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TEXTCREATING VALUE THROUGH TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION
CASE STUDIES
TEXT
CREATING VALUE THROUGH TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION
Canadian Natural allocates significant investment towards research and development to reduce our environmental footprint, unlock reserves and become more effective and efficient. These case studies highlight the range of new technologies and continuous improvement opportunities that CanadianNatural is evaluating, developing and piloting.
Table of Contents
Technologies deployedD4 Carbon capture and sequestration or storageD4 Enhancing steam quality measurement and controlD4 Recovering hydrocarbons and reducing emissionsD4 Rifle tubing technology increases water efficienciesD4 Tailings management technologies
Technologies under development D3 Area fugitive emissions measurementD3 Fuel cells for carbon capture and electricity generationD3 NRG COSIA Carbon XPRIZE
Technologies under designD2 Converting greenhouse gases into liquid fuelsD2 Scan and evaluation of natural gas decarbonization technologies
Technologies at discover stageD1 Bitumen beyond combustionD1 Process water treatment during reclamation activities
States of TechnologiesD4 DeployD3 DevelopD2 DesignD1 Discover
TEXTQuest Carbon Capture and Storage facilities
Carbon capture and sequestration or storage
CARBON CAPTURE AND UTILIZATION
EFFECTIVE AND EFFICIENT OPERATIONS
Related projects
Carbon capture and sequestration in tailings
Molten Carbonate Pilot
technology
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Canadian Natural’s CCS projectsCanadian Natural is leading the oil and
natural gas industry in Carbon Capture and Sequestration or Storage (CCS). Our projects
make Canadian Natural the third largest industry owner of CCS capacity in the world, and the fourth
largest of all industries in the world, based on data from the Global Carbon Capture and Storage Institute.
As part of our comprehensive greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction strategy, our CCS project include
carbon dioxide (CO2) injection into geological formations, use in enhanced oil recovery techniques and injection into tailings.
CO2 sequestration in tailings • At our Horizon Oil Sands operation, we have been adding
purchased waste CO2 to tailings since 2009 to enhance tailings performance, reduce our footprint and sequester CO2 in the process. Over 146,000 tonnes of CO2 have been injected from 2009 to 2016.
• A new CO2 recovery plant commissioned in 2017 is capturing 50 tonne/hour of CO2 from our hydrogen plant and injecting it into the tailings. The plant has a capture capacity of 438,000 tonnes of CO2 annually.
Quest CCS project • Quest is part of the Athabasca Oil Sands Project (AOSP),
of which Canadian Natural has 70 per cent ownership interest.
• In its first two years of operations, Quest capture technology and storage capability have exceeded its target of capturing one million tonnes of CO2 per year.
Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) • At our Hays Gas Plant in Taber, Alberta, we capture
22,000 tonnes of CO2 per year through EOR techniques for re-use/sequestration in our nearby Enchant EOR operations.
• Canadian Natural is a 50 per cent partner in the North West Redwater (NWR) Sturgeon Refinery, in the last stages of completion and expected to capture 1.2 million tonnes of CO2 annually for EOR.
Environmental benefits• Canadian Natural’s CCS projects at major facilities target
to capture 2.7 million tonnes/year of CO2 when the NWR project is fully online – equivalent to removing 570,000 passenger vehicles off the road annually.
Operational benefits• Research and development, and applied technology
and innovation, lead to continuous improvement in operational efficiencies.
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TEXTEnhancing steam quality measurement and control
WATER EFFICIENCY
NEWTECHNOLOGY PROJECTS
Related projects
Rifle tubing technology
Process water treatment during reclamation activities
technology
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DiscoverDesign
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Improving steam efficiencies at Primrose and Wolf Lake
(PAW) thermal operations At most in situ oil sands operations, bitumen
is extracted by injecting steam into the reservoir, causing it to soften to a point where it can be
pumped to the surface. Typically, the steam is produced using boilers called once-through steam
generators (OTSG).
Currently, most OTSGs operate at about 75- to 80-per cent steam quality, meaning this percentage of the water is converted into steam. The rest becomes “blowdown,” a mixture of water, salt and other solids. It becomes a challenge to increase steam quality because the more water that is converted into steam, the more scaling that builds up in the boiler tubes, increasing the risk of fouling.
