IPC분류정보
국가/구분 |
United States(US) Patent
등록
|
국제특허분류(IPC7판) |
|
출원번호 |
US-0595817
(2006-11-09)
|
등록번호 |
US-8096425
(2012-01-17)
|
우선권정보 |
CA-2526336 (2005-11-09) |
발명자
/ 주소 |
- Bjornson, Bradford E.
- Strand, Craig Aaron
- Garner, William Nicholas
- Diep, John Khai-Quang
- Kiel, Darwin Edward
- Hann, Thomas Charles
|
출원인 / 주소 |
|
대리인 / 주소 |
Knobbe, Martens, Olson & Bear, LLP
|
인용정보 |
피인용 횟수 :
6 인용 특허 :
87 |
초록
▼
An extraction system and process for extracting bitumen from a slurry containing bitumen, solids and water. The system comprises a cyclone separation facility for separating the slurry into a solids component stream and a bitumen froth stream with the bitumen froth stream including water and fine so
An extraction system and process for extracting bitumen from a slurry containing bitumen, solids and water. The system comprises a cyclone separation facility for separating the slurry into a solids component stream and a bitumen froth stream with the bitumen froth stream including water and fine solids. The bitumen froth stream is then delivered to a froth concentration facility for separating the bitumen froth stream into a final bitumen enriched froth stream, and a water and fine solids stream. The final bitumen enriched froth stream is suitable for further processing. The system of the present invention is preferably mobile so that the cyclone extraction facility and the froth concentration facility can move with the mine face at an oil sands mining site, however, it is also contemplated that the system can be retrofitted to existing fixed treatment facilities to improve the operational efficiency of such fixed facilities.
대표청구항
▼
1. An extraction system for extracting bitumen from a slurry containing bitumen, solids and water comprising: a cyclone separation facility for separating the slurry into a solids component stream and a bitumen froth stream, the bitumen froth stream including bitumen, water and fine solids; anda fro
1. An extraction system for extracting bitumen from a slurry containing bitumen, solids and water comprising: a cyclone separation facility for separating the slurry into a solids component stream and a bitumen froth stream, the bitumen froth stream including bitumen, water and fine solids; anda froth concentration facility for separating the bitumen froth stream into a final bitumen enriched froth stream, and a water and fine solids stream, the froth concentration facility comprising at least one concentrator vessel having: an inlet region to receive the bitumen froth stream;a separation region in communication with the inlet region comprising a laterally diverging channel adapted to slow the flow of the bitumen froth stream to promote separation of the bitumen froth from the water and the fine solids, the bitumen froth accumulating as a separated bitumen froth layer atop a water layer with the fine solids settling within the water layer; anda froth recovery region in communication with the separation region having an overflow outlet to collect the separated bitumen froth layer as the final bitumen enriched froth stream, and an underflow outlet to collect the water and fine solids stream, wherein the laterally diverging channel is formed by first and second spaced apart continuous barriers, each of the first and second spaced apart continuous barriers extending from respective first ends disposed proximate the inlet region to second ends disposed proximate the froth recovery region, the laterally diverging channel having a first region between the respective first ends of the first and second spaced apart continuous barriers and a second region between the respective second ends of the first and second spaced apart continuous barriers, the second region being wider than the first region to cause the flow of the bitumen froth stream to be slowed while a volumetric flow rate through the laterally diverging channel remains constant as the bitumen froth stream is directed from the inlet region to the froth recovery region between the first and second spaced apart continuous barriers. 2. The system of claim 1 wherein the cyclone separation facility comprises at least three cyclone separation stages arranged in a counter-current flow configuration, the at least three cyclone separation stages including at least an upstream separation stage and a downstream separation stage, wherein the slurry is fed to the upstream separation stage and water is fed from a water supply to the downstream separation stage. 3. The system of claim 1 in which the at least one concentrator vessel comprises a plurality of concentrator vessels, and each concentrator vessel is a mobile module, the mobile modules being combinable to form a mobile froth concentration facility. 4. The system of claim 3 in which the froth concentration facility is movable independently of the cyclone separation facility. 5. The system of claim 1 in which the inlet region of the at least one concentrator vessel includes conditioning means to promote a uniform velocity flow of the froth stream as the stream enters the separation region. 