Scale-up, design and optimization of industrial multiphase processes

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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.