Readers of this blog will notice that it is as much about how to search for technical advances in desulfurization as it is about presenting the results of my searches. Every once in a while, however, it seems appropriate to simply display the results of a particular line of inquiry. That is the case with Murray Gray, professor at University of Alberta. If you are interested in oil sands research, take a moment to browse through the following material.
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Upgrading Petroleum Residues and Heavy Oils
"This useful reference offers in-depth coverage of current techniques for converting heavy oils and residues into more valuable distillates.Examines the chemistry of heavy hydrocarbon feeds and their properties important to engineering design, including phase behavior, reaction kinetics, and thermodynamic and transport characteristics!"
Publisher: CRC Press
ISBN: 0824792114
EAN: 9780824792114
No. of Pages: 368
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Gray, Murray Ross (1983-09-28) The effects of moisture and ash content on the pyrolysis of a wood derived material. http://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechETD:etd-11152005-102832
Type of Document Dissertation
Author Gray, Murray Ross
Author's Email Address murray.gray AT ualberta.ca
URN etd-11152005-102832
Persistent URL http://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechETD:etd-11152005-102832
Title The effects of moisture and ash content on the pyrolysis of a wood derived material
Degree PhD
Option Chemical Engineering
Advisory Committee Advisor Name Title
George R. Gavalas Committee Chair
John H. Seinfeld Committee Member
Richard C. Flagan Committee Member
Date of Defense 1983-09-28
Availability unrestricted
Abstract
Moisture and ash are always present in wood to some extent, but their affect on its chemical behavior is not fully known. The influence of moisture and ash on the thermal degradation of wood was investigated by pyrolyzing samples of ground wood waste in a batch fluid-bed reactor at between 320 and 470°C in helium at 101-104 kPa. The wood samples were heated at about 300°C/min. so that drying and pyrolysis were simultaneous, Woodex® pellets were used in this study because their density was suitable for fluid-bed tests.
In ash-free samples moisture suppressed the formation of pyrolysis tar at temperatures above 390ºC and increased the yield of char, relative to dry samples. A model for the behavior of free radicals during pyrolysis is proposed which gives qualitative agreement with the observed effect of temperature. The ion-exchange capacity of wood was used to disperse calcium atoms in the polymer matrix, which increased the formation of aqueous product during pyrolysis at the expense of tar by enhancing dehydration and fragmentation reactions. The native mineral components in the wood waste gave effects equivalent to calcium.
The effect of moisture on char yield was independent of the ash components, but the yield of tar from Woodex containing moisture and ash exhibited a minimum at 390°C. Below 390°C the water hydrated catalyst sites to reduce reactivity. A kinetic model for hydration gave qualitative agreement with the observed effects of temperature. Above 390°C the degradation of tar became independent of the availability of catalyst sites, and was suppressed by the effect of water on the concentration of tar within the particles, and on the equilibrium of dehydration reactions.
http://etd.caltech.edu/etd/available/etd-11152005-102832/
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AIChE/SPE Workshop
Exploiting the Value of Heavy Oil
Session Keynote: “Options for Molecular Management of Vacuum Residue” by Murray Gray, Univ. of Alberta
The vacuum residue (524 degrees C+ or 975 degrees F+ fraction) dominates the processing of heavy oils. The technology options for conversion of this fraction are currently limited, ranging from thermal cracking (visbreaking or coking) to thermal cracking with hydrogen (hydroconversion) to thermal cracking with steam and oxygen (gasification). Solvent fractionation of the vacuum residue is limited by the solubility of the asphaltenes. In order to extract the maximum value from vacuum residue and to manage hydrogen effectively, much more selective separations of the asphaltenes would be desirable. This paper considers the implications and limits of paraffinic froth treatment technology, from the Canadian oil sands, for heavy oil processing. By controlling the addition and removal of fine solids, such as catalysts or adsorbents, this approach may enable new upgrading technologies.
http://www.aiche.org/Conferences/SpringMeeting/SPEWorkshop/abstracts.aspx#S2Key
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Murray Gray Print-friendly version
Canada Research Chair in Oil Sands Upgrading
University of Alberta
Tier 1 - October 1, 2006
Natural Sciences and Engineering
780-492-7965
murray.gray@ualberta.ca
Website
http://www.ualberta.ca/~gray/index.htm
Research involves
Inventing new bitumen upgrading processes to produce clean transportation fuels.
Research relevance
The research is spurring innovative approaches to conversion and removal of contaminants from bitumen, allowing more effective conversion of bitumen to high-value products.
Purifying Bitumen
The oil sands of Alberta have the potential to dominate the North American petroleum market for the next century with reserves of as much as 300 billion barrels - a magnificent resource that will benefit us all. Currently almost a quarter of Canada's liquid hydrocarbons are produced from the oil sands. Over the coming decade, the liquid hydrocarbon production will continue to increase to half of Canada's supply, while the production of conventional oil in Alberta will decline.
Increased production of synthetic crude requires the development of new technologies and the improvement of existing ones. Canada Research Chair in Oil Sands Upgrading, Murray Gray is a world authority on bitumen upgrading. He has spent years carrying out oil sands research, studying how to upgrade bitumen and heavy oil in order to lead to more sustainable production of crude oil.
Gray's expertise in chemical and biochemical reactor engineering is serving him well as he works on developing better methods to measure the viscosity and surface tension of bitumen during high-temperature cracking as well as on investigating new applications of biotechnology to purify the product oil derived from bitumen. These areas of his research are designed to improve product quality and yield, and decrease energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions in the oil sands industry.
In his current research, Gray is providing detailed molecular information on the constituents in bitumen and developing new methods for the removal of vanadium and nickel compounds from bitumen that poison downstream refinery processes.
His approach to upgrading bitumen is not only opening up new process technologies, it is also leading scientists to settle long-term disputes over the structure of bitumen components and their behaviour during processing.
http://www.chairs.gc.ca/web/chairholders/viewprofile_e.asp?id=2170&
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Chairholder Profile
Murray Gray
Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering
University of Alberta
Chair Title
NSERC Industrial Research Chair on Advanced Upgrading of Bitumen
Chair Program
Industrial Research Chairs Program
Role
Senior Chairholder since 2000
Summary
Over 20 percent of Canada’s liquid hydrocarbons are currently produced from oil sands. The liquid hydrocarbon production from Alberta’s oil sands will continue to increase to 50 percent of Canada’s supply in the next decade, while the production of conventional oil in Alberta will decline. Increased production of synthetic crude requires the development of new technologies and the improvement of existing ones. The overall objective of this Chair program is to improve our understanding of bitumen upgrading, leading to more sustainable production of crude oil from the oil sands of western Canada. An additional objective is to provide qualified personnel for the oil sands industry by increasing the number of graduate students and postdoctoral fellows working on oil sands-related projects.
