Thermodynamics and kinetics studies of hydrocarbons/water/salts systems at near- and supercritical conditions - Applications to flash steam generation and bitumen partial upgrading

考虑到油砂的环境影响和能源效率，应该考虑降低能源强度和环境足迹的方法。沥青生产过程中产生的未经处理的乳剂可以加热并闪蒸以产生蒸汽。这个过程被称为闪蒸生成（FSG）。FSG已显示出减少水处理、减少温室气体（GHG）排放和降低资本成本的潜力。通过在超临界和超临界条件下加热乳剂产生蒸汽，为减少温室气体排放和提高油砂上游作业的能源效率提供了独特的机会。在这个与Cenovus Energy的合作研究项目中，我们计划研究在超临界和超临界条件下碳氢化合物/水/盐系统的热力学和动力学，并应用于闪蒸产生和沥青部分升级。这些研究使我们能够开发可用于工业规模蒸汽闪蒸产生和沥青部分升级设计的预测模型。此外，本研究的结果填补了复杂有机/非有机电解质溶液固液汽平衡和动力学方面的现有知识空白，在地热资源利用、废物氧化分解、生物质和化石燃料的提取和升级等其他领域也有应用。这项研究的目的是帮助工业界更好地了解水/沥青/盐混合物在超临界和超临界条件下的热力学和动力学，以优化同时产汽和部分升级所需的操作条件。该项目的成果将有助于蒸汽闪蒸发电在现场规模上的商业化。最显著的好处是能源消耗、用水和排放的减少，这与加拿大减缓气候变化战略非常吻合。该计划将提供建立实验室基础设施的机会，以进行基础研究，并培养三名本科生和两名博士后，他们有能力从事与油砂行业相关的广泛工作。

As the environmental impacts and energy efficiency of oil sands are concerned, means to reduce the energy intensity and environmental footprint should be considered. Untreated emulsions produced during bitumen production can be heated up and flashed to generate steam. This process is called Flash Steam Generation (FSG). FSG has shown potential to reduce water treatment, reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and reduce capital cost. Steam generation by flashing the produced heated emulsions at near- and supercritical supercritical conditions provides a unique opportunity to reduce the GHG emissions and improve the energy efficiency of oil sands upstream operations. In this collaborative research program with Cenovus Energy, we plan to study thermodynamics and kinetics of hydrocarbons/water/salts systems at near- and supercritical conditions with applications to flash steam generation and bitumen partial upgrading. These studies allow us to develop predictive models that can be used for design of industrial scale steam flash generation and bitumen partial upgrading. In addition, the outcome of this study fill the existing knowledge gap in solid-liquid vapor equilibria and kinetics of complex organic/in-organic electrolyte solutions, which find applications in other areas such utilization of geothermal energy resources, waste oxidation and decomposition, bio-mass and fossil fuels extraction and upgrading. The aim of this research is to help industry develop better understanding of thermodynamics and kinetics of water/bitumen/salts mixtures at near- and supercritical conditions to optimize operating conditions required for simultaneous steam production and partial upgrading. The outcome of this project will assist commercialization of the steam flash generation at field scale. The most notable benefits are decrease in the energy consumption, water usage, and emissions, which are well-aligned with the Canada climate change mitigation strategy. The program will provide the opportunity to build laboratory infrastructure to perform fundamental research and train three undergraduate students and two postdoctoral fellows capable of undertaking a broad range of endeavors related to oilsands industry.