Cooling bitumen for a pipeline

A large sustainable energy company in Fort McMurray, Alberta, was facing a potential temperature management crisis at its tank farm that blended and diluted bitumen. Diluted bitumen has a lower viscosity, which means it can be transported in pipelines. This helps save on transport costs but it can be a hazardous process. If the mixture is not cooled down enough there is a danger that the vapours can catch alight, which is not only a significant health and safety hazard, it also creates a real possibility of the facility shutting down. Without effective and reliable cooling our customer faced a reduction in output and loss of productivity.

The real value to our customer was in the use of our proven process services design package. In a very short timeframe our senior process engineers mapped out the scope for the project, modelled conditions, simulated potential solutions, and provided cost estimates.

Having reviewed our plans, our customer decided they might turn the temporary installation into a permanent one, and brought in a construction and engineering firm to do the heavy lifting. Working closely with the construction firm, we provided process requirements, teams for mechanical and electrical concept, cooling equipment, technical support and project management.

We provided 4,000 tonnes of cooling powered by 6 MW of power, which brought the blending process back down to acceptable temperatures. The new system had the capacity to cool 192,000 bbd of diluted bitumen to below 100°F, compared to a previous high of 134°F, and get the tanks back to full capacity.

Our service engineers were an integral part of the project every step of the way. They provided the expertise and understanding that was needed to keep the project on track and make sure all the electrical and mechanical components were bought together in the correct order and to a high level of execution.