Areas of research in the Chair program build on Dr. Gray’s expertise in chemical reactor engineering and the chemistry of the oil sands. Major activities in Phase II of the chair include the development of innovative methods to separate the metal contaminants from bitumen, catalyze the gasification of the asphaltenes, and investigate alternative reaction schemes for hydrogenation of bitumen components. The above areas of research address specific problems, the solutions to which will increase product quality and yield, and decrease energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions in the oil sands industry.
Close collaboration between Dr. Gray and Imperial Oil, the industrial sponsor of the Chair, ensures that research results are applied in oil sands processing. Researchers from Imperial Oil are involved in a number of projects, providing expertise, equipment, and analytical support.
Partners
Syncrude Canada Ltd.
Alberta Energy Research Institute
Champion Technologies
Imperial Oil Ltd./Compagnie Pétrolière Impériale Ltée
Contact Information
Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering
University of Alberta
536 Chemical and Materials Engineering Building
Edmonton, Alberta
T6G 2G6
Tel.: 780-492-7965
Fax: 780-492-2881
E-mail: murray.gray@ualberta.ca
Web site: http://www.ualberta.ca/~gray
http://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/Partners-Partenaires/Chairholders-TitulairesDeChaire/Chairholder-Titulaire_eng.asp?pid=275
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The Summit series
From the Oilsands to the Pharmacy
A professor and researcher, Dr. Murray Gray, P.Eng., is helping Alberta more efficiently process bitumen. But his knowledge of chemicals has also led him in a direction that might not spring to mind — to the world of pharmaceuticals and how they’re metabolized.
BY FRANCINE MAXWELL
The PEGG
TECHNICALLY SPEAKING
Research conducted by Dr. Murray Gray, P.Eng., could lead to more efficient bitumen processing. Dr. Gray is the 2007 winner of the Frank Spragins Technical Summit Award. Although the nomination deadline has passed for the 2008 Summit Awards, APEGGA accepts nominations year round. Visit www.apegga.org, go to Members on the upper left, and drop down to Awards.
It is said that good things come to those who wait, and Murray Gray, P.Eng., knows all about that. Being patient as he awaited results from his various research projects has netted him a multitude of awards and accolades.
The most recent of these is the Frank Spragins Technical Summit Award from his professional association, APEGGA.
“It takes a certain kind of personality to do this job,” says Dr. Gray. “It’s not for those in a hurry.”
Dr. Gray has spent much of his time in the research lab, through some 27 years. In that period, he has been the author or co-author of 150 papers, supervised 41 student theses, made hundreds of presentations at conferences, universities and industry groups, and even had his name placed on a patent for the Cell Culture Bioreactor.
But for all the recognition, Dr. Gray remembers all too well what it was like when he started out in his career. Fear, it seems, was a great motivator.
“I remember my first day as a professor. I was young and my students thought I was one of them. In my early days of teaching I was terrified — until I realized that I could say I don’t know the answer,” said Dr Gray.
The fear dissipated and the University of Alberta professor began taking home some impressive hardware for his teaching efforts. Awards include the Faculty of Engineering Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching and the Killam Annual Professorship. The Killam Award is presented to faculty members based on the quality of their scholarly activities such as teaching, research, publications, creative activities, presented papers, and supervision of graduate students.
Of course, like any job, there is that one little thing that isn’t as well liked. Being a professor is no exception.
“While teaching is a delight, marking is not,” Dr. Gray says.
An Oilsands Standard
Dr. Gray is not only a professor and accomplished researcher, he is also an author, and something of an authority on the chemistry, thermodynamics and kinetics of heavy oil and bitumen processing.
In 1994 he published the text Upgrading Petroleum Residues and Heavy Oils. It became a standard reference material for students and industry alike. Since that time, rather than rewrite a new and updated version of the textbook, Dr. Gray has been giving short courses and updating his research through notes and papers. The short courses are for industry professionals as well as students.
“We’ve done lots since then and obviously (the text) needs to be updated. Through short courses and notes it’s gone through about two dozen revisions. The purchase price of a new text would be a bit prohibitive for students,” Dr. Gray says.
““It takes a certain kind of personality to do
this job. It’s not for those in a hurry..
-Dr. Murray Gray, P.Eng
Absorbing Work
Beyond research into the petroleum industry, Dr. Gray has also become involved with research in medicine, specifically bioreactors and metabolism. With a background in chemical engineering and an understanding of the way chemicals react together, Dr. Gray was able to work with people in pharmacy, to further research drug metabolism times and effectiveness.
“There is a delicate balance between metabolism and the application of medications. Some you want to take effect immediately, others you want to absorb more slowly.”
The body’s liver works in much the same way as a bioreactor, so determining first how to either speed or slow the metabolization of a medication is key. Once that’s figured out, the challenge moves on to the next level.
“Once we have the balances, then it becomes an engineering challenge. How do we produce it on a large scale, easily and efficiently?” explains Dr. Gray.
While the medical research is fascinating, Dr. Gray prefers working on the range of problems with oilsands upgrading and the oilsands in general. His accomplishments there have inspired others to build on his ideas and results.
Starting Small
“We were experimenting on how to get more liquid from bitumen — more oil and less coke. In the lab we were successful in reducing the amount of coke formed. It got others thinking about how to do it on a much larger scale,” says Dr. Gray.
Larger is an understatement. Dr. Gray’s team looked at one gram of bitumen at a time in the lab when determining how to extract more liquid. Syncrude Canada, which is one of those looking at how to use this research, would have to replicate that on a scale of 150,000 or more barrels of oil per day.
But if it can be done, then all the time in the lab will have been worth it to Dr. Gray.
“We lose 20 per cent of oil through processing. Even improving that number by a few points translates to more money. It’s also a benefit to the environment.”
The Frank Spragins Technical Award is presented to APEGGA members recognized by their peers for integrity and expertise, and for outstanding accomplishments in fields related to engineering, geology or geophysics. The award involves technical accomplishment.
