intended to have a broad meaning in harmony with the common and accepted usage by those of ordinary skill in the art to which the subject matter of this disclosure pertains. It should be understood by those of skill in the art who review this disclosure that these terms are intended to allow a description of certain features described and claimed without restricting the scope of these features to the precise numeral ranges provided. Accordingly, these terms should be interpreted as indicating that insubstantial or inconsequential modifications or alterations of the subject matter described and are considered to be within the scope of the disclosure.
[0037] The articles "the", "a" and "an" are not necessarily limited to mean only one, but rather are inclusive and open ended so as to include, optionally, multiple such elements.
[0038] "At least one," in reference to a list of one or more entities should be understood to mean at least one entity selected from any one or more of the entity in the list of entities, but not necessarily including at least one of each and every entity specifically listed within the list of entities and not excluding any combinations of entities in the list of entities. This definition also allows that entities may optionally be present other than the entities specifically identified within the list of entities to which the phrase "at least one" refers, whether related or unrelated to those entities specifically identified. Thus, as a non-limiting example, "at least one of A and B" (or, equivalently, "at least one of A or B," or, equivalently "at least one of A and/or B") may refer, to at least one, optionally including more than one, A, with no B
present (and optionally including entities other than B); to at least one, optionally including more than one, B, with no A present (and optionally including entities other than A); to at least one, optionally including more than one, A, and at least one, optionally including more than one, B (and optionally including other entities). In other words, the phrases "at least one," "one or more," and "and/or"
are open-ended expressions that are both conjunctive and disjunctive in operation. For example, each of the expressions "at least one of A, B and C," "at least one of A, B, or C," "one or more of A, B, and C," "one or more of A, B, or C" and "A, B, and/or C" may mean A alone, B alone, C alone, A and B together, A and C together, B and C together, A, B
and C together, and optionally any of the above in combination with at least one other entity.
[0039] Heat loss from tailings, for instance from coarse sand tailings (CST) and TSRU
tailings may be significant. A commercial process to recover some of this heat has eluded the industry, possibly because of at least three challenges, namely erosion of heat exchange equipment by solids in the tailings, plugging of heat transfer internals because of large solids in the tailings, and fouling due to residual bitumen and clays in the tailings.
[0040] By using a fluidized bed heat exchanger, heat can be transferred from the tailings to the fluid. Tailings may be, for example, TSRU tailings, coarse sand tailings (CST), or fine tailings. The fluid may be an aqueous fluid, for example, sourced from a tailings pond or available cold water sources within the extraction plant. By lowering heat loss, greenhouse gas emissions may be reduced.
[0041] A method comprises providing an oil sand tailings stream;
providing a fluid having a lower temperature than a temperature of the oil sand tailings stream;
and flowing the oil sand tailings stream and the fluid through a fluidized bed heat exchanger to transfer heat from the oil sand tailings stream to the fluid.
[0042] The oil sand tailings stream may be any suitable stream stemming from oil sand.
Examples include, but are not limited to, coarse sand tailings (also known as primary separation tailings and CST), middlings, flotation tailings, froth separation tailings, tailings solvent recovery unit (TSRU) tailings, fine sand tailings (FST), mature fine tailings (MFT), thickened
processes may use other temperatures and may include other conditioning agents, which are added to the oil sand slurry, or may operate without conditioning agents. This slurry is first processed in a Primary Separation Cell (PSC), also known as a Primary Separation Vessel (PSV), to extract the bitumen from the slurry.
100081 In one bitumen extraction process, a water and oil sand slurry is separated into three major streams in the PSC: bitumen froth, middlings, and a PSC underflow (also known as primary separation tailings or coarse sand tailings (CST)).
[0009] Regardless of the type of WBE process employed, the process will typically result in the production of a bitumen froth that requires treatment with a solvent. For example, in the Clark Process, a bitumen froth stream comprises bitumen, solids, and water. Certain processes use naphtha to dilute bitumen froth before separating the product bitumen by centrifugation. These processes are called naphtha froth treatment (NFT) processes. Other processes use a paraffinic solvent, and are called paraffinic froth treatment (PFT) processes, to produce pipelineable bitumen with low levels of solids and water. In the PFT
process, a paraffinic solvent (for example, a mixture of iso-pentane and n-pentane) is used to dilute the froth before separating the product, diluted bitumen, by gravity. A portion of the asphaltenes in the bitumen is also rejected by design in the PFT process and this rejection is used to achieve reduced solids and water levels. In both the NFT and the PFT processes, the diluted tailings (comprising water, solids and some hydrocarbon) are separated from the diluted product bitumen.
[0010] Solvent is typically recovered from the diluted product bitumen component before the bitumen is delivered to a refining facility for further processing.