‘Soft Sensors’ and electrolyte stimulation softwareIn order to maintain higher steam quality, Canadian Natural is testing a method that builds upon ‘soft sensor’ technology. This new method uses electrolyte simulation software to mimic characteristics of the vapourization process specific to our PAW boiler feed water. This provides us with real time measurements that relate steam quality directly to pressure and temperature. This process is inherently more accurate than commonly used pressure measurements, which rely on instruments that deteriorate over time.
Environmental benefits• An initial feasibility study indicated that a steam quality
improvement of up to 2% could be achieved. This would result in an 8% decrease in boiler blowdown and up to a 1% reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
Business benefits• The technology implemented at PAW is expected to
boost efficiencies and increase oil production by 2%.
• The technology is cost effective and quickly implemented. Production and efficiency improvements payout within a couple of months.
Collaboration• The original soft sensor technology upon which the
project is based was developed through a partnership between the University of Alberta and Suncor, and shared through Canada’s Oil Sands Innovation Alliance (COSIA).
• Canadian Natural’s project is a good example of how the COSIA model allows members to leverage the work of other companies to improve its own environmental and operational performance.
Additional PAW energy efficiency projects We continue to improve operational efficiencies at PAW through heat integration, which reduces natural gas consumption and, therefore, GHG emissions. Some of these projects include:
• Recommissioning of high-pressure steam separator and boiler feed water (BFW) exchanger to increase steam quality.
• Installation of two new heat exchanger shells to capture heat from inlet production and preheat BFW. Through a COSIA Join Industry Project, we are also investigating the use of heat exchangers to capture waste heat from flue gas to preheat combustion air in our OTSGs.
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Recovering hydrocarbons and reducing emissions
CARBON CONVERSION
NEW TECHNOLOGY
Related projects
Carbon Capture and Sequestration (CCS) in tailings Canadian Natural’s new Horizon Oil Sands CO2 recovery plant is capturing 50 tonne/hour of CO2 that is being injected in the tailings pond to enhance tailings performance.
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Creating value from wasteCanadian Natural and Titanium
Corporation are working together to develop the first commercial scale prototype for
Titanium’s patented CVWTM (Creating Value from Waste) technology.
CVWTM is a suite of froth treatment tailings remediation technologies designed to reduce the
environmental footprint of tailings and ponds by recovering valuable bitumen, solvents and minerals from
tailings streams.
Bitumen is separated from surface-mined oil sand ore in a warm water extraction process that produces bitumen froth typically containing bitumen, water and mineral solids. After eliminating contaminants from the froth to produce clean bitumen, water and mineral solids are discharged as froth treatment tailings.
Microbial fermentation of hydrocarbons that remain in the froth treatment tailings is a source of methane emissions at oil sands sites. CVWTM can intercept froth treatment tailings before discharge to ponds, recover solvents and other contained hydrocarbons, and move to deposition, reducing GHG emissions.
Titanium Corporation developed this technology with the support of major oil sands companies and the Governments of Canada and Alberta. CVWTM has been proven at a demonstration plant and Titanium is now working with Canadian Natural on the deployment of a first commercial scale prototype, which would entail building a new facility
next to existing bitumen froth treatment plants, and applying a secondary stage of treatment before the waste from froth treatment enters the tailings pond.
Environmental benefits• Reduce and avoid emissions from ponds and tailings and
accelerate tailings remediation.
• Recover valuable commodities from froth treatment tailings (bitumen, solvent, zircon, titanium and rare earths).
Business benefits• Potentially create a new minerals industry for Alberta and
Canada that will translate into economic growth, jobs, diversification and potential exports.
• Additional economic value by increasing bitumen recovery, and revenues through sales of minerals.
Collaboration• Titanium’s CVWTM technology has been developed
with broad stakeholder support and collaboration from oil sands operators, including Canadian Natural, that provided tailings, technical input and project review.
• Other partners involved include: Canada’s Oil Sands Innovation Alliance (COSIA) members, Emissions Reduction Alberta, Alberta Energy, Sustainable Development Technology Canada, National Research Council (NRC)/Industrial Research Assistance Program (IRAP) and Canadian investors.