Home > Members > Publications > The PEGG > November 2007
http://www.apegga.org/Members/Publications/peggs/Web11-07/summitseries.html
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Program ID: Innovation Anthology #153
Program Date: 07/22/2008
Program Category: Chemistry, Energy, Engineering, Natural Resources
Hydrogen from Oil Sands
Hydrogen is the fuel of the future. Using steam at temperatures over 1300 degrees Celsius, oil sands material can be converted into hydrogen. This process is called gasification.
But current technology is energy intensive and has lots of problems.
At COSI, the Imperial Oil-Alberta Ingenuity Centre for Oil Sands Innovation, Dr. Murray Gray hopes his research will change that. His work is focused on catalysts.
DR. MURRAY GRAY: By adding catalysts to the bitumen components, we think we can significantly drop the temperature and make the process of gasification more economic. So we’re doing experiments in the lab to add different catalyst additives. These are mostly naturally occurring salts that are very cheap, things like potassium carbonate and sodium carbonate which are very inexpensive and non-toxic, but they speed up gasification reaction and allow us to make hydrogen from materials like bitumen much more cheaply potentially, if we can get that temperature down.
According to Dr. Murray Gray, hydrogen could replace natural gas as a fuel in the oil sands production process.
Thanks today to Alberta Ingenuity
Learn more at Innovation Anthology.com
I'M CHERYL CROUCHER
Images
Dr. Murray Gray
Links
Alberta Ingenuity
COSI: Imperial Oil-Alberta Ingenuity Centre for Oil Sands Innovation
Guests
Murray Gray PhD, PEng, FCIC, FEIC, FCAE
http://www.innovationanthology.com/programs.php?id=165
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Article
Selective Biocatalysis in Bacteria Controlled by Active Membrane Transport
Murray R. Gray* and Trevor Bugg
Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada T6G 2G6
Ind. Eng. Chem. Res., 2001, 40 (23), pp 5126–5131
DOI: 10.1021/ie001010b
Publication Date (Web): June 8, 2001
Copyright © 2001 American Chemical Society
* Author to whom correspondence should be addressed. Telephone: 780-492-7965. Fax: 780-492-2881. E-mail: murray.gray@ualberta.ca.
Abstract
Membrane reactors are attractive when retention of biocatalysts is desirable and when chemical conversion or selectivity can be enhanced by selective permeability of reactants. Unlike polymer or inorganic membranes, biological membranes have transport proteins that use cellular energy to selectively pump components against concentration gradients. This paper analyzes the transport of polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) across the cell membranes of Pseudomonas fluorescens, an organism that oxidizes aromatic compounds. Experimental data for PAHs were consistent with a model for uptake and energy-dependent transport controlled by the permeability of the outer cell membrane permeability. A model for the enzymatic reaction of mixtures of PAHs showed that energy-dependent transport out of the cell increases the selectivity for the reaction of the less permeable component. Consequently, selective transport may be a useful tool in engineering the metabolism of microorganisms, especially for less hydrophobic compounds with lower permeation rates across biological membranes.
http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/ie001010b
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Chemical Engineering Science
Volume 63, Issue 6, March 2008, Pages 1683-1691
Modeling of mass transfer and thermal cracking during the coking of Athabasca residues
References and further reading may be available for this article. To view references and further reading you must purchase this article.
Ramin Radmanesha, Edward Chanb and Murray R. Grayc, ,
aDuPont Canada Inc., Research and Business Development, Kingston, Ont., Canada K7L 5A5
bSyncrude Canada Ltd., Edmonton Research Centre, 9421- 17th Avenue, Edmonton, Alta., Canada T6N 1H4
cDepartment of Chemical and Materials Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alta., Canada T6G 2G6
Received 25 March 2007; revised 16 August 2007; accepted 5 November 2007. Available online 21 November 2007.
Abstract
The kinetics of thermal cracking of films of vacuum residue from Athabasca bitumen in the temperature range of was modelled with liquid-phase mass transfer, reaction-dependent fluid properties, and coke formation by reaction of cracked products in the liquid phase. Previous investigations on the thermal cracking of vacuum residue in thin films showed that at low film thickness the coke yield was insensitive to the temperature and heating rate for thin films of bitumen. The coke yield increased with the thickness of the initial film, in the range from 20 to . At the same time, the viscosity of the reacting liquid increased rapidly with time, which would slow down the diffusion of products inside the film. This coupling of transport and reaction would enhance the formation of coke by increasing the rate of recombination reactions. The concept of intrinsic coke is used in a new kinetic model to account for the minimum observed coke formation in thin films. With increasing film thickness, the increasing yield of extrinsic coke is modelled through the change in fluid properties as a function of extent of reaction, which reduces the rate of diffusion in the reacting liquid phase. The model was able to properly account for the insensitivity of coke yield in thin films to reaction temperature and the dependence of coke yield on the thickness of the liquid film.
Keywords: Heavy oil; Bitumen; Thermal cracking; Coking; Mass transfer; Diffusion
Article Outline
1. Introduction
2. Theory and model definition
2.1. Kinetic model
3. Results and discussion
3.1. Model parameters
3.2. Model predictions
3.3. Model predictions for different feeds
3.4. Model results on reactant concentration profile
3.5. Model prediction for thick films
3.6. Model sensitivity on diffusion coefficient
4. Conclusions
Notation
References
Fig. 1. Viscosity variation of a reacting AVR film of thickness with time during the coking at (data of Aminu et al., 2004). Diffusivity of the heavy residue inside of a reacting bitumen film was calculated by modified version of Wilke–Chang equation (1). Lines show the trends of the data.
Fig. 2. Schematic presentation of a bitumen film subjected to thermal cracking.
Fig. 3. The coke yield for different feeds vs the amount of heavy residue (; data of Gray et al., 2004). The figure shows that the amount of coke for a reacting bitumen film of thickness is correlated with the initial heavy residue fraction.
Fig. 4. Reaction network for thermal cracking of bitumen.
Fig. 5. Coke yield at different temperatures for a SBR bitumen film of . Symbols are the experimental data (Gray et al., 2004) and lines are model results.
Fig. 6. Fractional yield of heavy residue, light residue and heavy gas oil liquid (extract) and vapour (distillate) product for SBR feed at . Symbols are the experimental data (Gray et al., 2004) and lines show the model prediction.
Fig. 7. Coke fractional yield prediction for three different feeds at . Symbols are the experimental data (Gray et al., 2004) and lines show the model prediction.
