Innovation Anthology #360:
Treating your oil sands tailings in a giant spin dryer is not without its problems.
Syncrude’s research and development manager Jim Lorentz is working with engineers to refine a new technology to spin clay out of tailings pond water.
JIM LORENTZ: So one example is the material that comes out, I referenced it as a cake, is kind of like a soft mud pie. The question is how do we transport that material to final areas where we’re going to deposit it.? So there was a bunch of questions around how is it going to handle in the back of a truck box? When we turn a corner, is it going to slop out of the sides? So we did a number of tests where we had video cameras installed on the side of trucks, where we stopped the truck in short order to see how much would splash out, if any. All those tests, turning corners, and this will allow the engineers in Calgary to apply the appropriate engineering to the truck boxes so that the material won’t slop out as we move around.
The trucks weigh 240 tonnes. And some of the ideas being discussed are higher sides, baffles and massive tailgates. Jim Lorentz says the new centrifuge plant should be in full operation by 2014.
Thanks today to Syncrude
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I’M CHERYL CROUCHER
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Syncrude
Program Date: 2010-12-09