Abstract: A method for bonding a cemented (or sintered) carbide element to a structural component is provided comprising cladding at least one surface of the cemented (or sintered) carbide element with a metal alloy using diffusion bonding or brazing and friction welding a cladded surface of the cemented (or sintered) carbide element to the structural component.

Abstract: A reinforced screen cloth for use in a screening device for screening out oversize objects, including oil sand lumps and rocks present in an oil sands slurry, is provided comprising a plurality of anti-wear components affixed to a base plate having a plurality of openings.

Abstract: A process and apparatus is provided for flocculating and/or agglomerating oil sand solids during solvent extraction, the process using a mixing tank comprising a vertical baffle-free cylindrical vessel having at least one impeller mounted vertically therein.

Abstract: A feedwell is provided for an inclined plate separator having a separation chamber containing parallel plates defining separation passages. The feedwell includes a plenum defining a plenum chamber external to the separation chamber, an upward-facing deflector surface in the plenum chamber, an inlet for discharging influent fluid onto a receiving region of the deflector surface, and an outlet for discharging the influent fluid out of the plenum and transversely into the separation chamber. The feedwell also includes parallel fins. The fins define between them plenum passages that extend from a fin end to outlet. The fin ends are disposed between the outlet and the receiving region, and are arranged in a horizontal semi-elliptical path defining a center that horizontally coincides with the receiving region.

Abstract: A pipe assembly includes a pipe shell, a liner, and one or more anchor members. The pipe shell defines an inner wall. The liner lines the inner wall of the pipe shell and defines an inner wall of the pipe assembly. The anchor member is attached to the pipe shell, extends from the inner wall of the pipe shell, and is embedded within the liner. The anchor member may help to resist localized delamination of the liner from the pipe shell, and propagation of any localized delamination of the liner from the pipe shell. A related method is also provided for forming the pipe assembly.

Abstract: A centrifugal hydraulic seal between the rotating and non-rotating components of rotating process equipment is provided. The centrifugal hydraulic seal reduces toxic gases inside an operating machine from escaping to the atmosphere or reduces gas from the atmosphere entering into the operating machine by the placement of protruding vanes on the face of the rotating seal wall on the low pressure side of the seal.

Abstract: A screen cloth for use in a screening device for screening out oversize objects, including oil sands lumps and rocks present in an oil sands slurry is provided, comprising at least one screen segment having a top surface and having a plurality of openings therein; and a plurality of anti-wear tiles attached to the top surface of the at least one screen segment by brazing; whereby each anti-wear tile is separated from an adjacent anti-wear tile by a gap that is about 0.5 mm or less such that a brazing material used to attach the anti-wear tiles to the at least one support structure fills the gap between each anti-wear tile through capillary action thereby connecting each anti-wear tile to its adjacent anti-wear tile.

Abstract: A screen cloth for use in a screening device for screening out oversize objects, including oil sand lumps and rocks, is disclosed comprising a supporting structure comprising two mutually opposing lateral attachment elements and a plurality of transverse stiffeners extending therebetween; and a plurality of screen segments, each screen segment having a plurality of openings, and each screen segment comprising a steel base and a plurality of anti-wear tiles attached thereon; whereby the plurality of screen segments are attached to the support structure to form a screening portion of the screen cloth.

Abstract: A process for treating and dewatering tailings comprising fine clay minerals, fine rock-forming minerals and water is provided, comprising treating the tailings with a sufficient amount of a collector to modify the surface properties of both the fine clays and rock-forming minerals; subjecting the treated tailings to froth flotation to form a fine clays and rock-forming minerals froth layer; and recovering the froth layer and subjecting it to dewatering.

Abstract: A method for recovering hydrocarbon diluent present in froth treatment tailings, comprising introducing the tailings into a vessel; adding a first portion of steam into the vessel to form a vapour-tailings interface; and operating the vessel to increase the exposure of the tailings to the vapour-tailings interface formed in the vessel.

Abstract: A method, related system and related computer program product are provided for monitoring wear of teeth of a drum of a double roll crusher. A processor receives a digital video capturing rotation of the drum and the teeth. For each frame of the digital video, the processor segments the frame into groups of contiguous pixels, wherein each group is representative of one of the teeth. The processor determines parameter indicative of a geometry of at least one of the teeth based on segmented groups of contiguous pixels in at least one of the frames of the digital video. The processor generates a human-readable report based on the parameter indicative of the geometry of the at least one of the teeth.

Abstract: A method for transporting a bitumen froth having coarse solids having a particle size>180 ?m through a pipeline is provided comprising injecting into the pipeline a bitumen froth slug having a lower temperature or a lower water content or both that the bitumen froth.

Abstract: A method, system and computer program product are provided for monitoring a transverse position of a conveyor belt or its material load. A processor receives a digital video or digital images capturing movement of the conveyor belt and the material load. The processor segments the images or frames into a group of contiguous pixels representative of the conveyor belt, and the material load, such as by moving object detection, using background segmentation and threshold processing, pixel intensity-based segmentation or image texture-based segmentation. The processor determines a pixel coordinate of the group of contiguous pixels, which is indicative of the transverse position of the conveyor belt or the material load. The processor generates an alarm or report or a data signal, which depends, directly or indirectly, on the determined pixel coordinates.

Abstract: A process for forming a deaerated oil sand slurry is provided comprising: providing a first vessel having an overhead space and a bottom space; delivering oil sand and a low vapor pressure hydrocarbon liquid into the overhead space and mixing the oil sand and hydrocarbon liquid to release air trapped in the oil sand and form the deaerated slurry; optionally adding an inert gas stream to the overhead space to displace the air released from the oil sand; and collecting the deaerated slurry in the bottom space to form a slurry layer to prevent gas exchange between the first vessel and downstream extraction equipment.

Abstract: A method of quantifying at least one property of interest of an oil sands ore sample is provided using a laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) method. The property of interest may include bitumen content, water content, particle size information, cation exchange capacity, methylene blue index, mineralogical content (e.g., quartz, total clay, and clay components), amorphous material content, total ash content, and connate water parameter (e.g., conductivity, chloride content, or alkalinity).

Abstract: A method for controlling the solids distribution in a bitumen froth produced when processing an oil sands ore having a d50 of about 250 ?m or greater and a d90 of about 450 ?m or greater is provided comprising adding a high-fines material having a d50 of about 50 ?m or less and a fines content of about 40% of the solids or greater to the oil sands ore to form an ore blend; and processing the ore blend in a water-based bitumen extraction process to produce the bitumen froth.

Abstract: A method for recovering hydrocarbon diluent present in froth treatment tailings, comprising introducing the tailings into a vessel; adding a first portion of steam into the vessel to form a vapour-tailings interface; and operating the vessel to increase the exposure of the tailings to the vapour-tailings interface formed in the vessel.

Abstract: A method for recovering a sunken material from a body of water having a water layer and a sediment layer, the sunken material present at a water-sediment interface is presented, comprising using an impermeable hollow column and a high density fluid to float the sunken material to the top of the column for readily removal of the floated sunken material using surface material removing equipment.

Abstract: A method for extracting bitumen from an oil sands ore comprising swelling clays such as smectite is provided comprising blending said ore sands ore comprising swelling clays with a substantially swelling clays-free oil sands ore to give a blended oil sands ore having less than 1% swelling clays.

Abstract: A method for processing bitumen froth comprised of bitumen, water and solids to produce a final diluted bitumen product having a reduced water content is provided whereby demulsifier is added to the bitumen froth after a first separation stage and prior to a second separation stage to produce the final diluted bitumen product having reduced water content.