Fig. 8. Model results on total liquid (extract) and vapour (distillate) for CPR feed at different temperature. Symbols are the experimental data (Gray et al., 2004) and lines show the model prediction.
Fig. 9. Light residue fraction profile inside a reacting film of SBR bitumen (a) when the initial film thickness is and (b) when the initial film thickness is .
Fig. 10. Coke yield as a function of film thickness for VTB feed at and 0.65 MPa. Points represent the experimental data (Gray et al., 2007) and the line is the model result.
Table 1.
Properties of feeds derived from Athabasca bitumen
Table 2.
Estimated kinetic and thermodynamic parameters
a Equilibrium constant determined using Peng–Robinson equation of state in HYSYS software.
Corresponding author. Tel.: +1 780 492 7965; fax: +1 780 492 2881.
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Harnessing bugs to boost the barrels has its limitations, say researchers
study reveals that microbe-assisted oil recovery only works sometimes
Published: 01/12/2008
Harvesting energy from bacteria are, from left, graduate students Negin Razavilar and Greg Dechaine and Professor Murray Gray
More Pictures
The results of a study that aims to identify the realistic potential for microbially enhanced oil recovery (MEOR) have just been published and point to rather mixed results – some good, but others poor.
The study, funded by UK ITF (Industry Technology Facilitator) members, applied reservoir engineering principles to provide quantitative estimates of the increase in crude oil recovery possible from a typical North Sea reservoir by a range of MEOR mechanisms.
It concluded that there is good potential for microbial plugging of high-permeability zones in fractured reservoirs – and thus increasing recovery by driving the oil out of bypassed regions. But most of the other MEOR mechanisms studied were considered to be poor prospects for field-wide offshore application.
The term, MEOR, does not really refer to a single technology, but rather to a range of proposed mechanisms for enhancing oil recovery which share in common the involvement of microbes.
When bacteria grow, they increase in number and volume – or in other words, produce biomass – and may also excrete byproducts such as gas, surfactants or polysaccharides.
The mechanisms that have been proposed for MEOR fall into two broad categories – alteration of oil/water/rock interfacial properties, such as through the action of surfactants, or changes in flow behaviour, such as via the plugging of fractures with bacterial biomass and polymeric byproducts.
Gert de Jonge, technology initiatives consultant, Chevron Upstream Europe, and ITF board member, said of the study: “There was a strong interest among ITF members in the potential offered by MEOR.
“However, despite all the past work that has been done, there was still insufficient understanding of the process, and field-wide application has been limited. Some experts have questioned whether the technology is inherently feasible.
“Consequently, the group felt that there was a need for a realistic in-depth assessment of the various potential mechanisms reported for MEOR. This study is intended to provide that.”
The work was carried out by a team of reservoir engineers and microbiologists led by Professor Murray Gray at the University of Alberta.
The researchers were provided with real data from a typical sandstone North Sea petroleum reservoir with light crude oil and given the remit of addressing all science and engineering aspects of the mechanisms involved, including chemical and reservoir engineering as well as microbiological considerations.
The study was focused on microbial processes whose objective is to enhance recovery factor rather than single well (stimulation) treatments, which have been frequently documented and are available commercially.
Prof Gray said: “The potential benefits of different MEOR mechanisms – interfacial tension reduction, wettability changes, changes in flow patterns, gas production and acid production – were examined for a representative North Sea reservoir.
“In each case, the material input requirements were calculated in relation to the projected incremental oil production. The heart of the assessment process was to check the mass balance, to determine the potential oil recovery versus the amount of input materials required.
“The literature on MEOR contains many examples where a simple mass balance has not been considered in evaluating a proposed scheme.”
The study highlighted some interesting issues. For example, one proposed mechanism for MEOR is the opening of flow paths by organic acids produced by bacteria.
The study concluded that the prospects for this mechanism are poor because biomass volume would exceed the volume opened by the acid. Mechanisms based on gas or solvent production ranked poorly because of the large amounts of nitrates and nutrients they would require.
De Jonge said: “Some people may be surprised by the findings, and hopefully the study will stimulate some interesting discussions – after all, that is an integral part of the R&D process.”
For more information, contact Duncan Anderson, ITF subsurface technology manager, at d.anderson@oil-itf.com. The results of the study are summarised in SPE (Society of Petroleum Engineers) paper 114676-PP
http://energy.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/956478?UserKey=
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Centre for Oil Sands Innovation
Established in 2007. Bring Environmental improvements to the oil sands.
The Imperial Oil-Alberta Ingenuity Centre for Oil Sands Innovation is a collaboration between Alberta Ingenuity, the University of Alberta, Imperial Oil and the Alberta Energy Research Institute, (AERI). Led by Dr. Murray Gray and bolstered by Ingenuity Scholar Dr. Steve Kuznicki, the Centre’s mandate is to find more efficient, economically viable and environmentally responsible ways to develop Canada's oil sands resources.
This leading-edge oil sands research centre, located at the University of Alberta, focuses on two areas of research: new oil sands extraction methods to reduce water consumption and improve tailings management - both of strategic importance to Alberta; and new upgrading technology to remove contaminants from the oil sands and improve upgrading.
The Imperial Oil – Alberta Ingenuity Centre for Oil Sands Innovation partner contributions are:
Imperial Oil - $10 million endowment over five years, plus in-kind support of $2.5 million
Alberta Energy Research Institute - $10 million over five years
Alberta Ingenuity - $8 million over five years
University of Alberta - $2.5 million
NSERC - $1.6 million
NINT - $1.9 million
Scientific Director, Dr. Murray Gray, is a specialist in biomedical and chemical and materials engineering and a Canada Research Chair in Oil Sands Upgrading.
The Centre for Oil Sands Innovation is looking to recruit more than 50 faculty, graduate students and researchers.
For more information, please visit:
http://www.engineering.ualberta.ca/COSI.cfm
http://www.albertaingenuity.ca/programs/funding/centres/oil/sands
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ArticleDesorption of [14C]Naphthalene from Bioremediated and Nonbioremediated Soils Contaminated with Creosote Compounds
AbstractFull Text HTMLHi-Res PDF[116 KB]P. Michael Rutherford,‡ Murray R. Gray,*§ and Marvin J. Dudas‡
Department of Renewable Resources and Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2G6, Canada
Environ. Sci. Technol., 1997, 31 (9), pp 2515–2519
DOI: 10.1021/es960928k
Publication Date (Web): August 28, 1997
Copyright © 1997 American Chemical Society
‡ Department of Renewable Resources.
