Scale-up, design and optimization of industrial multiphase processes

工业多相过程的放大、设计和优化

• 批准号: 543901-2019
• 负责人: Sanders, RSean
• 金额: $ 29.44万
• 依托单位: University of Alberta
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Collaborative Research and Development Grants
• 财政年份: 2020
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2020-01-01 至 2021-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=699699
• 关键词: Scale; up; design; optimization; industrial

In Canada's heavy oil and oil sands industries, nearly every process involves multiphase mixtures (combinations of gas, liquids and solid particles). The specific ways that these materials are mixed together and transported are critical to the overall process performance. For example, if intense mixing in a pipeline produces small stable water droplets, the performance of a downstream separation process will be negatively impacted. Furthermore, the root cause of the poor performance may be assigned to the design or operating conditions of the separation vessel, i.e. the real source of the problem may not be identified. A major challenge in evaluating such issues and in attempting to optimize performance is that these processes occur at incredibly large scales: pipelines transport millions of kilograms of material per hour, and vessels can be 10 meters (or more) in diameter. It is impossible to see - and nearly as impossible to measure - what is actually happening in these process units. As a result, researchers often try to replicate these processes in the laboratory where conditions can be more rigorously controlled and measurements are less difficult to make. For the lab-scale process to reflect the behavior of the full-scale operation, careful consideration of the mechanisms that truly govern performance is required: for example, do those small droplets mentioned earlier exist because of the intense mixing that occurred or because a layer of molecules that collected on their surfaces prevented them from growing? The main objective of the proposed research program, then, is to develop the scientific fundamentals, methods and instruments needed to connect the lab- and real world-scale operation for a wide range of multiphase processes. The program will provide the tools needed to optimize existing processes or develop new technology (such as partial upgrading of bitumen or the elimination of tailings ponds). In Canada's oil industry, this research program will lead to the design of safer pipelines, reduced GHG emissions and water usage, and the production of value-added hydrocarbon products. The outcomes will also be applicable to industries beyond the oil and gas sector, including mining, manufacturing, and pharmaceuticals.

在加拿大的重油和油砂工业中，几乎每个过程都涉及多相混合物（气体、液体和固体颗粒的组合）。这些材料混合在一起和运输的具体方式对整个工艺性能至关重要。例如，如果管道中的剧烈混合产生小的稳定水滴，则下游分离过程的性能将受到负面影响。此外，性能差的根本原因可归因于分离容器的设计或操作条件，即问题的真实的来源可能未被识别。评估这些问题和试图优化性能的一个主要挑战是，这些过程发生在令人难以置信的大规模：管道每小时运输数百万公斤的材料，容器直径可以达到10米（或更大）。 我们不可能看到--也几乎不可能测量--这些过程单元中实际发生了什么。因此，研究人员经常试图在实验室中复制这些过程，因为在实验室中，条件可以得到更严格的控制，测量也不那么困难。为了让实验室规模的过程反映出全规模操作的行为，需要仔细考虑真正控制性能的机制：例如，前面提到的那些小液滴是因为发生了强烈的混合而存在的，还是因为聚集在其表面的一层分子阻止了它们的生长？ 因此，拟议研究计划的主要目标是开发连接实验室和真实的世界规模操作所需的科学基础、方法和仪器，用于广泛的多相过程。该计划将提供优化现有工艺或开发新技术（如沥青的部分升级或消除尾矿池）所需的工具。在加拿大的石油工业中，这项研究计划将导致更安全的管道设计，减少温室气体排放和用水，以及增值碳氢化合物产品的生产。这些结果也将适用于石油和天然气行业以外的行业，包括采矿、制造和制药。