6. The system of claim 5 in which the conditioning means comprise an enclosure to isolate the bitumen froth stream entering the vessel at the inlet region from the separation region to avoid generation of turbulence in the separation region, the bitumen froth stream exiting the enclosure through a baffle plate configured to establish the uniform velocity flow and to cause the separated bitumen froth layer to move generally in the same direction as the water layer and the fine solids at least until the separated bitumen froth is collected at the overflow outlet. 7. The system of claim 5 or 6 in which the laterally diverging channel includes at least one turn to increase the length of the channel, the laterally diverging channel having a first section located before the at least one turn and a second section located after the at least one turn. 8. The system of claim 7 in which the inlet region communicates with a flow volume enclosed by an outer perimeter wall and a floor, the laterally diverging channel being defined within the outer perimeter wall, the first spaced apart continuous barrier terminating a distance from the outer perimeter wall to form the at least one turn in the channel between the end of the first spaced apart continuous barrier and the outer perimeter wall, the froth recovery region being adjacent the outer perimeter wall of the flow volume, wherein the first section is formed between inner surfaces of the first and second spaced apart continuous barriers and extending from between the first ends of the first and second spaced apart continuous barriers to between the second ends of the first and second spaced apart continuous barriers, and the second section is formed between surfaces of the second spaced apart continuous barrier and the outer perimeter wall and extending from between the second end of the second spaced apart continuous barrier and a first corresponding portion of the outer perimeter wall to between the first end of the second spaced apart continuous barrier and a second corresponding portion of the outer perimeter wall, the second spaced apart continuous barrier being further apart from the perimeter wall at the first end than at the second end of the second spaced apart continuous barrier. 9. The system of claim 8 in which the laterally diverging channel is disposed centrally within the flow volume, each of the first and second spaced apart continuous barriers terminating a distance from the perimeter wall to form first and second turns in the channel whereby the laterally diverging channel divides into two diverging channels formed at opposite sides of the flow volume between each of the first and second spaced apart continuous barriers and portions of the outer perimeter wall adjacent respective ones of the first and second spaced apart continuous barriers. 10. The system of claim 9 further including a central wall disposed between the first and second spaced apart continuous barriers to form a pair of laterally diverging channels adjacent the inlet region. 11. The system of claim 7 including flow re-direction means to promote smooth flow through the at least one turn. 12. The system of claim 11 in which the flow re-direction means comprise generally vertically disposed vanes adapted to re-direct the flow through the at least one turn and to prevent mixing of the flow through the at least one turn. 13. The system of claim 11 in which the flow re-direction means comprises rounded corners formed in the outer perimeter walls of the flow volume. 14. The system of claim 7 in which the at least one turn is through substantially 180 degrees such that the flow in the first section of the laterally diverging channel occurs in a generally opposite direction to the flow in the second section of the laterally diverging channel. 15. The system of any one of claims 5 to 6 in which the concentrator vessel includes froth layer flow enhancement means to prevent formation of stagnant regions in the froth layer. 16. The system of claim 15 in which the froth layer flow enhancement means comprises a rotatable paddle element. 17. The system of claim 1 in which the overflow outlet comprises at least one weir formed at a perimeter of the froth recovery region. 18. The system of claim 17 in which the at least one weir comprises a weir having a generally J-shaped profile. 19. The system of claim 17 in which the overflow outlet communicates with a froth launder operative to collect the final bitumen froth stream and deliver the final bitumen enriched froth stream to a product nozzle configured to discharge the final bitumen enriched froth stream from the at least one concentrator vessel. 20. The system of claim 19 in which the froth launder extends about the perimeter of the froth recovery region. 21. The system of any one of claim 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6 in which at least the separation region and the froth recovery region include a floor inclined to create flow from the inlet to the overflow and underflow outlets and to prevent fine solids from accumulating within the vessel. 