* Author for correspondence: fax: (403) 492-2881; e-mail: murray. gray@ualberta.ca.
§ Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering.
AbstractBioremediation changes the quantity and nature of the contaminant matrix remaining in soil, because some compounds are selectively degraded while others remain undegraded. It was hypothesized that changes to the contaminant matrix may alter the chemical and physical properties of the soil, such that subsequent desorption of a specific PAH compound would be altered. Desorption of [14C]naphthalene from two creosote-contaminated soils was measured before and after bioremediation. Although the bioremediation treatment removed the lower-molecular weight components, increasing the average molecular weight of the residual creosote by 10-36%, partition coefficients based on the mass of organic carbon in the soil were unaffected. Partition coefficients for naphthalene in soil organic matter were 4.6-8.3 times smaller than in the creosote contaminant. When partitioning was modeled as the sum of the contributions of the nonaqueous phase contaminant and the soil organic matter, the partition coefficients for the creosote contaminant were in the range 3500-4040 mL/g of organic carbon, for both soils with and without bioremediation. The insensitivity of partition coefficients to creosote source and to bioremediation suggest that sorption of naphthalene to a residual creosote matrix was relatively insensitive to detailed composition of the creosote.
http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/es960928k
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PRELIMINARY PROGRAM
CHEMICAL REACTION ENGINEERING VI:
REACTOR ENGINEERING FOR SUSTAINABLE
PROCESSES AND PRODUCTS
June 8-13, 1997
Professional Development Centre for Conferences
Banff, Alberta,
Canada
Tel: 1-403-762-6204
Fax: 1-403-762-6388
http://www.engconfintl.org/pastconf/7appre.html
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Article
Kinetics of Solvent Interactions with Asphaltenes during Coke Formation
Samina Rahmani, William McCaffrey, and Murray R. Gray*
Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, T6G 2G6, Canada
Energy Fuels, 2002, 16 (1), pp 148–154
DOI: 10.1021/ef010124c
Publication Date (Web): December 6, 2001
Copyright © 2002 American Chemical Society
* Author to whom correspondence should be addressed. Telephone: (780) 492-7965. Fax: (780) 492-2881. E-mail: murray.gray@ualberta.ca.
Abstract
The formation of coke from asphaltenes during thermal cracking is significantly affected by both reactions with the liquid components and the solvent properties of the liquid medium. The roles of both solubility phenomena and chemical reactions were studied by reacting Athabasca asphaltenes in a closed batch reactor at 430 °C. Reactions of asphaltene in maltene at different concentrations and reactions in a series of aromatic solvents (1-methyl naphthalene, naphthalene, and tetralin) were used to investigate the role of solvent properties and hydrogen donation reactions. The most important characteristics of the liquid phase were hydrogen donating ability and the ability to initiate cracking reactions. The latter mechanism was confirmed by adding n-dodecyl sulfide as an initiator compound. A modified kinetic model for coke formation, incorporating phase separation and hydrogen transfer to the asphaltenes, was consistent with the experimental results over a range of asphaltene concentrations and solvent conditions.
http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/ef010124c
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Research Organization Details
Name: Imperial Oil-Alberta Ingenuity Centre for Oil Sands Innovation
URL: http://www.engineering.ualberta.ca/COSI.cfm
Description: The Imperial Oil-Alberta Ingenuity Centre for Oil Sands Innovation has a mission to generate breakthrough technologies that will revolutionize the productivity and sustainability of oil sands operations.
Main Contact: Dr. Murray Gray
Contact Title: Director
Contact Address: Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering University of Alberta
Contact City: Edmonton
Contact Phone: 780-492-7965
Contact Province: AB
Contact Postal Code: T6G 2G6
Contact Ext:
Contact Email: murray.gray@ualberta.ca
Keywords: oil sands bitumen upgrading
Affiliations: University of Alberta
Imperial Oil
Alberta Ingenuity Fund
Categories: Oil and gas
Research Project Details
Project: Energy of interaction solvents with mineral surfaces, to enable design of non-aqueous extraction processes
Areas: Non-aqueous extraction
Description: Project aimed at reducing the amount of water used in oilsands extraction.
Project Contact: Dr. Phillip Choi
Contact Title:
Contact Phone:
Contact Ext:
Contact Email: phillip.choi@ualberta.ca
Keywords: non-aqueous extraction oilsands bitumen mineral surfaces solvents
http://www.centreforenergy.com/Research/viewResearchOrganizations.asp?Action=View&ID=17
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International Journal of Chemical Reactor EngineeringEditors
Franco Berruti, The University of Western Ontario, berruti.ijcre@eng.uwo.ca1
Cedric Briens, The University of Western Ontario, briens.ijcre@eng.uwo.ca2
Hugo de Lasa, The University of Western Ontario, delasa.ijcre@eng.uwo.ca3
Editorial Board
Jose Arandes, Universidad del Pais Vasco (Spain), iqparesj@lg.ehu.es4
Giancarlo Baldi, Politecnico di Torino (Italy), giancarlo.baldi@polito.it5
Leo A. Behie, University of Calgary (Canada), behie@ucalgary.ca6
Jacques Bousquet, Total (France), jacques-louis.bousquet@total.com7
Manuk Colakyan, The Dow Chemical Company (USA), colakymc@dow.com8
Anthony G. Dixon, Worcester Polytechnic Institute (USA), agdixon@wpi.edu9
Gulsen Dogu, Gazi University (Turkey), gdogu@mmf.gazi.edu.tr10
Milorad P. Dudukovic, Washington University - St. Louis (USA), dudu@poly1.che.wustl.edu11
L.S. Fan, Ohio State University (USA), fan@kcgl1.eng.ohio-state.edu12
Roberto Galiasso, Intevep (Venezuela), galiassor@pdvsa.com13
Thierry Gauthier, Institut Français du Pétrole (France), thierry.gauthier@ifp.fr14
John R. Grace, University of British Columbia (Canada), jgrace@chml.ubc.ca15
Murray Gray, University of Alberta (Canada), Murray.Gray@UAlberta.ca16
Santosh Gupta, Indian Institute of Technology (Kanpur) (India), skgupta@iitk.ac.in17
Masayuki Horio, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology (Japan), masa@cc.tuat.ac.jp18
Serge Kaliaguine, Université Laval (Canada), Serge.Kaliaguine@gch.ulaval.ca19
Paola Lettieri20, University College London (UK), p.lettieri@ucl.ac.uk21
Ben McCoy, University of California (Davis) (USA), bjmccoy@ucdavis.edu22
