Patents Assigned to Syncrude Canada Ltd.
  • Patent number: 10781375
    Abstract: A method for processing bitumen froth to produce a diluted bitumen product having a reduced water and solids content is provided, comprising: adding a sufficient amount of water to the bitumen froth and mixing the bitumen froth and water to form a froth/water mixture; diluting the froth/water mixture with naphtha to form a diluted froth; and separating the water and solids from the diluted froth to produce the diluted bitumen product.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 6, 2018
    Date of Patent: September 22, 2020
    Assignee: SYNCRUDE CANADA LTD. in trust for the owners of the Syncrude Project as such owners exist now and in the future
    Inventors: Yin Ming Samson Ng, Sujit Bhattacharya, Allan W. K. Leung
  • Patent number: 10712330
    Abstract: A method is provided for controlling bitumen recovery from an oil sands ore body in a bitumen extraction process by establishing and using a predictive ore processability model that accounts for multiple ore characteristics in planning ore deliveries from different locations of the ore body to produce a blended ore feedstock.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 25, 2018
    Date of Patent: July 14, 2020
    Assignee: SYNCRUDE CANADA LTD.
    Inventors: Jun Long, Jonathan Spence, Dean Wallace, Shane Hoskins, Chung H. Ta, David Mueller, Priyanka Pareek
  • Patent number: 10711200
    Abstract: A water-based extraction process for extracting bitumen from mined oil is provided comprising providing a water-based mixture containing bitumen; and introducing nanobubbles to the mixture to attach to bitumen and, thereby, extract the bitumen from the water-based mixture, wherein a nanobubble has a diameter of less than 5,000 nm.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 22, 2018
    Date of Patent: July 14, 2020
    Assignee: SYNCRUDE CANADA LTD. in trust for the owners of the Syncrude Project as such owners exist now and in the future
    Inventor: Jun Long
  • Patent number: 10703982
    Abstract: A process for solvent extraction of bitumen from mined oil sand ore is provided, comprising mixing the mined oil sand ore with at least one solvent to produce a solvent/oil sand slurry; adding water to the solvent/oil sand slurry to produce a slurry having a water-to-solids mass ratio of less than about 0.1; mixing the slurry in a mixing tank having a diameter to agglomerate the solids present in the slurry, the mixing tank operating at a power input of between 20 and 50 W/kg of slurry, to produce an agglomerated slurry; and subjecting the agglomerated slurry to solid-liquid separation to produce a first liquids stream containing bitumen and a first solids stream; whereby the slurry height in the mixing tank is 0.1 to 0.3 of the tank diameter.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 21, 2017
    Date of Patent: July 7, 2020
    Assignee: SYNCRUDE CANADA LTD. in trust for the owners of the Syncrude Project as such owners exist now and in the future
    Inventors: Xin Alex Wu, Sujit Bhattacharya
  • Patent number: 10703979
    Abstract: The present invention is directed towards modifying the internals of the reactor section of a fluidized coke reactor such that the majority of the hydrocarbon feed will react in the core region of the reactor section and that any hydrocarbon vapour that is produced in the annular region will be released into the core region. Therefore, the present invention reduces the residence time of vapour immediately flashed from the injected hydrocarbon feed, resulting in reduced secondary vapour phase cracking.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 12, 2019
    Date of Patent: July 7, 2020
    Assignee: SYNCRUDE CANADA LTD.
    Inventors: Michael Wormsbecker, Jennifer McMillan, Craig McKnight, Jason Wiens
  • Patent number: 10634630
    Abstract: A method for determining the solids content, fines content and/or particle size distribution of the solids in an oil sands process stream test sample comprising bitumen, solids and water using low-field time-domain NMR is provided which involves building a non-solids partial least squares calibration model using oil sands process streams calibration samples having a known bitumen content, solids content, water content, fines content and/or particle size distribution by subjecting the calibration samples to a first T1-weighted T2 measurement NMR pulse sequence that maximizes very fast relaxing signals and a second T1-weighted T2 measurement NMR pulse sequence that maximizes slow relaxing signals. The measurement of other sample properties strongly correlated with surface area, such as methylene blue index, can also be measured using a partial least squares calibration model.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 3, 2017
    Date of Patent: April 28, 2020
    Assignee: SYNCRUDE CANADA LTD.