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TEXTRifle tubing technology increases water efficiencies
WATER EFFICIENCY
EFFECTIVE AND EFFICIENT OPERATIONS
Related projects
Enhancing Steam Quality Measurement and Control
Process water treatment during reclamation activities
technology
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Achieving higher steam quality At most in situ oil sands operations,
bitumen is extracted by injecting steam into the reservoir. Typically, the steam is produced
using boilers called once-through steam generators (OTSG). When the bitumen is produced
to the surface, condensed steam (that has turned back into water) also comes out. This recovered water
is then treated and recycled through the boiler to create more steam, and re-injected.
Most OTSGs operate at about 75 to 80 per cent steam quality. Industry has been looking at ways to increase steam quality and energy efficiency. This has been a challenge, since as water is converted into steam, scaling builds up in the boiler tubes, increasing the risk of failure, requiring the boilers to be taken off-line for cleaning.
Industry is exploring boiler designs that could convert more water into steam while also reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions intensity. One of those technologies is rifle tubing, which involves using a “rifled” or “ribbed” tube instead of smooth tubes currently used in boilers. The internal ribbing of rifle tubes introduce centrifugal force in the tubes, facilitating water distributing, and helping turn water into steam uniformly and more efficiently.
Pilot tests of boilers retrofitted with rifle tubes, have shown that this technology has the potential to enable OTSGs to transform up to 90 per cent of water into steam using less water. The technology is now considered to be commercial. Sharing of COSIA’s knowledge can be utilized for future developments in our in situ operations.
Environmental benefits• Pilots resulted in higher steam production of 90 per
cent, while reducing water use by up to 15 per cent and wastewater (or boiler blowdown) by 50 per cent.
• Reduced GHG emissions between one and six per cent, since less water is required for steam generation.
Business benefits• Increased energy efficiency and reduced frequency of
boilers needing to be taken off-line and cleaned, which impacts costs and production.
Collaboration• Devon completed a successful 10-month commercial-
scale demonstration pilot with a rifle tube unit running at 90 per cent steam. The results were contributed to Canada’s Oil Sands Innovation Alliance (COSIA). In 2013, Suncor also completed a separate rifle tube project. The two companies continue to collaborate and review opportunities to integrate this technology into existing and new facilities, to improve plant heat integration and performance.
• Improving the efficiency of steam generation in in situ operations is one of COSIA’s key areas of focus.
• This is another great example of COSIA contributed technology.
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TEXTTailings management technologies
CARBON CAPTURE AND UTILIZATION
EFFECTIVE AND EFFICIENT OPERATIONS
Related projects
NRG COSIA Carbon XPRIZE
Canadian Natural’s Carbon Capture and Sequestration or Storage (CCS) projects
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Advancing carbon capture and tailings management
technologiesCanadian Natural is a leading research and
development investor in the oil and natural gas sector. We believe that supporting research, while
developing and implementing innovative technology, leads to step changes. Our tailings management
technologies are the result of extensive research that can be applied at commercial scale.
Tailings are the sand, silt, clay and water found naturally in oil sands that remain following the mining and bitumen extraction process. We are proactively managing the clay fines before they become part of the fluid tailings (FT) by using a Non-Segregating Tailings (NST) process that includes carbon dioxide (CO2) injection in tailings.
The NST process dewaters the tailings by using cyclones to separate the coarse sand, and thickeners to capture and remove water from the fines in the tailings stream prior to being sent to the tailings pond. The coarse sand and thickener underflow are then mixed and further combined with CO2, further enhancing fines capture and accelerating tailings dewatering. The warm water recovered is then re-used in the bitumen production process.
Canadian Natural has been purchasing waste CO2. Now, Horizon’s new CO2 capture plant – with a capture capacity of 438,000 tonnes of CO2 annually – recovers 50 tonne/hour of CO2 that is injected and sequestered in the tailings.
Tailings research centreWith ongoing research being an important piece of industry’s tailings management efforts, Canadian Natural built and commissioned the Applied Process Innovation Centre (APIC) at the Horizon site. APIC was designed and equipped to
perform a variety of tests and programs, providing a dedicated work space to investigate and accelerate the application of promising technologies to commercial scale. It also facilitates direct collaboration with industry peers that can complete tailings research with samples from their own operations, as well as academia and government.
Environmental benefits• Reduced greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions through CO2
sequestration in the tailings pond and less natural gas consumption as warm process water is recycled during the NST process (water does not need to be re-heated);
• Increased fines capture and decreased FT production reduced tailings pond size to approximately half the size it would have been without these technologies.
