Alberta, Canada has the world’s third largest oil reserves within the type of oil sands. Extracting and processing the oil from the sands and bedrock is a challenging process and requires the biggest slurry pump within the oil sands trade.
When it involves pumping slurry, there may be only a few applications which may be more challenging than the hydro-transport of skilled quality slurries in oil sands production. Not only do the pumps need to contend with the highly aggressive nature of the fluid being pumped, they are also expected to function in a variety of the harshest environments in the world.
In January 2020, GIW Industries, Inc., a KSB firm, commissioned its largest ever heavy-duty centrifugal slurry pump for operation in Canada’s oil sands, namely the Tie Bolt Construction (TBC-92). Named after its 92 in (2337 mm) impeller, the TBC-92 is the biggest and heaviest slurry pump out there in the oil sands trade and the latest in a line of highly effective high-pressure pumps offered by GIW.
Slurry transportation Slurry transport covers a considerable range of business sectors, ranging from food and beverage to mining. What is widespread to all, is that the pumps used must have the power to transport liquids containing particles and solids of various sizes and viscosities. In mining, dredging and oil sands manufacturing, the biggest problem is to accommodate high density slurry and extremely abrasive grits.
It is essential that the slurry passes through the pump with the minimum amount of damage to the pump casing, impeller, shaft and sealing mechanism. Furthermore, pressure gauge digital ราคา have to be able to delivering high flows and able to withstand harsh operating environments.
Alberta in Canada has extensive oil reserves and these are within the form of oil sands. Extracting and processing the oil from the sands and bedrock is challenging, involving the elimination of bituminous ore which is transported to a crushing plant. The crushed ore is then mixed with heat water to form a dense slurry that can be transported within the pipeline in direction of extraction, where the bitumen is separated from the sand and rock. After extraction, the remaining solids (or tailings) are often transported through totally different pumps to settling ponds.
The processes require in depth use of slurry and water transportation pumps able to handling vast portions of liquids at high pressures and excessive temp- eratures. Drawing on its lengthy expertise of designing slurry pumps for mining, GIW has custom-engineered slurry pumps that combine superior materials, hydraulics and patented mechanical designs, the most recent of which is the TBC-92.
Meeting challenges Mollie Timmerman, GIW business growth supervisor, explains more: “Our client wanted a higher capacity pump which was capable of 10,000–11,000 m3 per hour of output at practically 40 m of developed head and a maximum working pressure of 4000 kPa. The pump additionally needed to have the power to pass rocks of approximately one hundred thirty mm in diameter with a complete passage dimension requirement of 10 in (or 254 mm) and deal with slurry densities in extra of 1.5 SG.
In addition, the shopper was targeting a upkeep interval (operational time between planned maintenance) of around 3,000 hours. They had expressed an curiosity in maximising the upkeep intervals and primarily based on initial wear indications, they are currently hoping to realize around 6,000 hours between pump overhauls (i.e. 6–8 months).”
The immediate application for the first batch of GIW’s TBC-92 pumps in Alberta is in hydro-transport service the place they’re used to maneuver bitu- minous ore from the crusher to the extraction plant. The liquid pumped is a combination of water, bitumen, sand, and large rocks. Screens are in place to maintain these rocks to a manageable measurement for the process, but the prime measurement can nonetheless usually attain up to one hundred thirty mm in diameter or bigger.
The abrasive nature of the slurry is what separates a slurry pump from different pumps used within the trade. Wear and erosion are details of life, and GIW has decades of experience in the design of slurry pumps and the development of supplies to help prolong the service life of these important parts to match the deliberate upkeep cycles within the plant.
“GIW already had a pump able to the output requirement, this being the MDX-750, which has been a preferred size in mill duties for nearly 10 years through- out Central and South America,” explains Mollie Timmerman. ”However, the customer’s software required a pump with greater strain capabilities and the capability of handling larger rocks so we responded with the event of the TBC-92 which provided the best answer for maximised manufacturing.”
The TBC sequence The construction fashion of GIW’s TBC pump vary options massive, ribbed plates held along with tie bolts for very high-pressure service and most put on performance. First developed for dredge service, then later launched into the oil sands within the Nineteen Nineties, the TBC pump sequence has grown into a totally developed vary of pumps serving the oil sands, phosphate, dredging and exhausting rock mining industries for tailings and hydrotransport functions.
The pumps are often grouped together in booster stations to construct strain as high as 750 psi (5171 kPa) to account for the pipe losses encountered over such long distances. The sturdy development of the TBC pump is well suited to do the job, while ensuring most availability of the tools under closely abrasive wear.