[0011] The PFT process may comprise at least three units: Froth Separation Unit (FSU), Solvent Recovery Unity (SRU) and Tailings SRU (TSRU). Mixing of the solvent with the feed bitumen froth may be carried out counter-currently in two stages in separate froth separation units. The bitumen froth comprises bitumen, water, and solids. A typical composition of bitumen froth is about 60 wt. % bitumen, 30 wt. % water, and 10 wt. % solids.
The paraffinic solvent is used to dilute the froth before separating the product bitumen by gravity. The foregoing is only an example of a PFT process and the values are provided by way of example only. An example of a PFT process is described in Canadian Patent No.
2,587,166 to Sury.
[0012] From the PSC, the middlings, comprising bitumen and about 10-30 Crecycl wt.
% solids, or about 20-25 wt. % solids, based on the total wt. % of the middlings, is withdrawn and sent to the flotation cells to further recover bitumen. The middlings are processed by bubbling air through the slurry and creating a bitumen froth, which is recycled back to the PSC.
Flotation tailings (FT) from the flotation cells, comprising mostly solids and water, are sent for further treatment (e.g. thickener or centrifuge) or disposed in an external tailings area (ETA).
[0013] In ETA tailings ponds, a liquid suspension of oil sand fines in water with a solids content greater than 2 wt. %, but less than the solids content corresponding to the Liquid Limit are called Fluid Fine Tailings (FFT). FFT settle over time to produce Mature Fine Tailings (MFT), having above about 30 wt. % solids.
[0014] It would be desirable to recover heat from oil sand tailings.
, SUMMARY
[0015] It is an object of the present disclosure to provide a method of recovering heat from oil sand tailings.
[0016] A method comprises providing an oil sand tailings stream;
providing a fluid having a lower temperature than a temperature of the oil sand tailings stream;
and flowing the oil sand tailings stream and the fluid through a fluidized bed heat exchanger to transfer heat from the oil sand tailings stream to the fluid.
[0017] The foregoing has broadly outlined the features of the present disclosure so that the detailed description that follows may be better understood. Additional features will also be described herein.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0018] These and other features, aspects and advantages of the disclosure will become apparent from the following description, appending claims and the accompanying drawings, which are briefly described below.
[0019] Figure 1 is a schematic of a method of recovering heat from oil sand tailings.
[0020] Figure 2 is a schematic of another method of recovering heat from oil sand tailings.
[0021] Figure 3 is a schematic of another method of recovering heat from oil sand tailings.
[0022] It should be noted that the figures are merely examples and no limitations on the scope of the present disclosure are intended thereby. Further, the figures are generally not drawn to scale, but are drafted for purposes of convenience and clarity in illustrating various aspects of the disclosure.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0023] For the purpose of promoting an understanding of the principles of the disclosure, reference will now be made to the features illustrated in the drawings and specific language will be used to describe the same. It will nevertheless be understood that no limitation of the scope of the disclosure is thereby intended. Any alterations and further modifications, and any further applications of the principles of the disclosure as described herein are contemplated as would normally occur to one skilled in the art to which the disclosure relates.
It will be apparent to those skilled in the relevant art that some features that are not relevant to the present disclosure may not be shown in the drawings for the sake of clarity.
[0024] At the outset, for ease of reference, certain terms used in this application and their meaning as used in this context are set forth below. To the extent a term used herein is not defined below, it should be given the broadest definition persons in the pertinent art have given that term as reflected in at least one printed publication or issued patent. Further, the present processes are not limited by the usage of the terms shown below, as all equivalents, synonyms, new developments and terms or processes that serve the same or a similar purpose are considered to be within the scope of the present disclosure.
[0025] Throughout this disclosure, where a range is used, any number between or inclusive of the range is implied.
[0026] A "hydrocarbon" is an organic compound that primarily includes the elements of hydrogen and carbon, although nitrogen, sulfur, oxygen, metals, or any number of other elements may be present in small amounts. Hydrocarbons generally refer to components found in heavy oil or in oil sand. However, the techniques described are not limited to heavy oils but may also be used with any number of other reservoirs to improve gravity drainage of liquids.
Hydrocarbon compounds may be aliphatic or aromatic, and may be straight chained, branched, or partially or fully cyclic.
[0027] "Bitumen" is a naturally occurring heavy oil material. Generally, it is the hydrocarbon component found in oil sand. Bitumen can vary in composition depending upon the degree of loss of more volatile components. It can vary from a very viscous, tar-like, semi-solid material to solid forms. The hydrocarbon types found in bitumen can include aliphatics, aromatics, resins, and asphaltenes. A typical bitumen might be composed of:
19 weight (wt.) % aliphatics (which can range from 5 wt. % - 30 wt. %, or higher);
19 wt. % asphaltenes (which can range from 5 wt. % - 30 wt. %, or higher);
30 wt. % aromatics (which can range from 15 wt. % - 50 wt. %, or higher);
32 wt. % resins (which can range from 15 wt. % - 50 wt. %, or higher); and some amount of sulfur (which can range in excess of 7 wt. %), based on a weight of the bitumen.