Patrick Mills, Texas A&M University-Kingsville (USA), kfplm00@tamuk.edu23
Leslaw Mleczko, Bayer A.G. (Germany), leslaw.mleczko@bayertechnology.com24
Massimo Morbidelli, ETH Zurich (Switzerland), morbidelli@tech.chem.ethz.ch25
Jacob Mouljin, T.U. Delft (Netherlands), j.a.moulijn@tnw.tudelft.nl26
Doug Muzyka, DuPont Canada Inc. (Canada), Doug.Muzyka@can.dupont.com27
Roberto Leyva Ramos, Universidad Autonoma de San Luis Potosí (México), rlr@uaslp.mx28
Ajay Kumar Ray, University of Western Ontario (Canada), aray@eng.uwo.ca29
Albert Renken, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (Switzerland), Albert.Renken@epfl.ch30
Martin Rhodes, Monash University (Australia), rhodes@eng.monash.edu.au31
Alirio Rodrigues, Universidade do Porto (Portugal), arodrig@fe.up.pt32
Hendrik Schoenfelder, Basell Polyolefins (Germany), hendrik.schoenfelder@basell.com33
Hallvard F. Svendsen, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, svendsen@chemeng.ntnu.no34
Enrique M. Vallés, Universidad Nacional del Sur (Argentina), valles@plapiqui.edu.ar35
Fei Wei, Tsinghua University (China), weifei@flotu.org36
Joachim Werther, Technical University Hamburg-Harburg (Germany), werther@tu-harburg.de37
Gabriel Wild, Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Industries Chimiques (France), Gabriel.Wild@ensic.inpl-nancy.fr38
Ganapati D. Yadav, University Institute of Chemical Technology-Mumbai (India), gdyadav@udct.org39
John Yates, University College London (UK), john.yates@ucl.ac.uk40
Po-Lock Yue, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (Hong Kong), keplyue@ust.hk41
http://www.bepress.com/ijcre/editorialboard.html
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8th World Congress of Chemical Engineering, Montreal 2009
Symposia are being planned to bring together industry experts and provide participants with a forum for the technical exchange of their research and vision of the future as well as an opportunity to network and renew acquaintances with colleagues and peers from around the world. Conferences in development are :
Energy {Prof. M. Gray}
http://www.wcce8.org/prog_tech_symposia.html
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Corrosion Session Summary
National Centre for Upgrading Technology
4th Upgrading and Refining of Heavy Oil,
Bitumen, and Synthetic Crude Oil Conference
Murray Gray, University of Alberta. Corrosion: Know What’s Eating You? ... Presented by Murray Gray
www.coqg.org/NCUT_Conf_Overview_SAT_Feb_2007.pdf
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Chemical Institute of Canada
The CIC Board of Directors from June 2008 to May 2009
CIC Chair Murray Gray, FCIC
University of Alberta
Department of Chemical Engineering
Edmonton, AB
Tel.: (780) 492-7965
murray.gray@ualberta.ca
http://www.cheminst.ca/index.cfm/ci_id/5258/la_id/1.htm
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Applied and Environmental Microbiology, October 2004, p. 6333-6336, Vol. 70, No. 10
0099-2240/04/$08.00+0 DOI: 10.1128/AEM.70.10.6333-6336.2004
Copyright © 2004, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.
SHORT REPORT
Stabilization of Oil-Water Emulsions by Hydrophobic Bacteria
Loredana S. Dorobantu,1 Anthony K. C. Yeung,1 Julia M. Foght,2 and Murray R. Gray1*
Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering,1 Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada2
Received 9 March 2004/ Accepted 15 June 2004
ABSTRACT
Formation of oil-water emulsions during bacterial growth on hydrocarbons is often attributed to biosurfactants. Here we report the ability of certain intact bacterial cells to stabilize oil-in-water and water-in-oil emulsions without changing the interfacial tension, by inhibition of droplet coalescence as observed in emulsion stabilization by solid particles like silica.
* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2G6, Canada. Phone: (780) 492-7965. Fax: (780) 492-2881. E-mail: murray.gray@ualberta.ca.
Copyright © 2004, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.
http://aem.asm.org/cgi/content/abstract/70/10/6333?maxtoshow=&HITS=10&hits=10&RESULTFORMAT=&fulltext=bacteria&searchid=1&FIRSTINDEX=190&resourcetype=HWFIG
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The 9th International Conference on Petroleum Phase (2008)
Behavior and Fouling
Murray Gray on Technical Committee
http://www.petrophase.ca/Org%20Committee.htm
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Spilt oil
23 January 1999
Magazine issue 2170. Subscribe and get 4 free issues.
USING detergents to clean up oil spills on soil can make things worse, say researchers in Canada.
Detergents are supposed to dissolve hydrocarbons in water, making it easier for bacteria to break them down. But a team led by Murray Gray at the University of Alberta in Edmonton found that detergents inhibit the breakdown of oil by some types of bacteria (Applied and Environmental Microbiology, vol 65, p 1).
Gray suspects that not all bacteria are affected in the same way, however, so local bacteria should be tested before spraying detergent on polluted soil.
From issue 2170 of New Scientist magazine, page 23. Subscribe and get 4 free issues.
Browse past issues of New Scientist magazine
http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg16121704.600-spilt-oil.html
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Salt Hydrolysis in Crude & Bitumen Refining
Paul E. Eaton, Technical Marketing, Champion Technologies Inc., 19827 Sunbridge Lane, Houston, TX 77094, Murray Gray, Chemical & Materials, University of Alberta, T6G 2G6, Edmonton, AB T6g 2G6, Canada and Tuyet Le, Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering, University of Alberta T6G 2G6, Edmonton, T6g 2G6, Canada
Abstract
Salt Hydrolysis in Crude and Bitumen Refining Paul Eaton, Champion Technologies, Fresno TX; Murray Gray University of Alberta; Edmonton, Alberta; Tuyet Le, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta
Crude oil charged to the refinery, contains clay minerals, and may also contain chloride salts. The chlorides can undergo hydrolysis to form corrosive hydrochloric acid during the distillation process. Crude oil also contains significant concentrations of organic acid components known as naphthenic acids, which can cause corrosion in overheads and downstream equipment. In the presence of steam, the chloride salts, clays and organic acids may interact synergistically to promote formation of hydrochloric acid, causing significant corrosion in the downstream equipment. Despite the importance and the impact of these components to product quality and refinery operation, their behavior under upgrading conditions is not well understood.