22. The system of claim 19 including a weir adapted to permit any bitumen froth that exits the underflow outlet to overflow into the froth launder. 23. The system of any one of claim 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 17, 18, or 20 further comprising a water recovery facility for separating the water and fine solids stream from the froth concentration facility into a water stream and a fine solids stream. 24. The system of claim 23 wherein the water stream from the water recovery facility is recycled to the cyclone separation facility. 25. The system of claim 24 wherein the water recovery facility comprises at least one water separation unit selected from the group consisting of a cyclone stage and a thickener. 26. The system of any one of claim 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 17, 18, or 20 further comprising a scalping unit to remove bitumen rich froth from the slurry prior to entering the cyclone separation facility. 27. The system of any one of claim 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 17, 18, or 20 further comprising a screening and comminuting unit to screen and re-size solids particles from the slurry that exceed a pre-determined size prior to entering the cyclone separation facility. 28. The system of claim 2 in which the at least three cyclone separation stages further include at least one intermediate separation stage and each of the at least three cyclone separation stages has an overflow and an underflow and wherein: a final bitumen froth stream is formed from the overflow of the upstream separation stage;a solids component stream is formed from the underflow of the downstream separation stage;the overflow of the downstream stage is fed to the at least one intermediate separation stage;the overflow of the at least one intermediate stage is fed to the upstream separation stage; andthe underflow of the at least one intermediate separation stage is fed to the downstream separation stage. 29. The system of claim 28 further comprising a dewatering unit for separation of the water and fine solids stream into a water stream and a fine tailings stream comprising dewatered fine tailings. 30. The system of claim 29 wherein the water stream is recycled to the water supply. 31. The system of claim 29 wherein the fine tailings stream is combined with the solids component stream. 32. A bitumen extraction system comprising: a cyclone separation facility having a counter-current configuration for processing a bitumen-lean slurry containing bitumen, solids and water, the bitumen-lean slurry having a bitumen content of less than about 15% by weight, the cyclone separation facility operable to separate the bitumen-lean slurry into a solids component stream and a bitumen-lean froth stream, the bitumen-lean froth stream including water and fine solids and the bitumen-lean froth stream further having a bitumen content of about 5 to about 12% by weight; and a froth concentration facility for separating the bitumen-lean froth stream into a bitumen-enriched froth stream, and a water and fine solids stream, the bitumen-enriched froth stream having a bitumen content of at least about 55% by weight, the froth concentration facility comprising at least one concentrator vessel having: an inlet region to receive the bitumen froth stream;a separation region in communication with the inlet region comprising a laterally diverging channel adapted to slow the flow of the bitumen froth stream to promote separation of the bitumen froth from the water and the fine solids, the bitumen froth accumulating as a froth layer atop a water layer with the fine solids settling within the water layer; anda froth recovery region in communication with the separation region having an overflow outlet to collect the separated bitumen froth layer as a final bitumen enriched froth stream, and an underflow outlet to collect the water and fine solids stream;wherein the laterally diverging channel is formed by first and second spaced apart continuous barriers, each of the first and second spaced apart continuous barriers extending from respective first ends disposed proximate the inlet region to second ends disposed proximate the froth recovery region, the laterally diverging channel having a first region between the respective first ends of the first and second spaced apart continuous barriers and a second region between the respective second ends of the first and second spaced apart continuous barriers, the second region being wider than the first region to cause the flow of the bitumen froth stream to be slowed while a volumetric flow rate through the laterally diverging channel remains constant as the bitumen froth stream is directed from the inlet region to the froth recovery region between the first and second spaced apart continuous barriers. 