In addition, bitumen can contain some water and nitrogen compounds ranging from less than 0.4 wt. % to in excess of 0.7 wt. %, based on a weight of the bitumen. The percentage of the hydrocarbon found in bitumen can vary. The term "heavy oil" includes bitumen as well as lighter materials that may be found in a sand or carbonate reservoir.
[0028] "Heavy oil" includes oils which are classified by the American Petroleum Institute ("API"), as heavy oils, extra heavy oils, or bitumens. The term "heavy oil" includes bitumen. Heavy oil may have a viscosity of about 1,000 centipoise (cP) or more, 10,000 cP or more, 100,000 cP or more, or 1,000,000 cP or more. In general, a heavy oil has an API gravity between 22.3 API (density of 920 kilograms per meter cubed (kg/m3) or 0.920 grams per centimeter cubed (g/cm3)) and 10.00 API (density of 1,000 kg/m3 or 1 g/cm3).
An extra heavy oil, in general, has an API gravity of less than 10.0 API (density greater than 1,000 kg/m3 or 1 g/cm3). For example, a source of heavy oil includes oil sand or bituminous sand, which is a combination of clay, sand, water and bitumen. The recovery of heavy oils is based on the viscosity decrease of fluids with increasing temperature or solvent concentration. Once the viscosity is reduced, the mobilization of fluid by steam, hot water flooding, or gravity is possible. The reduced viscosity makes the drainage or dissolution quicker and therefore directly contributes to the recovery rate.
[0029] "Fine particles" are generally defined as those solids having a size of less than 44 microns ( m), that is, material that passes through a 325 mesh (44 micron).
[0030] "Coarse particles" are generally defined as those solids having a size of greater than 44 microns (jam).
[0031] A "fine tailings stream" (also referred to herein as "fine sand tailings" or "FST") is defined herein as a stream derived from an oil sands extraction process wherein at least 75 %
of the solids in the stream have a size of less than 44 microns (p.m).
[0032] A "coarse tailings stream" (also referred to herein as "coarse sand tailings" or "CST") is defined herein as a stream derived from an oil sands extraction process wherein at least 75 % of the solids in the stream have a size of greater than 44 microns (1,1m).
[0033] A "bitumen extract" is generally defined as bitumen that has been extracted from oil sand.
[0034] A "bitumen product stream" or "bitumen product" is generally defined as a high grade bitumen product that may be suitable for transport within pipelines and processing within downstream refineries. A high grade bitumen product stream may have a solids content of less than 1 wt. %, or less than 0.1 wt. %, on a dry bitumen basis.
[0035] The term "solvent" as used in the present disclosure should be understood to mean either a single solvent, or a combination of solvents.
[0036] The terms "approximately," "about," "substantially," and similar terms are intended to have a broad meaning in harmony with the common and accepted usage by those of ordinary skill in the art to which the subject matter of this disclosure pertains. It should be understood by those of skill in the art who review this disclosure that these terms are intended to allow a description of certain features described and claimed without restricting the scope of these features to the precise numeral ranges provided. Accordingly, these terms should be interpreted as indicating that insubstantial or inconsequential modifications or alterations of the subject matter described and are considered to be within the scope of the disclosure.
[0037] The articles "the", "a" and "an" are not necessarily limited to mean only one, but rather are inclusive and open ended so as to include, optionally, multiple such elements.
[0038] "At least one," in reference to a list of one or more entities should be understood to mean at least one entity selected from any one or more of the entity in the list of entities, but not necessarily including at least one of each and every entity specifically listed within the list of entities and not excluding any combinations of entities in the list of entities. This definition also allows that entities may optionally be present other than the entities specifically identified within the list of entities to which the phrase "at least one" refers, whether related or unrelated to those entities specifically identified. Thus, as a non-limiting example, "at least one of A and B" (or, equivalently, "at least one of A or B," or, equivalently "at least one of A and/or B") may refer, to at least one, optionally including more than one, A, with no B
present (and optionally including entities other than B); to at least one, optionally including more than one, B, with no A present (and optionally including entities other than A); to at least one, optionally including more than one, A, and at least one, optionally including more than one, B (and optionally including other entities). In other words, the phrases "at least one," "one or more," and "and/or"
are open-ended expressions that are both conjunctive and disjunctive in operation. For example, each of the expressions "at least one of A, B and C," "at least one of A, B, or C," "one or more of A, B, and C," "one or more of A, B, or C" and "A, B, and/or C" may mean A alone, B alone, C alone, A and B together, A and C together, B and C together, A, B
and C together, and optionally any of the above in combination with at least one other entity.
