Innovation Anthology #386:
One way to move bitumen from the mine site to the oil sands plant is to transport it down a pipeline.
The mined material is mixed with water to make a slurry.
According to research engineer Ben Fotty, the slurry is very hard on pipelines.
Ben manages the pipeline slurry project for MARIOS, the Maintenance and Reliability in Oil Sands consortium.
BEN FOTTY: When they’re piping these solids down pipelines, you can think of it almost as liquid sandpaper. As you are pumping the sand along , it’s rubbing the interior surface of the piping and as you get more and more sand being piped each day, you wear it out very quickly.
According to Ben Fotty, sections of pipeline can wear out in a matter of months, and sometimes, companies rotate pipe to help prolong its life.
BEN FOTTY: There’s a number of materials that work better in different applications, whether it’s being a different type of material or a liner or a coating. I guess the difficulty is determining which material will work better in which application. There’s certain pipelines if you have one material work best in this location, but you go further down the pipeline and that material doesn’t work as well.
Ben Fotty says his team is launching one of the largest field trials ever to see if they can predict the amount of pipeline wear in different oil sands locations.
Thanks today to Alberta Innovates Technology Futures
FOR INNOVATION ANTHOLOGY
I’M CHERYL CROUCHER
Guest
,
, , , ,
Sponsor
Alberta Innovates Technology Futures
Alberta Innovates launched its consolidation on November 1, 2016
780-450-5111
albertatechfutures.ca
250 Karl Clark Road,
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
T6N 1E4
Program Date: 2011-03-22