High-performance, low-cost porous carbons from oil sands petroleum coke

采用废物处理废物的战略，该项目的目标是开发新技术，使大规模生产高性能，负担得起的多孔碳从一个主要的工业废物-油砂石油焦（OSPC）。油砂工业将使用OSPC衍生的多孔碳来减少对淡水的依赖。从2010年到2035年，阿萨巴斯卡油砂地区的开发将为加拿大经济贡献2.28万亿美元。虽然从油砂开采的沥青中生产的合成原油（SCO）数量增加，但也产生了大量的油砂石油焦（OSPC）和油砂工艺影响水（OSPW）。为了生产一桶SCO，现场生产和储存约20公斤的OSPC，增加了现有的7000多万公吨的库存。OSPC具有独特的高杂质含量，特别是硫和重金属，这阻碍了其作为固体燃料的应用。由于阿尔伯塔政府的“零排放”政策，现场储存了超过7亿立方米的有毒OSPW。在OSPW中发现了四类污染物-悬浮固体、游离相碳氢化合物、溶解有机物和溶解固体。溶解的有机物是造成OSPW毒性的原因。如果能够负担得起，OSPC衍生的多孔碳材料将是去除OSPW中溶解有机物的理想选择。使用多孔碳是市政和消费应用中的水净化的成熟技术。然而，由于需要大量多孔碳的高污染水平，商业多孔碳对于处理工业废水沃茨来说太昂贵。该项目解决了制造工艺的成本效益和OSPC衍生多孔碳的性能，将能够创造出价格合理且易于大量获得的多孔碳。除了预期利用OSPC衍生的碳处理OSPW之外，还可以设想其他大规模应用，例如土地复垦。该项目将同时为加拿大油砂行业及其他行业带来环境和经济效益。

Applying a waste-treat-waste strategy, the goal of this project is to develop new technologies that enable large-scale manufacturing of high-performance, affordable porous carbons from a major industry waste - oil sands petroleum coke (OSPC). The OSPC-derived porous carbons will be used by the oil sands industry to reduce its dependence on fresh water. The developments in Athabasca oil sands region will contribute $2.28 trillion to Canada's economy from 2010 to 2035. While the increased quantities of synthetic crude oil (SCO) are being produced from the bitumen mined from oil sands, large amounts of oil sands petroleum coke (OSPC) and oil sands process-affected water (OSPW) are also generated. To produce one barrel of SCO, about 20kg of OSPC are generated and stored on site, adding to the existing stockpiles of over 70 million metric tons. The OSPC has uniquely high impurity contents, particularly sulphur and heavy metals, which has hindered its application as a solid fuel. A result of the Alberta government's "zero discharge" policy, over 700 million cubic meters of toxic OSPW are stored on-site. Four groups of contaminants are found in OSPW- suspended solids, free phase hydrocarbons, dissolved organics and dissolved solids. Dissolved organics are responsible for the toxicity of OSPW. If made affordable, OSPC-derived porous carbon materials will be ideal for removing dissolved organics in OSPW. Using porous carbon is a mature technology for water purification in municipal and consumer applications. Commercial porous carbon, however, is too expensive for treating industrial waste waters due to high contamination levels that demand a large amount of porous carbons. Addressing both cost-effectiveness of the manufacturing process and performance of OSPC-derived porous carbons, this project will enable the creation of porous carbons that are affordable and readily available in large quantities. In addition to the anticipated utilization of the OSPC-derived carbons in treating OSPW, one could also envisage other large-scale applications such as land reclamation. The project will simultaneously deliver environmental and economic benefits to Canada's oil sand industry and beyond.