[0039] Heat loss from tailings, for instance from coarse sand tailings (CST) and TSRU
tailings may be significant. A commercial process to recover some of this heat has eluded the industry, possibly because of at least three challenges, namely erosion of heat exchange equipment by solids in the tailings, plugging of heat transfer internals because of large solids in the tailings, and fouling due to residual bitumen and clays in the tailings.
[0040] By using a fluidized bed heat exchanger, heat can be transferred from the tailings to the fluid. Tailings may be, for example, TSRU tailings, coarse sand tailings (CST), or fine tailings. The fluid may be an aqueous fluid, for example, sourced from a tailings pond or available cold water sources within the extraction plant. By lowering heat loss, greenhouse gas emissions may be reduced.
[0041] A method comprises providing an oil sand tailings stream;
providing a fluid having a lower temperature than a temperature of the oil sand tailings stream;
and flowing the oil sand tailings stream and the fluid through a fluidized bed heat exchanger to transfer heat from the oil sand tailings stream to the fluid.
[0042] The oil sand tailings stream may be any suitable stream stemming from oil sand.
Examples include, but are not limited to, coarse sand tailings (also known as primary separation tailings and CST), middlings, flotation tailings, froth separation tailings, tailings solvent recovery unit (TSRU) tailings, fine sand tailings (FST), mature fine tailings (MFT), thickened
- 8 -tailings, centrifuged tailings, hydrocycloned tailings, or a combination thereof. The oil sand tailings stream may stem from aqueous based extraction. The oil sand tailings stream may comprise coarse sand tailings (CST), tailings solvent recover unit (TSRU) tailings, fine sand tailings (FST), or a combination thereof. The oil sand tailings stream may be at a temperature of at least 30 C, at least 60 C, between 30 C and 100 C, between 30 C and 70 C, or between 60 C and 100 C. The oil sand tailings stream may comprise coarse sand tailings (CST) at a temperature of at least 40 C, or between 40 C and 70 C. The oil sand tailings stream may comprise tailings solvent recover unit (TSRU) tailings at a temperature of at least 70 C, or between 70 C and 100 C. The oil sand tailings stream may stem from solvent based extraction.
The tailings may comprise flotation tailings at a temperature of at least 30 C, or between 30 C
and 55 C. The tailings may comprise a combination of the foregoing.
[0043] The fluidized bed heat exchanger may be any suitable fluidized bed. A fluidized bed heat exchanger may comprise a body forming an inner heat exchange chamber;
a flow distributor disposed at a bottom of the body for receiving and fluidizing the oil sand tailings stream in the inner heat exchange chamber; and tubes, disposed within the inner heat exchange chamber for receiving, flowing through the chamber, and expelling fluid, wherein the body further forms an oil sand tailings stream outlet for expelling a cooled oil sands tailings stream.
[0044] The oil sand tailings stream outlet may be disposed at a top of the fluidized bed heat exchanger. The oil sand tailings stream outlet may comprise a coarse stream outlet for expelling a coarse stream and a fine stream outlet for expelling a fine stream, wherein the fine stream outlet is disposed above the coarse stream outlet.
[0045] As stated above, the fluid has a lower temperature than a temperature of the oil sand tailings stream. The temperature difference may be any suitable temperature difference that makes heat exchange worthwhile. The temperature difference may at least 5 C, at least C, at least 15 C, at least 20 C, at least 25 C, 5-95 C, 10-80 C, or 10-50 C.
[0046] Water within the oil sand tailings stream may be used as a fluidizing medium of the fluidized bed.
The tailings may comprise flotation tailings at a temperature of at least 30 C, or between 30 C
and 55 C. The tailings may comprise a combination of the foregoing.
[0043] The fluidized bed heat exchanger may be any suitable fluidized bed. A fluidized bed heat exchanger may comprise a body forming an inner heat exchange chamber;
a flow distributor disposed at a bottom of the body for receiving and fluidizing the oil sand tailings stream in the inner heat exchange chamber; and tubes, disposed within the inner heat exchange chamber for receiving, flowing through the chamber, and expelling fluid, wherein the body further forms an oil sand tailings stream outlet for expelling a cooled oil sands tailings stream.
[0044] The oil sand tailings stream outlet may be disposed at a top of the fluidized bed heat exchanger. The oil sand tailings stream outlet may comprise a coarse stream outlet for expelling a coarse stream and a fine stream outlet for expelling a fine stream, wherein the fine stream outlet is disposed above the coarse stream outlet.
