NSERC Industrial Research Chair in Pipeline Transport Processes

一个多世纪以来，管道一直被用作物料搬运设备，因为这种运输方式代表了一种将物料从源头转移到目的地的节能方式。然而，在许多工业应用中，管道也应该被认为是一个“反应器”，其中可以改变被输送的材料。换句话说，从管道中排出的产品可能与输送到管道中的原料看起来非常不同。通过控制管道内条件，可以强制发生所需的物理转换。这方面的一个极好的例子发生在油砂的开采和沥青的提取中，油砂以高度浓缩的悬浮液或泥浆的形式从矿山运输到提取设施。这种泥浆中所含的沥青必须经过转化，以便能有效地与混合物中的其他成分分离。如果油砂管道在特定条件下运行，并在管道的适当位置注入工艺助剂，则改造过程的效果要高得多。该研究计划的目标之一是研究如何控制这一转化过程，以在优化能量输入、管道长度（停留时间）和化学注入的同时获得预期的结果。类似的理念也适用于对脱水尾矿的运输和安置进行的研究。这项研究对加拿大的油砂行业很重要，但也有望刺激艾伯塔省在国际采矿和矿物加工行业的创新。这项研究的首要目标是使资源开采（包括油砂）更加节能，同时减少温室气体排放和淡水消耗。

Pipelines have been used as material handling devices for more than a century because this mode of transport represents an energy-efficient way of moving material from a source to a destination. In many industrial applications, however, a pipeline should also be considered to be a "reactor" wherein it is possible to transform the material being transported. In other words, the product discharged from the pipeline can look very different from the raw material fed to the pipeline. By controlling the in-pipe conditions, one can force desired physical transformations to occur. An excellent example of this occurs in the mining of oil sand and extraction of bitumen, where the oil sand is transported from the mine to the extraction facilities in the form of a highly concentrated suspension, or slurry. The bitumen contained in this slurry must be transformed so that it can be separated effectively from the other components in the mixture. If the oil sands pipeline is operated under specific conditions and process aids are injected at the appropriate locations in the pipeline, the transformation process is much more effective. One of the goals of this research program is to look at how this transformation process can be controlled to give the desired results while optimizing energy input, pipeline length (residence time) and chemical injection. A similar philosophy is applied to research conducted in the transport and placement of dewatered tailings. This research is important to Canada's oil sands industry but can be expected to spur Alberta-made innovations in the international mining and mineral processing industries. The overarching objective of this research is to make resource extraction (including oil sands) more energy-efficient while reducing GHG emissions and fresh water consumption.