• Increased water recycling and reduced water intake from the Athabasca River.
• Accelerated reclamation by reducing FT and ultimately creating a solid landform that supports wetlands and boreal forest habitat.
Business benefits• Minimizing the tailings footprint and using less natural gas
translates into operating costs savings. • Adding cyclones and thickeners to process increases
bitumen recovery.• Tailings processes and treatments, and information sharing
leads to more efficient operations.
• Facilitating collaboration between Canadian Natural’s APIC test facility and other oil sands operators.
CollaborationThese tailings management projects are led by Canadian Natural and shared through Canada’s Oil Sands Innovation Alliance (COSIA).
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TEXTArea fugitive emissions measurement
EMISSIONSMEASUREMENT
NEW TECHNOLOGY
Related projects
GHGSat - Satellite based global emissions monitoring This COSIA project is investigating the use of satellite technology to measure GHG emissions in the oil sands.
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Quantifying emissionsCanadian Natural is working on a
project that will enhance the accuracy of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions
measurements from large industrial area sources, typical of the oil sands region of Alberta. This
research will help address some challenges faced by industry in quantifying the rates of methane
and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, and allow the implementation of more effective strategies to reduce
GHG emissions.
The oil sands region of Alberta has numerous facilities with one or more large fugitive source areas of methane, including open pit mines and tailings ponds. The most common method currently used for quantifying emissions involves collecting gas from a reduced surface area, over a few hours of deployment.
This project is deploying different working groups and approaches for measuring emissions. The objective is to develop a holistic system of advanced sensors, laser and fiber optic technology, as well as computer models and meteorological data. The groups will deliver commercially proven technologies, guidelines for measurement and more accurate emissions profiles. Work is underway to research and guide the implementation of improved technologies that will:
• use a larger measurement footprint without disturbing the surface environment,
• build a sensor to measure CO2 and methane emissions,
• provide long-term monitoring for year-round measurements,
• detect the range of expected emissions, and
• be economically feasible to implement.
Environmental benefits• Accurate quantification of methane and CO2 emissions
through all seasons will allow for quicker identification and implementation of mitigation strategies. In turn this will lead to development of technologies that more effectively reduce emissions from area sources.
• The technology solutions will be transferable to other industrial sectors, amplifying the opportunity to reduce overall emissions in Canada and globally.
Business benefits• Improved quantification of GHG emissions will result
in operational efficiencies and the deployment of cost-effective solutions.
Collaboration• Industry partners in this project include innovators
(vendors) and academic institutions: the Petroleum Technology Alliance Canada (PTAC), Luxmux Technology Corporation, Agar Corporation, Boreal Laser, University of Guelph, University of Alberta, University of British Columbia, RWDI Air, SAIT and the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL).
• This project is also a joint industry project through Canada’s Oil Sands Innovation Alliance (COSIA) with other industry partners.
• Satellite based monitoring by GHGSat (see related projects) and Environment and Climate Change Canada’s fixed wing aircraft measurements will be coordinated to coincide with field measurements.
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TEXTFuel cells for carbon capture and electricity generation
CARBON CAPTURE AND UTILIZATION
NEW TECHNOLOGY
Related projects
Carbon Capture and Sequestration (CCS) in tailings
Canadian Natural’s CCS projects
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Capturing and purifying carbon dioxide
Among our goals, Canada’s Oil Sands Innovation Alliance’s (COSIA) members are
looking at ways to reduce the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions intensity of in situ oil production
by exploring a number of different technologies. One of these initiatives involves the use of Molten
Carbonate Fuel Cells (MCFCs) to capture carbon dioxide (CO2) from natural gas-fired processing units while
generating electricity.
A fuel cell converts chemical energy from a fuel into electricity. MCFCs are one type of fuel cell that operates at high temperatures to produce electricity, heat and water. MCFCs have been used in commercial power generation since the 1990s, and can be adapted to capture CO2.
A feasibility study funded by industry members and Alberta Innovates-Energy Environment Solutions indicated that using MCFCs would potentially be far less energy-intensive and more cost effective than conventional post-combustion carbon capture methods. Building on that study, a COSIA joint industry project (JIP) carried out a preliminary front end engineering design (pre-FEED) associated with installing and operating a 200-kilowatt pilot project.
