Presented at the 8th International Symposium on Cavitation - CAV2012
Cavitation Technology Development for Oil Sands Processing
Deepak M. Kirpalani and Nishi Bhatt
August 2012
Energy Mining and Environment Portfolio –NRC Canada
Presented at the 8th International Symposium on Cavitation - CAV2012
Presented at the 8th International Symposium on Cavitation - CAV2012
Cavitation Studies at NRCCHigh Speed Imaging of Cavitation Bubbles Laser Interferometry of Acoustic Cavitation
Phase Field Modeling of Cavity Under Shear
Presented at the 8th International Symposium on Cavitation - CAV2012
Oil sands are unconventional heavy oil deposits composed of water 4-6%, sand, clay and bitumen (12%) and other minerals. Mineral matter -80-85%
Extraction technology:Mined Oil sands Crushed &Screened
mixed with hot water in cyclofeeder to 50-55 deg. C Pumped (hydrotransported) separation vessels where bitumen froth (60% bitumen, 30% water, 10% fines) floats on the surface.
Processing Issues: pumping costs and sand erosion
Tailings Requirements:Energy Resource Control Board of Alberta,
Canada Directive ‑ 074 requires that the oil sands industry minimize and eventually eliminate long-term storage of fluid tailings in the reclamation landscape.
Commercial Thickeners are currently used.
Presented at the 8th International Symposium on Cavitation - CAV2012
Acoustic Cavitation for Bitumen Extraction• Early stage research (Sadeghi, 1990) showed that
acoustic cavitation at 40KHz. can be applied for extracting bitumen from oil sands.
• The reaction rate was further enhanced by the addition of H202.
Benefits:1. Eliminates the need for surfactants or alkaline chemical agents
during extraction2. Circumvents hot water and steam use
Presented at the 8th International Symposium on Cavitation - CAV2012
Cavitation Benefits to Oil Sands ProcessingHomogenization of
Liquids
Breakage of solid particles
Radicalization of Molecules
Local temp change and availability of free
radicals
Emulsion preparation
Acceleration of chemical conversion
Suspension Preparation
Depolymerization, Lyzing, Reaction
Presented at the 8th International Symposium on Cavitation - CAV2012
Research Focus
1. Determine viscosity changes on model rheological fluids by applying acoustic cavitation methods using a broad spectrum transducer
2. Perform Cavitation Yield Measurements to determine the effect of change in Acoustic Frequency and Power on Chemical Conversion using a single broad spectrum transducer.
Presented at the 8th International Symposium on Cavitation - CAV2012
Experimental Setup for Acoustic Cavitation
Ultrasonic waves were generated at 378, 574, 850, and 1125 kHz using a broad spectrum transducer for a solution volume of 200 ml held within a jacketed glass water cooled column.Laboratory experiments were performed (1) to determine viscosity changes with a CMC-Water 0.7 wt % mixture at 1000 cP at 2.5 RPM and (2) Cavitation yield determination with 0.1 and 1% (wt) KI solution.
Presented at the 8th International Symposium on Cavitation - CAV2012
Visualization of 850 KHz. SonicationSonication at high frequencies
(850Khz. and above), leads to the formation of a fountain jet at the surface of the liquid, releasing droplets from the surface of the jet.
Sonication Frequency
Jet Diameter Jet Height
850KHz. 3 cm. 3 cm.
1.125 MHz. 1.5 cm. 4 cm.
Presented at the 8th International Symposium on Cavitation - CAV2012
Results –Change in Viscosity as a function of Sonication Time
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 1400
20
40
60
80
100
120
Viscosity change/ Initial viscosity vs. experiment duration
1173 kHz 850 kHz
574 kHz 378 kHz
Time (min)
V /
V0 (%
)
Change in viscosity for 0.7 wt% CMC-water mixture over a range of sonication frequencies
Presented at the 8th International Symposium on Cavitation - CAV2012
Results - Cavitation Yield Measurements
0 0.0005 0.001 0.0015 0.002 0.0025 0.003 0.00350
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
Absorbance vs. Iodine Concentration
KI Concentration (mol/L)
Abso
rban
ce
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 400
0.20.40.60.8
11.21.41.61.8
378 kHz
574 kHz
850 kHz
1125 kHz
Time (min)Ca
vita
tion
Yiel
d (u
mol
/(W
/mL)
)
Cavitation yield over a range of sonication frequencies using (a) 0.1 wt% KI solution and (b) 1% KI solution at constant power input
0 10 20 30 40 50 600
0.050.1
0.150.2
0.250.3
0.350.4
0.45
378 kHz574 kHz850 kHz1125 kHz
Time (min)
Cavi
tatio
n Yi
eld
(um
ol/(
W/m
L))
(a) (b)
Cavitation Yield as a Function of Sonication Time
Presented at the 8th International Symposium on Cavitation - CAV2012
Results – Cavitation Yield Measurements
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 90.000.050.100.150.200.250.300.350.400.450.50
0.1% KI Solution @ 574 kHz
25 min 10 min
Intensity Setting
Cavi
tatio
n Yi
eld
(um
ol/(
W/m
L))
Cavitation Yield increases at higher power input.
Sonication time influences the KI decomposition.
Cavitation Yield as a Function of Input Power
0 0.0005 0.001 0.0015 0.002 0.0025 0.003 0.00350
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
Absorbance vs. Iodine Concentration
KI Concentration (mol/L)Ab
sorb
ance
Presented at the 8th International Symposium on Cavitation - CAV2012
Summary of Findings• Lower sonication frequencies during acoustic cavitation
generate larger rheological changes.
• Viscosity reduces rapidly with sonication time at lower acoustic frequencies as compared to higher frequencies.
• Cavitation yield measurements do not follow the same trend.
• KI decomposition was determined to be the highest at a sonication time of 25 minutes at a frequency of 574 kHz.
Presented at the 8th International Symposium on Cavitation - CAV2012
Conclusion
• Rheological changes and KI decomposition were examined and found to be uncorrelated using a broad spectrum acoustic system in the present study.
• The application of acoustic cavitation to model fluids is to be further extended to oil sands feed and tailings to develop the criteria for extraction and/or transportation of oil sands at the laboratory scale up for commercial processing.
Presented at the 8th International Symposium on Cavitation - CAV2012
Acknowledgements:This Research is Funded by Eco-EII Canada Research Fund
