Transcript Hydrogen Peroxide Testing Powerpoint Presentation

The Process
• Hydrogen peroxide decomposes in situ to produce very
small gas bubbles (~0.1 to 2 mm diameter) that aerate
bitumen droplets
• 2H2O2
2H2O + O2
• Aeration = f(collisions, attachment). In situ formation
effectively increases the number of collisions, especially
if the gas bubbles form while in contact with bitumen
Over the past 13 years, Prairie Creek
Technologies staff have participated in
numerous studies directed at modifications to
the Clark hot water process to enhance
separation of oil sands with high fines, high salts
and low bitumen content.
The testing and development work has been
conducted at laboratory scale, bench scale and
industrial plant scale.
The work was conducted independently, with
academic institutions and with operating
companies.
Studies Conducted in Oklahoma
• Lab-scale separation of bitumen from oil sands using
hydrogen peroxide, with loss-on-ignition analysis, Dean Stark,
gas chromatograph and mass spectrometer, over a four-year
period.
• Plexiglas extraction cell using industry-supplied oil sands for
the study of extraction process hydrodynamics and recovery
of bitumen.
• Designed, built and tested mixer designs integrated into the
extraction cell to study flow patterns and separation dynamics.
• Designed, built and tested continuous flow loop with oil sands
and hydrogen peroxide to benchmark original work: 160 feet
of 2” pipe with transparent separation cell downstream.
• Worked with oil sands operating companies to design test
procedures for commercial demonstrations on several plants,
including participation in haz ops.
Studies Conducted on Site in Canada
Testing at Alberta Research Center (ARC) over 13 years
and in several phases on the fundamentals of hydrogen
peroxide separation enhancement, multiple rounds with
difficult-to-process ores under the guidance of several oil
sands companies:
• Effects on wettability of mineral substrates
• Bubble generation
• Kinetics of bubble formation
• Size and efficiency of bubbles in flotation
• Kinetics of separation
• Recovery efficiencies
• Micro-photo analysis of process
• Degassing analysis
• Effect on corrosion
Decomposition Kinetics
• Decomposition kinetics fits with commercial process
residence time
Peroxide Concentration (%)
Effect of Temperature on Peroxide Decomposition (High Grade
Athabasca - Conditioning Stage)
0.600
0.500
80C
0.400
55C
25C
0.300
Expon. (80C)
0.200
Expon. (55C)
Expon. (25C)
0.100
0.000
0
2
4
6
Time (minutes)
8
10
Typical Results from Poorly-Processing
Oil Sand (Lab Hydro-transport Loop)
Simulation of performance in a PSC with no sparged air. Higher recovery in
the PSC means less recovery in flotation and lower re-circulating load. The
economic opportunity arising from this needs to be explored.
Recovery Profiles with Oil Sand (Tidal Flats)
100
Economic decision
re: dosage
90
80
Recovery (%)
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
0
5
10
15
20
25
Time (Min.)
No Air
No Air
No Air
0.4% H2O2
0.2% H2O2
0.1% H2O2
30
Collaboration by Industry Groups
• Worked with various oil sands operating companies and
consultants to determine whether and how companies
might work together in testing and sharing new
processing aids.
• Worked with two major peroxide suppliers to design a
full-scale test facility and process at an extraction plant.
• Ran a test loop at the University of Alberta to study
separation and flotation.
• Ran an extraction loop test with ARC at an extraction
facility to determine pilot plant requirements.
Collaboration by Industry Groups
• Participated in three-month test at SGS facility (Ft.
McKay) with hydrogen peroxide and sodium hydroxide
which identified the limitations of the facility.
• Conducted test program at McGill University to analyze
the mechanisms and chemistry of peroxide flotation and
bitumen recovery, including BSAF* and bubble dynamics
and kinetics
– An alternative in flotation to use of surfactants and specialty
chemicals being studied by McGill to engineer bubble size
*Bubble Surface Area Flux
Results from McGill
• Measured sensitivity
of critical bubble
characteristics to
peroxide dose,
solids concentration
and water chemistry
• Process implications
not yet evaluated
(requires fluid
dynamic modeling
and testing)
Effect on Corrosion Rate
• “Classical” corrosion studies showed a decrease
with increasing oxygen bubble formation from
0.6 mm/yr to 0.4 mm/yr
– Literature indicates that this is due to the formation of
a more highly resistant gelatinous ferric hydroxide film
at high oxygen rather than a porous black magnetic
ferric oxide film at low oxygen
– Not relevant to an oil sand process where corrosion
dominates over erosion
– Have seen no incremental rate of corrosion/erosion in
a slurry environment
Effect of Oxygen in Froth
• Froth generated in a WEMCO cell both with
and without peroxide in three pairs of
experiments
• Analysis error estimated to be +/-1%
• Increase in oxygen content of froth gas in
three tests were 0.1%, 1% and 2%
• Total gas content of peroxide generated froths
no higher with peroxide than without
peroxide