With increased interest from other partners and government, the JIP is now conducting a larger scale pre-FEED that will evaluate the preliminary cost of piloting a 1.4 megawatt power generation project, at an oil sands facility.
Combining MCFC technology with carbon capture is transformative, bringing the cost of carbon capture down to make it a more viable solution – environmentally and economically.
Environmental benefits• GHG reduction through CO2 capture combined with
electricity generation.
• Potential electricity generation for the Alberta grid.
• Captured CO2 can be stored or used for enhanced oil recovery (EOR) applications.
• Water from combustion can be captured and used at oil sands facilities, displacing other make-up water sources.
Business benefits• Captured CO2 can be used at EOR operations to increase
resource recovery.
• CO2 capture may also generate carbon credits, further enhancing economic viability of this technology.
• Electricity for on-site use or export to the Alberta grid can provide a revenue stream to offset the costs associated with carbon capture.
CollaborationThis project is led by Alberta Innovates, in collaboration with members of Canada’s Oil Sands Innovation Alliance’s (COSIA) including Cenovus, BP, Canadian Natural, Devon and Suncor. Other participants are MEG Energy and Husky.
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TEXTNRG COSIA Carbon XPRIZE CARBON
CAPTURE AND UTILIZATION
TRANSFORMATIONAL TECHNOLOGY
Related projects
Carbon Capture and Sequestration (CCS) in tailings
Fuel cells for carbon capture and electricity generation
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Re-imagine CO2In addition to current technology
projects and innovative practices to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, Canadian
Natural is searching for transformational, creative solutions through our support to the NRG COSIA
Carbon XPRIZE.
The US$20 million NRG COSIA Carbon XPRIZE is a global competition challenging the world to re-imagine
what we can do with carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by advancing technology development to transform emissions into valuable and usable products.
Team registrations closed in 2016. All submissions were assessed for technical and business viability, and 23 teams from six countries have moved forward into round 2 of the competition. These teams represent a diversity of approaches to turn waste CO2 emissions into products such as fish food, fertilizer, carbon nanotubes and building material. They will push the boundaries of CO2 utilization to create breakthrough solutions.
The competition is structured with two tracks – one focused on testing technologies at a natural gas power facility, the other on testing technologies at a coal power plant. A prize pool of $10 million is available for each track. The next round of the competition involves a pilot scale competition and round 3 will consist of a demonstration-scale competition.
World leading technology centreThe governments of Canada and Alberta, together with industry partners and the Shepard Energy Centre (a joint
venture of ENMAX and Capital Power), have invested in the development of a $20 million Alberta Carbon Conversion Technology Centre (ACCTC), a facility where NRG COSIA Carbon XPRIZE finalists will test their carbon conversion technologies on a larger scale.
Environmental benefits• Developing technologies to convert CO2 emissions from
oil sands operations into valuable, useful products.
• Accelerating CO2 reuse technology development by attracting more resources (intellectual and financial) to address excess CO2 emissions.
Business benefits• Helping tackle CO2 emissions challenges in the energy
sector on the pathway to a lower carbon energy future.
• Acting as a catalyst that attracts new and fresh ideas from around the world, to accelerate technology innovation in CO2 conversion.
• Accelerating CO2 re-use technology development from low-technology readiness to commercial-ready.
CollaborationCOSIA is Canada’s Oil Sands Innovation Alliance. This project is led by Conoco Phillips. Other participants include: Canadian Natural, Cenovus, Devon, Imperial, Nexen and Suncor.
Prize development by the XPRIZE Foundation, an American non-profit organization. Co-title sponsor is NRG, an integrated wholesale power generation and retail electricity company in the US.
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TEXTConverting greenhouse gases into liquid fuels
CARBON CAPTURE AND UTILIZATION
NEW TECHNOLOGY PROJECTS
Related projects
Natural Gas Decarbonization Scan/Evaluation Investigating technological options that reduce greenhouse gas emissions from steam boilers at steam assisted gravity drainage operations.
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The promising potential of CEFCO Innovating to find better and different ways
to do things includes the investigation of emerging technologies used in other industrial
settings and determining how well they can work for the oil and natural gas industry. Texas company,
CEFCO Global Clean Energy, created the ‘CEFCO process’ to capture and convert flue-gas emissions.
