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US 9,525,375 B2Granted
Oil sand slurry transportation system and method for variable slurry flow rates
AssigneeSuncor Energy Inc.
InventorMark L. Odegard
Life of this patent
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AssigneeSuncor Energy Inc.
InventorMark L. Odegard
Estimating the term…
Provided is a system for transporting an oil sand slurry, comprising a pump, upstream and downstream lines, a shaft connectable to the pump, a driving mechanism driving the pump and a regulator for regulating the torque applied to the shaft between positive and negative torque modes, to pump the slurry at higher or lower flow rates. Also provided is a method comprising pumping the slurry through a pipeline using a pump driven by a motorized shaft and adjusting the flow rate of the slurry by varying the torque applied to the motorized shaft between positive and negative torque modes. The oil sand slurry transportation system and method enable positive head (regular pump action) for normal and high flow rates and negative head (pump brake action) for low flow rates, which reduces system energy loss, pipeline wear, vapor breakout and sanding off.
A method of recovering energy from a flow of an oil sand slurry comprising water, bitumen and suspended solids including sand, the method comprising:
A system for recovering energy from a flow of an oil sand slurry comprising water, bitumen and suspended solids including sand, the system comprising:
A method of recovering energy from a flow of an oil sand slurry comprising water, bitumen and suspended solids including sand, the method comprising:
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.