Polymeric additives for reduction of erosion wear in slurry pipelines of the oil sands

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Pipelines are essential to transport thousands of tons of bitumen slurries along with sand and clay in the oil sands industry of Canada. Pipelines deliver the mixture from the mine to the bitumen extraction and the upgrading plants for final conversion into synthetic crude oil. A remaining issue of slurry pipelines is the relatively short life-time of the pipes due to surface wear caused by the progressive removal of pipe material by the solid particles.Researchers at Shell Canada have qualitatively observed that the addition of a low concentration of high-molecular weight polymers can reduce wear in various slurry flow equipment. This possible wear reduction technique is unexplored and requires detailed investigation to quantitatively assess the wear reduction capabilities. In addition, the wear reduction mechanism that is associated with the effect of polymers on the turbulent motion of slurry particles is not well understood. This collaborative project between the Laboratory of Turbulent Flows of the University of Alberta and Shell Canada will carry out an experimental investigation to systematically quantify the wear rate of slurry pipes using a low concentration of long-chain polymer. The proposed project will investigate the effect of polymer type and concentration on pipeline wear caused by a broad distribution of particle size relevant to the slurry pipelines of oil sands industry. The program will also aim at fundamental understanding of wear mechanism by detailed investigation of the impact dynamics of particles using state-of-the-art particle tracking velocimetry. The long-term goal of the project is to increase the lifetime of long distance slurry pipelines and consequently reduce the environmental impact of the oil sands industry in Canada.