[0045] As stated above, the fluid has a lower temperature than a temperature of the oil sand tailings stream. The temperature difference may be any suitable temperature difference that makes heat exchange worthwhile. The temperature difference may at least 5 C, at least C, at least 15 C, at least 20 C, at least 25 C, 5-95 C, 10-80 C, or 10-50 C.
[0046] Water within the oil sand tailings stream may be used as a fluidizing medium of the fluidized bed.
- 9 -[0047] The oil sand tailings stream may be screened prior to introduction into the fluidized bed heat exchanger to remove solids above a predetermined size which may impede fluidization or cause erosion issues on a heat transfer area of the fluidized bed heat exchanger.
Screening may be performed by any suitable means, for instance a grizzly screen or a hydrocyclone. The predetermined size of the solids may be any suitable size, for instance above one inch or above 0.5 inches average diameter.
[0048] The fluid may be any suitable fluid, may be an aqueous fluid, and may stem from a tailings pond or an oil sand extraction plant. The aqueous fluid may comprise tailings reclamation water, recycled process water, cooling water, glycol, or low temperature heat belt thermal fluid. The aqueous fluid may comprise pond water, river water, or water from a dewatering operation (i.e. basal water).
[0049] The oil sand tailings stream may be introduced into a bottom of the fluidized bed heat exchanger. A cooled oil sand tailings stream may be removed from a top of the fluidized bed heat exchanger. The presence of sand in the fluidized bed heat exchanger may provide a mild scrubbing action on the outside or inside of the heat exchange tubes to potentially increase heat transfer efficiency even in the presence of residual bitumen.
[0050] If desired, additional coarse solids can be added to the oil sand tailings stream prior to introducing the oil sand tailings stream into the fluidized bed heat exchanger.
Alternatively, additional coarse solids can be added directly into the fluidized bed heat exchanger, preferably in the location of the fluidized bed within the fluidized bed heat exchanger. This, of course, will not require the addition of man-made particles which require extensive recycle re-injection and control system.
[0051] In an embodiment, on a periodic basis for cleaning, the solids content of the oil sand tailings stream is increased for a period of time to facilitate online cleaning of the system.
In an embodiment, the period of time may be 1 hour to 5 days, 12 hours to 3 days, or 2 days to 4 days. In yet another embodiment, the period of time may be determined by monitoring the amount of heat transfer rate across the fluidized bed heat exchanger and maintaining the period until a target value for the heat transfer rate is obtained.
Screening may be performed by any suitable means, for instance a grizzly screen or a hydrocyclone. The predetermined size of the solids may be any suitable size, for instance above one inch or above 0.5 inches average diameter.
[0048] The fluid may be any suitable fluid, may be an aqueous fluid, and may stem from a tailings pond or an oil sand extraction plant. The aqueous fluid may comprise tailings reclamation water, recycled process water, cooling water, glycol, or low temperature heat belt thermal fluid. The aqueous fluid may comprise pond water, river water, or water from a dewatering operation (i.e. basal water).
[0049] The oil sand tailings stream may be introduced into a bottom of the fluidized bed heat exchanger. A cooled oil sand tailings stream may be removed from a top of the fluidized bed heat exchanger. The presence of sand in the fluidized bed heat exchanger may provide a mild scrubbing action on the outside or inside of the heat exchange tubes to potentially increase heat transfer efficiency even in the presence of residual bitumen.
[0050] If desired, additional coarse solids can be added to the oil sand tailings stream prior to introducing the oil sand tailings stream into the fluidized bed heat exchanger.
Alternatively, additional coarse solids can be added directly into the fluidized bed heat exchanger, preferably in the location of the fluidized bed within the fluidized bed heat exchanger. This, of course, will not require the addition of man-made particles which require extensive recycle re-injection and control system.
[0051] In an embodiment, on a periodic basis for cleaning, the solids content of the oil sand tailings stream is increased for a period of time to facilitate online cleaning of the system.
In an embodiment, the period of time may be 1 hour to 5 days, 12 hours to 3 days, or 2 days to 4 days. In yet another embodiment, the period of time may be determined by monitoring the amount of heat transfer rate across the fluidized bed heat exchanger and maintaining the period until a target value for the heat transfer rate is obtained.
- 10 -[0052] A natural benefit of the present invention is utilizing the solids within the oil sand tailings stream (preferably containing some content of coarse particles) in the fluidize bed to remove deposits or scale from the external walls of the tubes located within the fluidized bed in order to maintain the tubes free of deposits and increase the heat transfer through the tubes.