It’s suitable for a wide range of applications including at petro-chemical plants, coal-fired power plants, steel mills,
incineration facilities, cement and limestone plants and pulp and paper mills.
Canadian Natural is studying how the CEFCO process could be successfully applied and customized in our operations, as an additional means of reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
Supersonic chemical reactions convert GHGs The CEFCO process is a patented, industrial gas scrubbing technology that combines aerodynamic physics and physical chemistry. It uses supersonic shockwaves that cause collision-impact force and common chemicals to capture and convert emissions and pollutants, turning them into valuable co-products.
The ‘shockwave’ part of the process sequentially and aerodynamically strips flue gas of its four major pollutants — (SOx, NOx, CO2 as well as metals and fine particulates). Flue gas with pollutants flows past shock nozzles that blast steam or compressed air at Mach speeds (faster than the speed of sound). The shockwaves then collide with the targeted pollutants and their customized reactants.
The supersonic collision causes an instant energy transfer of heat, pressure and mass that trigger molecular surface chemical reactions. Chemical processes, with selective re-agents, are used to separate the pollutants into neutralized forms of pure metals, CO2 and other compounds.
Environmental benefits• Successful integration of this process would allow for
significant reduction of GHG emissions.
Business benefits• The CEFCO process is scientifically complex but it’s
also efficient and cost-effective. It requires only a small plant footprint, small equipment and little net energy consumption.
• The process can provide operations with co-products (i.e. liquid fuels) for sale.
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A still image taken from a short video showing a close-up of the shockwave process.
TEXTScan and evaluation of natural gas decarbonization technologies
CARBON CAPTURE AND UTILIZATION
NEW TECHNOLOGY PROJECTS
Related projects
Shockwave GHG conversion (CEFCO) Investigating continuous, real-time reactions happening in seconds that capture and convert GHG into a new hydrocarbon product.
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Reducing GHGs from Steam Boilers
Canadian Natural is committed to an industry leading level of research and development
investment — reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions comprises one of the most important
areas of study. It’s also an environmental priority area for Canada’s Oil Sands Innovation Alliance (COSIA).
There are a range of approaches being investigated and one of them is decreasing emissions resulting from the
operation of steam assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) steam boilers. In particular, we are working to better understand the landscape of natural gas (methane) decarbonization pathways and technologies.
The Canadian Natural led project (Scan and Evaluation of Natural Gas Decarbonization Technologies), undertaken through the COSIA framework, is identifying chemical pathways to convert natural gas into a hydrogen rich fuel and a valuable co-product. This hydrogen rich fuel, when burned in the boiler, produces less carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and the value of the co-product can then be used to offset CO2 avoidance costs. By understanding the current state of knowledge on the different classes of technologies, we can more effectively build upon previous work completed to date.
A literature scan and high level analysis of the potential advancements and their costs were performed to evaluate the merits of a wide range of technologies. That research provided valuable information to support future phases of technology development.
Environmental benefits• Using methane to make hydrogen for fuel and other
saleable products is transformational because it converts the carbon in methane that would otherwise be burned to generate CO2.
• Reducing net emissions of CO2 from operating facilities.
Business benefits• New technology/methods for decarbonization of
natural gas holds significant cost saving potential for oil producers, by creating valuable co-products for sale.
• Annual cost savings have potential to reach $900 million/year.
Collaboration• Research related to this project has been conducted
through COSIA, in partnership with the Gas Technology Institute (GTI) and Alberta Innovates.
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TEXTBitumen beyond combustion
NEWPRODUCTUTILIZATION
TRANSFORMATIONAL TECHNOLOGY
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Assessing the viability of non-combustion products
Most bitumen produced from Alberta’s oil sands, like other types of petroleum, is
primarily used for making combustion products, especially fuels such as gasoline, diesel and heating
oil. There is some work mainly with natural gases (methane, ethane, propane, butane, etc.) that link to
the petrochemical industry. However, there is very limited work on the use of bitumen for non-combustible products.
The main objective of this project is the identification and assessment of the techno-economic potential of Alberta oil sands constituents for producing non-combustion products i.e., products that are not fuels, such as conventional asphalts, carbon fibres or fertilizers, among many others. The aggregate of all product categories should utilize, by the year 2030, at least 500,000 barrels per day of bitumen.