The objective of this research is to investigate the rate and the extent of the hydrolysis reactions for salts contained in crude oil as a function of mineralclays and napthenic acid. Laboratory glassware is used to expose mixtures of bitumen, salts and organic acids to flowing steam at 100 oC to 400 oC under nitrogen purge. The vapors are condensed and the condensate is analyzed for chloride using ion chromatography. This apparatus promotes the formation of hydrochloric acid, and allows us to investigate the interactions of the salts with organic acids and clays and napthenic acid under upgrading conditions.
Mitigation of the hydrolysis reactions is shown to be possible with the use of chemical additives.
Upgrading and Processing of Opportunity Crudes I
The Preliminary Program for 2006 Spring National Meeting
http://aiche.confex.com/aiche/s06/preliminaryprogram/abstract_41976.htm
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[PDF] The Vision of Envision - Faculty of Engineering - Magazine ...File Format: PDF/Adobe Acrobat - View as HTML
Jul 17, 2007 ... William McCaffrey and Dr. Murray Gray
www.etxsystems.com/.../The%20Vision%20of%20Envision%20-%20Faculty%20of%20Engineering%20-%20Magazine%20
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Inhibition and Promotion of Hydrolysis of Chloride Salts in Model Crude Oil and Heavy Oil
Authors: M. R. Gray a; P. E. Eaton b; T. Le a
Affiliations: a Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
b Champion Technologies Inc., Fresno, Texas, USA
DOI: 10.1080/10916460701428607
Publication Frequency: 18 issues per year
Published in: Petroleum Science and Technology, Volume 26, Issue 16 January 2008 , pages 1934 - 1944
Subjects: Chemical Engineering; Energy & Fuels; Gas Industries; Petroleum & Oil Industries;
Formats available: HTML (English) : PDF (English)
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Abstract
The interactions of chloride salts with naphthenic acid and inhibitors during exposure to steam at 100-350°C were investigated in order to understand the release of hydrochloric acid in crude units. Naphthenic acid promoted the release of chlorine from calcium and sodium chlorides by a factor of up to 30 times, forming metal naphthenates in solution. Mitigation of the hydrolysis reactions was achieved with the use of chemical additives in both a model oil and in a Canadian heavy oil.
Keywords: hydrolysis; inhibition; naphthenic acid; salts
http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/content~content=a905023796~db=all
===
Published: 08 December 2008 12:20 PM
Source: The Engineer
To its champions it represents a plentiful, secure source of fuel that could wean the West off its addiction to Middle East oil. To its detractors it is an environmental catastrophe in the making.
Despite the strong feelings on both sides, most agree that the oil-sand beneath the soil of Alberta, Canada represents the largest petroleum resource on the planet.
Canada's oil-sand reserve covers an area about twice the size of Wales and already hosts most of the world's oil majors plus a smattering of home-grown specialists. Between them they produce about 1.3 million barrels of crude oil a day from this unpleasant mixture of clay, sand, water and bitumen.
But there is much, much more — an estimated 1.7 trillion barrels more, or two thirds of the world's remaining petroleum reserves. Despite a recent slowdown triggered by the falling price of crude, there are plans to scale up production to 3.5 million barrels a day over the next decade.
Now for the bad news. To get the oil-sand out of the ground and turn it into useful fuel, huge amounts of energy are required and the process pumps vast quantities of CO2 into the air, creating giant lakes of toxic sludge. In comparison, conventional oil production looks like an environmental blessing.
While campaigners would like to see the industry shut down overnight many others, including Geoffrey Maitland, professor of energy at Imperial College London, believe the size and location of the resource makes exploitation inevitable. 'There's three or four times more of this stuff than there is conventional oil,' Maitland told The Engineer. 'If you could extract it today economically then it would transform overnight the balance of power in terms of where the hydrocarbon is.'
Against a backdrop of growing political pressure and falling crude prices (oil-sand is considered uneconomical when crude drops below $70 a barrel) the industry has no choice but to clean up its act. The question is, what can technology do to improve the economic and environmental profile of the dirtiest end of the oil business?
About three quarters of oil-sand activity is concentrated on the reserves that lie closest to the surface, which can be extracted using traditional open-pit mining techniques.
The biggest producer, Syncrude Canada (a joint venture between firms including Imperial Oil and ConocoPhillips), generates about 350,000 barrels of oil a day.
At Syncrude's colossal facilities, dubbed Mordor by local activists, the biggest trucks and shovels in the world dig out the oil-sand and place it in enormous crushers before it is sent on huge conveyer belts to gargantuan separation vessels.
As the oil-sand at these facilities is so close to the surface, the mining costs are not high. It is at the separation and refining stage that the big inefficiencies begin to emerge.
To separate the bitumen from the ore huge amounts of water — about three barrels for every barrel of oil produced — are used to float the oil from the tar sand within the separation vessels. Unfortunately, this water also dissolves the clay that forms about 20 per cent of the oil-sand.
The resulting noxious sludge, or tailings, ends up in giant reservoirs where the water and clay can take up to 30 years to separate.
The size of these ponds — Syncrude's 540 million m3 Fort McMurray pond is the second largest dam in the world — is regarded by some as the industry's greatest problem.
A number of groups, including French fuel giant Total, are developing and testing expensive filtration systems that speed up the de-watering process.
However Dr Murray Gray, scientific director of Alberta University's Centre for Oil Sands Innovation, is carrying out fundamental scientific research into extraction methods that dispense with the need for water. The group's work is being funded by Imperial Oil.
'We would like to keep the clay with the sand. Current technology beautifully disperses this material in the water and that creates the tailing problem,' he said.
'We have a project looking at clay minerals in the oil sand and how they are distributed within the ore. We have made progress here and started to visualise ways of getting oil out without moving clays about.
'Another project, which should be ready for pilot testing in a year, involves adding special catalyst materials to crack the bitumen in order to avoid having to use water.'
There are even greater reserves to be found underground. About 80 per cent of Alberta's oil-sand is buried too deep for open mining and to get at these a different process is required.
Current approaches tend to mirror conventional oil extraction techniques by displacing the bitumen to the surface. However, bitumen does not flow like conventional oil. It is up to 10 million times more viscous and to reduce the viscosity to the point where it begins to flow requires the application of a lot of heat.