Capable of delivering pressure up to 37 bar and flows of more than 18,200m³/h and temperatures up to 120o C, the TBC vary is a horizontal, end suction centrifugal pump that provides most resistance to wear. Simple to take care of, the pump’s tie-bolt design transfers stress hundreds away from the put on and tear resistant white iron casing to the non- bearing side plates with out the use of heavy and unwieldy double-wall development.
The TBC-92 combines the most effective elements of earlier TBC fashions, including the TBC-84 oil sands tailing pump, also referred to as the Super Pump. The pump additionally incorporates features from GIW’s MDX product line, which is used in heavy-duty mining circuits throughout the world of exhausting rock mining.
In complete, the TBC-92 weighs about 209,000 lbs (95,000 kg), which is roughly equal to a fully-loaded Airbus A321 aeroplane. The casing alone weighs 34,000 lbs (15,500 kg). Key features of the pump embrace a slurry diverter that dramatically increases suction liner life by lowering particle recirculation between the impeller and the liner. The massive diameter impeller allows the pump to run at slower speeds so that put on life is enhanced. The lower speed additionally provides the pump the flexibility to function over a wider vary of flows so as to accommodate fluctuating move circumstances.
To make upkeep simpler, the pump is fitted with a particular two-piece suction plate design which helps to reduce software time and supply safer lifting. Customers obtain pump-specific lifting gadgets to facilitate the safe elimination and set up of wear and tear comp- onents. The pump also features a longlasting suction liner that can be adjusted while not having to close the pump down.
New milestone The commissioning of the TBC-92 marks an important milestone for GIW, which now has pumps in service in any respect operating Canadian oil sands vegetation for hydrotransport functions. The TBC-92 has been designed to deal with heavy-duty slurry transport while offering a low total cost of possession. Minimal labour and upkeep time assist to maximise production and revenue.
“This new pump incorporates the teachings realized from working in the oil sands over a few years, and features our newest hydraulic and put on applied sciences,” says Mollie Timmerman. “Because this is the heaviest TBC pump we have ever designed, particular consideration was given to maintainability, as well as materials selection and development of the pressure-containing elements.”
That GIW has established itself as a big drive in pumping solutions for the oil sands industry is way from surprising on circumstance that it has been growing pumping applied sciences and put on resistant supplies in the world mining industry for the rationale that 1940s.
These pumps have had a substantial impact on the way that excavated sand, rock and bitumen are transported to the upgrader plant. By adding water to the excavated material it turns into extremely environment friendly to pump the slurry along a pipeline to the upgrader. The pipeline agitation assists in separating the bitumen from the sand as it’s transported, plus there’s the extra good thing about removing the use of vehicles.
GIW has estimated that the worth of shifting oil sand in this means can cut prices by US$2 a barrel, and it’s far more environmentally friendly. These pumps also play a serious role in transporting the coarse tailings to the tailings ponds. GIW supplies pumps used in the extraction course of and other areas of manufacturing (HVF, MDX, LSA).
Understanding slurries Understanding the nature of slurries and the way they behave when being pumped has been fundamental to the development of these products. GIW has been obtaining slurry samples from prospects over a few years for testing hydraulics and materials both for pumps and pipelines. Research & Development services embrace a number of slurry take a look at beds on the campus, along with a hydraulics laboratory that’s dedicated to pump efficiency testing.
These activities are central to the company’s pump growth programmes. If companies are experiencing issues the GIW R&D personnel can see the place the issue lies and provide advice for remedial action. Experience does indicate that in many circumstances the issue lies not with the pump nonetheless, however within the interaction between the pipeline and the pump.
Feedback from customers about appli- cations helps within the growth of latest tools and pump designs. By bringing to- gether clients and lecturers from all over the world to share their experience and analysis with in-house consultants, the large investment in research, improvement and manufacturing has superior the design of all the GIW pump merchandise,supplies and wear-resistant elements.
The future “There is a transparent trend toward bigger pumps in mining and dredging and oil sands are not any exception,” feedback Leo Perry, GIW lead product supervisor. “The first TBC pump within the oil sands trade was the TBC-46 (46 in being the diameter of the impeller). Customers are designing their facilities for greater and higher production and demanding the same of the equipment that retains their manufacturing transferring. While these bigger pumps demand more power, in addition they permit for higher manufacturing with much less downtime required for upkeep. Overall, the effectivity improves when compared to the same output from a bigger amount of smaller pumps. “
In conclusion, he says: “Larger pumps go hand-in-hand with bigger services, larger pipelines, and increased production, all of which continue to development higher year after year. Other prospects and industries have also proven an interest in this dimension, and it will be no shock in any respect to see extra of these pumps constructed in the close to future for related applications.”
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