33. A bitumen extraction system comprising: (a) a cyclone separation facility for separating a bitumen-lean slurry having less than about 15% by weight bitumen, at least about 40% by weight solids and at least about 30% by weight water, into a solids component stream and a bitumen-lean froth stream, the bitumen-lean froth stream including water and fine solids and the bitumen-lean froth stream further having a bitumen content of about 5 to about 12% by weight; the cyclone separation facility comprising: (i) an upstream cyclone separation stage operative to separate the bitumen-lean slurry into the bitumen-lean froth stream and a first solids tailings stream;(ii) an intermediate cyclone separation stage operative to separate the first solids tailings stream into a second bitumen froth stream and a second solids tailings stream, the intermediate cyclone separation stage in fluid communication with the upstream cyclone separation stage to feed the second bitumen froth stream to the upstream cyclone separation stage; and(iii) a downstream cyclone separation stage operative to separate the second solids tailings stream into a third bitumen froth stream and a third solids tailings stream; and(b) a froth concentration facility for separating the bitumen-lean froth stream into a bitumen-enriched froth stream, and a water and fine solids stream, the bitumen-enriched froth stream having a bitumen content of at least about 55% by weight, the froth concentration facility comprising at least one concentrator vessel having: an inlet region to receive the bitumen froth stream;a separation region in communication with the inlet region comprising a laterally diverging channel adapted to slow the flow of the bitumen froth stream to promote separation of the bitumen froth from the water and the fine solids, the bitumen froth accumulating as a froth layer atop a water layer with the fine solids settling within the water layer; anda froth recovery region in communication with the separation region having an overflow outlet to collect the separated bitumen froth layer as a final bitumen enriched froth stream, and an underflow outlet to collect the water and fine solids stream;wherein the laterally diverging channel is formed by first and second spaced apart continuous barriers, each of the first and second spaced apart continuous barriers extending from respective first ends disposed proximate the inlet region to second ends disposed proximate the froth recovery region, the laterally diverging channel having a first region between the respective first ends of the first and second spaced apart continuous barriers and a second region between the respective second ends of the first and second spaced apart continuous barriers, the second region being wider than the first region to cause the flow of the bitumen froth stream to be slowed while a volumetric flow rate through the laterally diverging channel remains constant as the bitumen froth stream is directed from the inlet region to the froth recovery region between the first and second spaced apart continuous barriers. 34. The system of claim 1 wherein the first and second spaced apart continuous barriers are generally vertical spaced apart barriers. 35. The system of claim 1 wherein the inlet region further comprises an inlet pipe configured to receive the bitumen froth stream, the inlet pipe disposed such that the bitumen froth stream is received at the inlet pipe at a higher altitude than the final bitumen enriched froth stream exiting the overflow outlet and at a higher altitude than the water and fine solids stream exiting the underflow outlet to cause vertical separation of the bitumen froth from the water and fine solids due to gravitational forces acting upon the bitumen froth stream as the bitumen froth stream moves from the inlet pipe to the overflow and underflow outlets. 36. The system of claim 1 further comprising an underflow discharge nozzle configured to discharge the water and fine solids stream collected at the underflow outlet, the underflow discharge nozzle located at a low point of the froth recovery region. 37. The system of claim 36 wherein the underflow discharge nozzle comprises a plurality of underflow discharge nozzles, each of said plurality of underflow discharge levels located at the low point of the froth recovery region. 38. The system of claim 19 wherein the product nozzle is disposed at a low point of the froth launder such that the final bitumen froth stream is discharged from the at least one concentrator vessel at a lower altitude than at which the separated bitumen froth layer is collected at the overflow outlet. 39. The system of claim 8 further comprising an end wall section located in the second section between the first end of the second spaced apart continuous barrier and the outer perimeter wall, the underflow outlet located at a low point of the end wall section. 40. The system of claim 21 wherein the floor is inclined to have a slope between about 3% to about 3.5%.
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