NSERC Industrial Research Chair in Pipeline Transport Processes

管道已经被用作材料处理装置超过世纪，因为这种运输模式代表了将材料从源移动到目的地的节能方式。然而，在许多工业应用中，管道也应该被认为是一个“反应器”，其中可以转化被输送的材料。换句话说，从管道排出的产品可能看起来与进料到管道的原材料非常不同。通过控制管内条件，可以强制发生期望的物理转变。这方面的一个很好的例子发生在油砂的开采和沥青的提取中，其中油砂以高度浓缩的悬浮液或浆料的形式从矿井运输到提取设施。必须对该浆料中所含的沥青进行转化，以使其能够与混合物中的其他组分有效地分离。如果油砂管道在特定条件下运行，并在管道的适当位置注入加工助剂，则转化过程会更加有效。该研究计划的目标之一是研究如何控制这种转化过程，以获得所需的结果，同时优化能量输入，管道长度（停留时间）和化学品注入。类似的理念也适用于脱水尾矿的运输和放置研究。这项研究对加拿大的油砂工业很重要，但预计将刺激艾伯塔省在国际采矿和矿物加工行业的创新。这项研究的总体目标是使资源开采（包括油砂）更加节能，同时减少温室气体排放和淡水消耗。

Pipelines have been used as material handling devices for more than a century because this mode of transport represents an energy-efficient way of moving material from a source to a destination. In many industrial applications, however, a pipeline should also be considered to be a "reactor" wherein it is possible to transform the material being transported. In other words, the product discharged from the pipeline can look very different from the raw material fed to the pipeline. By controlling the in-pipe conditions, one can force desired physical transformations to occur. An excellent example of this occurs in the mining of oil sand and extraction of bitumen, where the oil sand is transported from the mine to the extraction facilities in the form of a highly concentrated suspension, or slurry. The bitumen contained in this slurry must be transformed so that it can be separated effectively from the other components in the mixture. If the oil sands pipeline is operated under specific conditions and process aids are injected at the appropriate locations in the pipeline, the transformation process is much more effective. One of the goals of this research program is to look at how this transformation process can be controlled to give the desired results while optimizing energy input, pipeline length (residence time) and chemical injection. A similar philosophy is applied to research conducted in the transport and placement of dewatered tailings. This research is important to Canada's oil sands industry but can be expected to spur Alberta-made innovations in the international mining and mineral processing industries. The overarching objective of this research is to make resource extraction (including oil sands) more energy-efficient while reducing GHG emissions and fresh water consumption.