The study is to be completed in phases with specific objectives:
• Phase 1 (completed in March 2017): » Identify, characterize and evaluate the major oil sands
constituents and their potential for uses other than fuels;
» Provide high-level information on the technologies (including their costs, energy requirements, and environmental impacts) for making the products;
» Outline the long-term disposal issues and requirements of the products, including their recyclability.
• Phase 2 (in progress, ending in March 2018): prepare and issue a Request for Proposals to undertake detailed market and technical analyses on oil sands constituents for producing non-combustion products.
• Phase 3: detailed market and technical analyses.
This project is bringing together bitumen extraction companies, material science companies and academic researchers to uncover new uses and methods of utilizing bitumen. The project is being led by Alberta Innovates, as the province recognizes that resilience of the hydrocarbon industry requires some amount of diversification.
Some initial conclusions are that the market potential for growth of existing and new non-combustion products from oil sands is sound.
Environmental benefits• Although this project is in very early stages, we anticipate
the production of new oil sands derived products will reduce greenhouse gas emissions intensity.
Business benefits• Diversification in the uses of oil sands constituents,
resulting in high-value products that can be made by or in partnership with Alberta’s oil sands industry.
• Accommodating increased oil sands production in Alberta by creating new and/or expanded markets for oil sands constituents and their derived products.
• Potential to find new revenue streams that can be realized based on the existing process of mining or in situ extraction of bitumen.
CollaborationPartners in this project are Alberta Innovates, Bowman Centre for Sustainable Energy, Canmet Energy, Cenovus, Canadian Natural, Conoco Phillips, InnoTech Alberta, MEG Energy, Suncor, and numerous others, most notably representatives of BASF Canada and Nexen, Prof. Weixing Chen, Prof. Arno De Klerk, and Prof. David Lynch of the University of Alberta.
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TEXTProcess water treatment during reclamation activities
WATER EFFICIENCY
NEWTECHNOLOGY PROJECTS
Related projects
Rifle tubing technology
Enhancing steam quality measurement and control
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The importance of treating process-affected water
Water used in the oil sands production process contains constituents of potential
concern and industry is investigating new and better methods for treating it through Canada’s
Oil Sands Innovation Alliance (COSIA) as part of reclamation plans. Among the approaches being
studied are projects focused on: treatment of process water for re-use or release with engineered wetlands and
the use of pit lakes in reclamation closure plans.
Engineered Wetlands Canadian Natural is leading the Process Water Wetlands Treatment project (which includes California’s Clemson University as a partner and Suncor as a participant) to study the use of engineered wetlands as a means of re-using or releasing process water. Researchers are: identifying chemical components in oil sands process water, determining environmentally acceptable levels of those materials, and engineering a constructed wetland treatment system that uses plants and soil to trap, transfer and transform inorganic elements from water used in the oil sands mining process.
The project takes advantage of the chemical reactions that take place within wetlands but are not in other ecosystems. Those reactions can transform or transfer unwanted constituents. Over four years, researchers will gain a stronger understanding of how reclamation wetlands respond to environmental stresses.
Environmental benefits• Developing process water treatment with low energy
requirements and low greenhouse gas emissions.
• Reducing the operational footprint of storing large amounts of process water and accelerating reclamation.
• The wetlands can not only serve to treat process water, but also become a key piece of the final reclamation landscape, supporting biodiversity.
Business benefits• Dual benefit of an operational management tool and also
a final reclamation and closure outcome.
• Wetlands can be created at a moderate cost, may assist in storing carbon.
Pit LakesWhen oil sands mines reach their end of life, closure landscape plans usually include pit lakes. They can be used for treating process affected water, sequestering tailings and represent ecologically sustainable landscape components. To build scientific knowledge of pit lakes, Canadian Natural is among the partners involved with Syncrude’s Base Mine Lake (BML) — the first commercial scale demonstration pit lake.
The lake holds fluid fine tailings (FFT) at the bottom, with process affected water above and freshwater at the top. Extensive monitoring will enable researchers to understand the lake’s natural biological development and share data with industry, government and academia.
The FFT will remain at the bottom, de-water and densify over time, while overall water quality will improve and the lake can serve as a functioning aquatic feature in the final reclaimed landscape.
Environmental benefits• Data collected will provide operators with
important information on design and operating parameters of pit lakes.
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