One method that appears to be gaining in popularity is a so-called in-situ technique known as steam assisted gravity drainage (SAGD). This technique, used by Shell, BP and others, pumps steam down a line at high pressure into the reservoir. After a number of weeks of continuous heating, the bitumen begins to separate from the oil-sand and drips down into a drainage line from where it can be extracted.
It is a novel process and, because some upgrading occurs in-situ, it is a more economical way of getting at oil-sand than surface extraction. But Imperial's Maitland says it is still relatively energy-inefficient and only recovers 10 per cent to 15 per cent of the resource.
'You need to generate a lot of steam at the surface and in generating this steam you generate a lot of C02,' he said. Also, the fraction of heat that goes into heating the oil as opposed to heating the rock is a relatively small percentage (20 per cent) so there's a tremendous loss in efficiency. The overall energy and C02 carbon footprint sums are very poor.'
An alternative to steam is the use of hydrocarbon solvents that require far lower injection volumes than steam and are therefore more energy efficient. One such process, vapour assisted petroleum extraction, is being used at Imperial Oil's Cold Lake oil-sand facility in Alberta.
Another alternative is electrical heating. Dr Bruce McGee, chief executive of E-T Energy, is a pioneer in this area and has developed an electro-thermal heating technique that he claims is the only one that can make oil-sand economical at current crude oil prices.
E-T Energy's electro-thermal dynamic stripping process is deployed by drilling a number of well bores next to the oil reservoir.
Electrodes of varying voltages are put down the bores and the voltage difference causes electricity to flow through the oil-sand and melt the bitumen. The firm is using the technology on its own reserves to produce 1,000 barrels a day and plans to increase production to 10,000 barrels a day by 2010.
McGee claims a number of advantages for his technology. It boasts big thermal efficiencies over SAGD, he said, and claimed that while SAGD only becomes economical when crude oil is $60 or above, his process remains competitive at $22 a barrel.
He added that while a steam plant can take months to set up, his technology takes just two weeks to install and will be producing oil within the year.
Another technical advantage, he claimed, is that the electrodes can be configured to provide feedback on the geometry and suitability of the reservoirs in which they are positioned. While SAGD plants can sometimes work for months before operators discover they are poorly positioned, this technique can respond far more rapidly.
In a similar initiative at an earlier stage of development, a group at Siemens is working on an electromagnetic induction-based system that it believes could be used to complement and, ultimately, replace steam.
Dr Bernd Wacker, the engineer behind the concept, said the idea is to embed a copper cable in the ground then pass a current through it, creating an alternating magnetic field that generates eddy currents, heats the surrounding sand and rapidly reduces the viscosity of the bitumen.
Wacker's team has tested the concept in a sand box at its lab in Erlangen, Germany, and is preparing for a second set of trials in a larger experimental facility. He hopes to begin field trials in Alberta by 2010.
Wacker's vision is that initially the system will be used to complement steam extraction methods, with the inductor running parallel to the steam pipe to provide an additional heating effect.
According to early calculations the process could, he claimed, lead to a 20 per cent improvement in the efficiency of extraction. In the longer term, if the coils were used to replace steam, he believes a 50 per cent improvement could be achieved.
While such techniques could go a long way to achieving the desired economic and environmental goals, Imperial's Maitland believes the oil-sand industry may be barking up the wrong tree.
'It strikes me that there's a greater analogy between tar sands and coal than there is with conventional oil,' he said.
The research carried out into the underground gasification or in-situ processing of coal may be more pertinent to the oil-sand industry.
One promising technique is the toe to heel air injection (THAI) process pioneered by Prof Malcolm Greaves at Bath University.
The key idea of the technique that has already undergone commercial trials with both Orion Oil and Petrobank is that rather than having to use additional energy at the surface to create vapour or steam, some of the in-situ heavy oil is used as a sacrificial fuel.
Air is injected into the reservoir, an underground combustion front is created and the high temperatures, of up to 400ºC, reduce the viscosity of the bitumen.
Because the temperatures are so much higher than those achieved using SAGD, the process also leads to some in-situ cracking and pyrolysis of the bitumen, creating other usable products including methane, CO and, if there is some steam, hydrogen.
A process such as THAI, claimed Maitland, begins to address some of the problems of oil-sand production. 'You use some of the in-situ material as your energy source. You're starting to produce some CO2 in-site, so you could capture some of it and use it to enhance recovery and sequester it within this heavy oil reservoir,' he said.
'It's also doing some in-situ processing so that you're starting to produce at the surface more of what you want.
'We're a million miles away from being very selective and optimised in all of this but I do believe that the road ahead with these heavier hydrocarbon materials is not to produce them the way we've produced conventional oil.'
But in-situ combustion raises big problems of its own. Maitland said there is a pressing need for simulation technology able to accurately predict the effect of lighting huge underground fires.
'You need really good models — you're not just modelling fluid flow but heat and mass transfer over a kilometre-length scale in geological environments that aren't well characterised.'
For instance, because the bitumen is effectively the glue that binds the tar sand together, its removal from deep underground could have serious consequences.
'If you combust this material and flow it, what are you doing to the mechanical properties of a formation?' asked Maitland.
'Can you maintain stable wells? Are you going to get subsidence or major changes to the subsurface?'
With crude prices hovering around $50 a barrel, these are questions to which the industry is going to have to find answers fast.
According to the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, investment in oil-sand expected for 2009 had fallen by 20 per cent. Recent decisions by both Shell and Petro-Canada to put planned expansion on hold are just recent examples of how investment is dropping off.
But despite the jitters Maitland, in common with many others, believes the oil-sand industry is here to stay.
'The fact that oil's gone down now is only a temporary thing,' he said. 'I think we will continue to see high oil and gas costs in the future and that the long-term investment in these things will be high.'
'There's been a lot of immediate reaction to the current economic situation and we will see some pulling back but I think in terms of long-term strategy the majors like Shell and BP are committed to seeing the heavier hydrocarbons as strategically very important.
'However, they realise that they've got to produce them in a much cleaner way in the future.'
Maitland added that with Barack Obama due to be sworn in as US president in January, there is also now an added political imperative.
'In order to use these reserves — which are absolutely crucial to the future of the provision of the amount of energy the world needs and security of supply — it must inevitably be done in a cleaner way because it's a matter of when, not if, legislation gets put in place.
'There will not be a window of opportunity to operate in a way where you can be profligate with energy consumption.'
http://www.theengineer.co.uk/Articles/309275/Black+gold+mine.htm
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