Mixing and liquid-vapor equilibrium of dilbit-water-sand/clay slurries in the syncrude naphtha recovery unit

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The goal of the present study is to develop a new thermodynamic model for the simulation of the saturation**vapour pressure in Dilbit-water-sand/clay slurries, in proportions relevant to the NRU (Naphtha Recovery Unit)**and using actual Syncrude NRU Feed samples. Experiments will be developed using a Recat LV Cell, which**has been tested and implemented by Prof. de Lasa's team at the CREC(Chemical Reactor Engineering Centre)**-UWO (University of Western Ontario) laboratories. The Recat LV Cell allows the quantification of the vapour**pressure, as well as the identification of adequate mixing slurry conditions. In this respect, the proposed new**research under combined NSERC CRD and Syncrude Canada sponsorship will involve enhancing the Recat**LV Cell further. The patented CREC Optiprobes will be used for gas phase sampling as well as online**measurement of droplets and particle sizes. It is anticipated that the use of this strategy will provide critical**data for the identification of best mixing conditions and power input, for highly dispersed**Dilbit-water-sand/clay slurry phases and NRU feeds. Furthermore, a Computational Fluid Dynamic (CFD)**model will be developed for this test cell. The proposed CFD model will be validated using data from the Recat**LV Cell. This model will also use relevant fluid dynamic parameters for CFD simulation such as viscosity,**surface tension and sand agglomerate sizes. This CFD model will provide a description of mixing patterns in**the Recat LV Cell and the best conditions required for achieving liquid-vapour equilibrium. These identified**mixing conditions, as well of liquid-vapour thermodynamics will provide Syncrude valuable engineering**information for the efficient processing of their Froth Treatment tailings and fine tune their operation for**minimizing solvent loss.