In a preferred embodiment, the tubes in the fluidize bed portion of the fluidized bed heat exchanger are oriented in a vertical direction to minimize the amount of deposits or scale on the tubes. Preferably the tubes are constructed of an erosion resistant alloy, preferably a high manganese steel. In another preferred embodiment, the walls of the fluidized bed heat exchanger are made from, or coated with, an erosion resistant alloy, preferably a high manganese steel. In yet another preferred embodiment, the distributor plate, spargers, and/or nozzles are made from, or coated with, an erosion resistant alloy, preferably a high manganese steel.
[0053] With reference to Figure 1, an oil sand tailings stream (102) may passed through a screen (104) and be introduced into a bottom of a fluidized bed heat exchanger (106).
Fluidizing of the oil sand stream (102) may be accomplished by various means, including, but not limited to, flowing the oil sand stream (102) through a flow distributor such as a distribution plate (107) and forming a fluidized bed (105). The distribution plate (107) may be any shape, but is preferably circular. As shown in Figure 1, the diameter of the distribution plate (107) may be less than the inner diameter of the fluidized bed heat exchanger (106).
In embodiments, the diameter of the distribution plate (107) is at least 50%, at least 75%, or at least 90% of the inner diameter of the fluidized bed heat exchanger (106). In other embodiments, the diameter of the distribution plate (107) is the same as the inner diameter of the fluidized bed heat exchanger (106) and the outer diameter of the distribution plate (107) is attached or welded to the inner diameter of the fluidized bed heat exchanger (106). A cooled oil sand tailings stream (108) may be removed from a top of the fluidized bed heat exchanger (106). A
fluid (e.g. cold water) (110) may be flowed through the fluidized bed heat exchanger (106) and exit as a warmer fluid (112). The warmer fluid may be used in extraction (e.g. in an ore preparation plant, in hydrotransport, or as dilution water in a primary separation cell) or in utilities (e.g. pre-heat boiler feed water).
In a preferred embodiment, the tubes in the fluidize bed portion of the fluidized bed heat exchanger are oriented in a vertical direction to minimize the amount of deposits or scale on the tubes. Preferably the tubes are constructed of an erosion resistant alloy, preferably a high manganese steel. In another preferred embodiment, the walls of the fluidized bed heat exchanger are made from, or coated with, an erosion resistant alloy, preferably a high manganese steel. In yet another preferred embodiment, the distributor plate, spargers, and/or nozzles are made from, or coated with, an erosion resistant alloy, preferably a high manganese steel.
[0053] With reference to Figure 1, an oil sand tailings stream (102) may passed through a screen (104) and be introduced into a bottom of a fluidized bed heat exchanger (106).
Fluidizing of the oil sand stream (102) may be accomplished by various means, including, but not limited to, flowing the oil sand stream (102) through a flow distributor such as a distribution plate (107) and forming a fluidized bed (105). The distribution plate (107) may be any shape, but is preferably circular. As shown in Figure 1, the diameter of the distribution plate (107) may be less than the inner diameter of the fluidized bed heat exchanger (106).
In embodiments, the diameter of the distribution plate (107) is at least 50%, at least 75%, or at least 90% of the inner diameter of the fluidized bed heat exchanger (106). In other embodiments, the diameter of the distribution plate (107) is the same as the inner diameter of the fluidized bed heat exchanger (106) and the outer diameter of the distribution plate (107) is attached or welded to the inner diameter of the fluidized bed heat exchanger (106). A cooled oil sand tailings stream (108) may be removed from a top of the fluidized bed heat exchanger (106). A
fluid (e.g. cold water) (110) may be flowed through the fluidized bed heat exchanger (106) and exit as a warmer fluid (112). The warmer fluid may be used in extraction (e.g. in an ore preparation plant, in hydrotransport, or as dilution water in a primary separation cell) or in utilities (e.g. pre-heat boiler feed water).
-11 -[0054] The oil sand tailings stream may be separated into a coarse stream and a fine tailings stream in the fluidized bed heat exchange, where the coarse stream has an average particle size larger than that of the fine stream. The coarse stream may be removed from the fluidized bed heat exchanger below where the fine stream is removed from the fluidized bed heat exchanger. The fine stream may be recycled to a bitumen extraction process or tailings management system (e.g., thickener), for instance for sand to fines ratio control in thickener feed.
[0055] A particle bed height may be established where coarse material congregates, while allowing finer particles to be suspended and overflow as the fine stream. In such an arrangement, separated fines may be treated independently of coarse material for tailings management purposes.
[0056] A flocculent may be added to the fluidized bed heat exchanger for flocculating fines. In this way, the fines are flocculated and entrained within coarse tailings resulting in a low fines stream which can be removed from the top of the fluidized bed heat exchanger and which can be recycled directly to extraction process. The low fines stream may have a solids content of less than 2 wt. % or be a stream that may recycled to the process directly without additional treatment, which may reduce water or emissions.
