Removal of Sulphur and Metals From Oil Sands Waste Streams - Phase 2

油砂、沥青和副产品流中含有一定量的金属和硫，这阻碍了它在某些高价值应用中的使用。用传统方法去除这些污染物既困难又不经济。由enlightenment Innovations（以下简称“enlightenment”）提供的DSU®技术是一种专有的去除工艺，在处理船用燃料方面取得了成功；处理上述燃料的商业装置目前正在建设中。事实证明，该公司的突破性技术可以将重油和炼油厂底部的硫含量降低至0.5%，从而生产出清洁的船用燃料。enlightenment已经对一些油砂溪流进行了测试，他们的技术显示出巨大的前景。为了探索和推进该产品的开发，该公司与南阿尔伯塔理工学院环境技术应用研究小组合作，为该技术的商业成功创造了空间。拟议的项目将以正在进行的NSERC Engage项目的成果为基础，扩大对DSU®工艺效果的调查，并优化各种油砂流的处理工艺。该项目的目标是研究和优化DSU®工艺处理沥青流，重点是石油焦和去除金属和硫，以确保最终产品可用于生产碳阳极。拟议中的项目是这项技术商业化的下一步。这一步骤是为了减少沥青生产过程中油砂行业对环境的负面影响。该产品的应用有可能为碳阳极创造新的市场，缩小价格差异，降低铝生产成本。这些新市场支持阿尔伯塔省政府的战略重点，使油砂行业和阿尔伯塔经济多样化。

Oil sands bitumen and by-product streams contain levels of metals and sulphur that prevent its use in certain higher value applications. Removal of these contaminants by traditional means is difficult and uneconomic. The DSU® technology by Enlighten Innovations (Enlighten) is a proprietary removal process with demonstrated success in the treatment of marine fuels; a commercial unit for the treatment of said fuels is presently under construction. Enlighten's breakthrough technology is proven to reduce the level of sulphur to 0.5% in heavy oils and refinery bottoms, thus producing clean marine fuel. Enlighten has conducted tests on selected oil sands streams and their technology shows great promise. To explore and advance this product development, a collaboration between the company and the Environmental Technologies applied research group the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology reates the space for the commercial success of the technology. The proposed project will build on the outcomes of the ongoing NSERC Engage project, extending the investigation of the efficacy of the DSU® process and optimization of the treatment processes for various oil sand streams. The goal of the proposed project is to investigate and optimize the DSU® process for the treatment of bitumen streams focusing on petroleum coke and in the removal of metals and sulphur to ensure the end product can be used to produce carbon anodes. The proposed project is the next step toward the commercialization of this technology. This step is about reducing the negative environmental impact of the oil sands industry during bitumen production. An application of the resulting product has the potential to create new markets for carbon anodes, reduce price differential and reduce the cost of aluminum production. These new markets support the strategic priority of the Alberta provincial government to diversify the oil sands industry and the Alberta economy.