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Cavitation Technology Development for Oil Sands Processing

Cavitation Technology Development for Oil Sands Processing. Energy Mining and Environment Portfolio –NRC Canada. Deepak M. Kirpalani and Nishi Bhatt. August 2012. Presented at the 8th International Symposium on Cavitation - CAV2012 . Cavitation Studies at NRCC.

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Cavitation Technology Development for Oil Sands Processing

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  1. Cavitation Technology Development for Oil Sands Processing Energy Mining and Environment Portfolio –NRC Canada Deepak M. Kirpalani and Nishi Bhatt August 2012 Presented at the 8th International Symposium on Cavitation - CAV2012

  2. Cavitation Studies at NRCC High Speed Imaging of Cavitation Bubbles Laser Interferometry of Acoustic Cavitation Phase Field Modeling of Cavity Under Shear

  3. Oil sands are unconventional heavy oil deposits composed of water 4-6%, sand, clay and bitumen (12%) and other minerals. Mineral matter -80-85% • Extraction technology: • Mined Oil sands  Crushed &Screened  mixed with hot water in cyclofeeder to 50-55 deg. C Pumped (hydrotransported)  separation vessels where bitumen froth (60% bitumen, 30% water, 10% fines) floats on the surface. • Processing Issues: pumping costs and sand erosion • Tailings Requirements: • Energy Resource Control Board of Alberta, Canada Directive ‑ 074 requires that the oil sands industry minimize and eventually eliminate long-term storage of fluid tailings in the reclamation landscape. • Commercial Thickeners are currently used.

  4. Acoustic Cavitation for Bitumen Extraction • Early stage research (Sadeghi, 1990) showed that acoustic cavitation at 40KHz. can be applied for extracting bitumen from oil sands. • The reaction rate was further enhanced by the addition of H202. • Benefits: • Eliminates the need for surfactants or alkaline chemical agents during extraction • Circumvents hot water and steam use

  5. Cavitation Benefits to Oil Sands Processing Homogenization of Liquids Emulsion preparation Breakage of solid particles Suspension Preparation Radicalization of Molecules Depolymerization, Lyzing, Reaction Local temp change and availability of free radicals Acceleration of chemical conversion

  6. Research Focus • 1. Determine viscosity changes on model rheological fluids by applying acoustic cavitation methods using a broad spectrum transducer • 2. Perform Cavitation Yield Measurements to determine the effect of change in Acoustic Frequency and Power on Chemical Conversion using a single broad spectrum transducer.

  7. Experimental Setup for Acoustic Cavitation • Ultrasonic waves were generated at 378, 574, 850, and 1125 kHz using a broad spectrum transducer for a solution volume of 200 ml held within a jacketed glass water cooled column. • Laboratory experiments were performed (1) to determine viscosity changes with a CMC-Water 0.7 wt % mixture at 1000 cP at 2.5 RPM and (2) Cavitation yield determination with 0.1 and 1% (wt) KI solution.

  8. Visualization of 850 KHz. Sonication • Sonication at high frequencies (850Khz. and above), leads to the formation of a fountain jet at the surface of the liquid, releasing droplets from the surface of the jet.

  9. Results –Change in Viscosity as a function of Sonication Time Change in viscosity for 0.7 wt% CMC-water mixture over a range of sonication frequencies

  10. Results - Cavitation Yield Measurements Cavitation yield over a range of sonication frequencies using (a) 0.1 wt% KI solution and (b) 1% KI solution at constant power input (a) (b) Cavitation Yield as a Function of Sonication Time

  11. Results – Cavitation Yield Measurements Cavitation Yield increases at higher power input. Sonication time influences the KI decomposition. Cavitation Yield as a Function of Input Power

  12. Summary of Findings • Lower sonication frequencies during acoustic cavitation generate larger rheological changes. • Viscosity reduces rapidly with sonication time at lower acoustic frequencies as compared to higher frequencies. • Cavitation yield measurements do not follow the same trend. • KI decomposition was determined to be the highest at a sonication time of 25 minutes at a frequency of 574 kHz.

  13. Conclusion • Rheological changes and KI decomposition were examined and found to be uncorrelated using a broad spectrum acoustic system in the present study. • The application of acoustic cavitation to model fluids is to be further extended to oil sands feed and tailings to develop the criteria for extraction and/or transportation of oil sands at the laboratory scale up for commercial processing.

  14. Acknowledgements:This Research is Funded by Eco-EII Canada Research Fund

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