[0057] Figure 2 is a schematic of another method of recovering heat from oil sand tailings illustrating some of these embodiments of the processes herein. An oil sand tailings stream (202) may passed through a screen (204) and be introduced into a fluidized bed heat exchanger (206). A fine tailings stream (203) may be flowed through a flow distributor such as a distributor plate (207) to fluidize the oil sand stream (202) thereby forming a fluidized bed (205). A cooled oil sand tailings stream (208) may be removed from a top of the fluidized bed heat exchanger (206). A fluid (e.g. cold water) (210) may be flowed through the fluidized bed heat exchanger (206) and exit as a warmer fluid (212). The flow distributor may include orifices, spargers, nozzles (not shown), or a combination thereof, rising from the flow distributor.
[0058] Figure 3 is a schematic of another method of recovering heat from oil sand tailings.An oil sand tailings stream (302) may be passed through a screen (304), introduced into
[0055] A particle bed height may be established where coarse material congregates, while allowing finer particles to be suspended and overflow as the fine stream. In such an arrangement, separated fines may be treated independently of coarse material for tailings management purposes.
[0056] A flocculent may be added to the fluidized bed heat exchanger for flocculating fines. In this way, the fines are flocculated and entrained within coarse tailings resulting in a low fines stream which can be removed from the top of the fluidized bed heat exchanger and which can be recycled directly to extraction process. The low fines stream may have a solids content of less than 2 wt. % or be a stream that may recycled to the process directly without additional treatment, which may reduce water or emissions.
[0057] Figure 2 is a schematic of another method of recovering heat from oil sand tailings illustrating some of these embodiments of the processes herein. An oil sand tailings stream (202) may passed through a screen (204) and be introduced into a fluidized bed heat exchanger (206). A fine tailings stream (203) may be flowed through a flow distributor such as a distributor plate (207) to fluidize the oil sand stream (202) thereby forming a fluidized bed (205). A cooled oil sand tailings stream (208) may be removed from a top of the fluidized bed heat exchanger (206). A fluid (e.g. cold water) (210) may be flowed through the fluidized bed heat exchanger (206) and exit as a warmer fluid (212). The flow distributor may include orifices, spargers, nozzles (not shown), or a combination thereof, rising from the flow distributor.
[0058] Figure 3 is a schematic of another method of recovering heat from oil sand tailings.An oil sand tailings stream (302) may be passed through a screen (304), introduced into
- 12 -a fluidized bed heat exchanger (306) forming a fluidized bed (305), and separated into a coarse stream and a fine stream where the coarse stream has an average particle size larger than that of the fine stream. The coarse stream (308) may be removed from the fluidized bed heat exchanger (306) below where the fine stream (314) is removed from the fluidized bed heat exchanger (306). A fluid (e.g. cold water) (310) may be flowed through the fluidized bed heat exchanger (306) and exit as a warmer fluid (312). A flocculent (316) may be added to the fluidized bed heat exchanger (306) for flocculating fines. While Figure 3 illustrates fluidizing of the oil sand tailing stream (302) by flowing the oil sand stream (302) through a distribution plate (307), as seen in Figure 1, a fine tailings stream flowed through a flow distributor may alternatively be used to fluidize the oil sand tailings stream, as illustrated in Figure 2.
[0059] In an embodiment, operational parameters within the fluidized bed heat exchanger may be modified to adjust or improve the amount of separation into a coarse stream and a fine stream within the system, including improving the removal of the coarse stream from the bottom of the fluidized bed heat exchanger. These operational parameters may include the oil sand tailings stream flow rate or the solids content of the oil sand tailings stream.
[0060] The scope of the claims should not be limited by particular embodiments set forth herein, but should be construed in a manner consistent with the specification as a whole.
[0059] In an embodiment, operational parameters within the fluidized bed heat exchanger may be modified to adjust or improve the amount of separation into a coarse stream and a fine stream within the system, including improving the removal of the coarse stream from the bottom of the fluidized bed heat exchanger. These operational parameters may include the oil sand tailings stream flow rate or the solids content of the oil sand tailings stream.
[0060] The scope of the claims should not be limited by particular embodiments set forth herein, but should be construed in a manner consistent with the specification as a whole.
- 13 -
Claims (31)
1. A method comprising:
(a) providing an oil sand tailings stream;
(b) providing a fluid having a lower temperature than a temperature of the oil sand tailings stream; and (c) flowing the oil sand tailings stream and the fluid through a fluidized bed heat exchanger to transfer heat from the oil sand tailings stream to the fluid.
(a) providing an oil sand tailings stream;
(b) providing a fluid having a lower temperature than a temperature of the oil sand tailings stream; and (c) flowing the oil sand tailings stream and the fluid through a fluidized bed heat exchanger to transfer heat from the oil sand tailings stream to the fluid.
2. The method of claim 1, comprising passing the oil sand tailings stream through a flow distributor to create a fluidized bed in the fluidized bed heat exchanger.
3. The method of claim 2, wherein the flow distributor comprises a distribution plate.
4. The method of claim 3, wherein an outer diameter of the distributor plate is at least 50%
of an inner diameter of the fluidized bed heat exchanger.
of an inner diameter of the fluidized bed heat exchanger.
5. The method of claim 3, wherein an outer diameter of the distributor plate is the same as an inner diameter of the fluidized bed heat exchanger.
6. The method of any one of claims 3 to 5, wherein the distributor plate comprises orifices, spargers, nozzles or a combination thereof.
7. The method of any one of claims 2 to 5, wherein water within the oil sand tailings stream is used as a fluidizing medium of the fluidized bed.
8. The method of claim 1, comprising passing a fine tailings stream through a flow distributor to create a fluidized bed with the oil sand tailings stream in the fluidized bed heat exchanger.
9. The method of any one of claims 1 to 8, further comprising screening the oil sand tailings stream prior to introduction into the fluidized bed heat exchanger to remove solids above a predetermined size.
10. The method of claim 9, wherein the predetermined size is 1 inch.
11. The method of claim 9 or 10, wherein the solids above the predetermined size are removed using a grizzly screen or a hydrocyclone.
12. The method of any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein the oil sand tailings stream comprises aqueous extraction tailings.
13. The method of any one of claims 1 to 12, wherein the oil sand tailings stream is at a temperature of at between 30°C and 100°C.
14. The method of any one of claims 1 to 13, wherein the oil sand tailings stream comprises coarse sand tailings (CST), tailings solvent recover unit (TSRU) tailings, fine tailings (FT), or a combination thereof.
15. The method of any one of claims 1 to 14, wherein the tailings comprise coarse sand tailings (CST) and are at a temperature of at least 40°C.
16. The method of any one of claims 1 to 14, wherein the tailings comprise tailings solvent recover unit (TSRU) tailings and are at a temperature of at least 70°C.
17. The method of any one of claims 1 to 14, wherein the tailings comprise flotation tailings and are at a temperature of at least 30°C.
18. The method of any one of claims 1 to 17, wherein the oil sand tailings stream is introduced into a bottom of the fluidized bed heat exchanger.
19. The method of any one of claims 1 to 18, wherein a cooled oil sand tailings stream is removed from a top of the fluidized bed heat exchanger.
20. The method of any one of claims 1 to 17, wherein the oil sand tailings stream is separated into a coarse stream and a fine stream in the fluidized bed heat exchanger;
wherein the coarse stream has an average particle size larger than that of the fine stream;
and wherein the coarse stream is removed from the fluidized bed heat exchanger below where the fine stream is removed from the fluidized bed heat exchanger.
wherein the coarse stream has an average particle size larger than that of the fine stream;
and wherein the coarse stream is removed from the fluidized bed heat exchanger below where the fine stream is removed from the fluidized bed heat exchanger.
21. The method of claim 20, wherein the fine stream is recycled to a bitumen extraction process.
22. The method of any one of claims 1 to 21, further comprising adding a flocculent to the fluidized bed heat exchanger for flocculating fines.
23. The method of any one of claims 1 to 22, wherein the fluid is an aqueous fluid.
24. The method of claim 23, wherein the aqueous fluid comprises pond water, river water, or water from a dewatering operation.
25. The method of claim 23, wherein the aqueous fluid comprises tailings reclamation water, recycled process water, cooling water, glycol, or low temperature heat belt thermal fluid.
26. The method of any one of claims 25, wherein the fluidized bed heat exchanger comprises a body forming an inner heat exchange chamber, and tubes, disposed within the inner heat exchange chamber for receiving, flowing through the chamber, and expelling the fluid.
27. The method of claim 26, wherein the tubes are disposed vertically.
28. The method of claim 26 or 27, wherein the tubes are constructed of an erosion resistant alloy.
29. The method of claim 28, wherein the erosion resistant alloy is a high manganese steel.
30. The method of any one of claims 1 to 27, further comprising adding coarse solids to the oil sand tailings stream prior to introducing the oil sand tailings stream into the fluidized bed heat exchanger, for increasing heat transfer efficiency.
31. The method of any one of claims 1 to 30, further comprising increasing a solids content of the oil sand tailings stream for a period of time to facilitate online cleaning.
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| CA2965581A CA2965581C (en) | 2017-04-28 | 2017-04-28 | Heat recovery from oil sand tailings utilizing a fluidized bed |
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| CA2965581A CA2965581C (en) | 2017-04-28 | 2017-04-28 | Heat recovery from oil sand tailings utilizing a fluidized bed |
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