    Inventor: Richard Paproski
  • Patent number: 10544369
    Abstract: A process for treating a bitumen froth comprising bitumen, solids and water to produce a deasphalted oil product is provided comprising optionally diluting the raw bitumen froth with a diluent to form a diluted bitumen froth; separating the raw or diluted bitumen froth into a light bitumen fraction and a heavy bitumen fraction comprising bitumen, fine solids and water; mixing the heavy bitumen fraction with a first solvent to form a solvent/bitumen mixture; and introducing the solvent/bitumen mixture into a first extraction vessel operating at a temperature and a pressure such that the solvent is at or near supercritical conditions to form a heavy phase comprising asphaltenes, solids and water and a light phase comprising deasphalted oil.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 13, 2016
    Date of Patent: January 28, 2020
    Assignee: SYNCRUDE CANADA LTD, in trust for the owners of the Syncrude Project as such owners exist now and in the future
    Inventors: Daniel Bulbuc, Keng Chung, David Childs
  • Patent number: 10508241
    Abstract: A method for recovering hydrocarbon diluent from tailings comprising bitumen, particulate solids, hydrocarbon diluent and water, is provided comprising introducing the tailings into a high pressure stripping vessel operating at a pressure greater than 100 kPa; and introducing a stripping gas into the high pressure stripping vessel to strip the hydrocarbon diluent and water from the tailings and form a stripped tailings pool at the bottom of the vessel.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 5, 2017
    Date of Patent: December 17, 2019
    Assignee: SYNCRUDE CANADA LTD.
    Inventors: Sujit Bhattacharya, Barry Bara, Craig A. McKnight, Daniel John Bulbuc, George Cymerman
  • Patent number: 10441976
    Abstract: A feed diffuser for use in a rotating screen having drain holes is provided, comprising a flow chamber having an upstream end and a downstream end and defining a flow path for a slurry having solid material larger than the drain holes flowing between the upstream end and the downstream end; the flow chamber having an intermediate portion disposed between the upstream end and the downstream end; the intermediate portion having a first opening; the flow chamber having an inclined floor, the lowest point of the inclined floor being adjacent to the first opening; whereby the inclined floor is sufficiently inclined such that when the slurry flows down the flow path, the larger solid material is directed towards the first opening.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 23, 2018
    Date of Patent: October 15, 2019
    Assignee: SYNCRUDE CANADA LTD.
    Inventors: Michael Carniato, Dan Wolfe, Ron Cleminson
  • Patent number: 10401087
    Abstract: A process for separating solvent from spent oil sand solids involves drying the solids using superheated steam, and thereby producing a vapor comprising the vaporized solvent and vaporized water. The vapor is conveyed through a hot side of a first heat exchanger to produce a cooled stream comprising condensed solvent and condensed water, while a water stream is conveyed under vacuum through a cold side of the first heat exchanger to produce steam. A vacuum blower that applies the vacuum may also compress the steam to adiabatically heat the steam, before the steam is further heated by a steam superheater. The condensed water is separated from the cooled stream, and used in producing the water stream that is conveyed through the cold side of the heat exchanger, as the process continues. The steam is used in producing the superheated steam for drying the solids, as the process continues.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 28, 2019
    Date of Patent: September 3, 2019
    Assignee: SYNCRUDE CANADA LTD. in trust for the owners of the Syncrude Project as such owners exist now and in the future
    Inventor: Xin Alex Wu
  • Patent number: 10288350
    Abstract: A process for separating solvent from spent oil sand solids involves drying the solids using superheated steam, and thereby producing a vapor comprising the vaporized solvent and vaporized water. The vapor is conveyed through a hot side of a first heat exchanger to produce a cooled stream comprising condensed solvent and condensed water, while a water stream is conveyed under vacuum through a cold side of the first heat exchanger to produce steam. A vacuum blower that applies the vacuum may also compress the steam to adiabatically heat the steam, before the steam is further heated by a steam superheater. The condensed water is separated from the cooled stream, and used in producing the water stream that is conveyed through the cold side of the heat exchanger, as the process continues. The steam is used in producing the superheated steam for drying the solids, as the process continues.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 7, 2018
    Date of Patent: May 14, 2019
    Assignee: SYNCRUDE CANADA LTD.
    Inventor: Xin Alex Wu
  • Patent number: 10274630
    Abstract: A system for detecting and discriminating a metal object in a bulk non-metallic material includes at least one triple-axis magnetometer adapted to detect a change of a magnetic field and output a signal including a detection signal representative of a metal object and a signal processing system adapted to detect the detection signal. The bulk non-metallic may be continuously moving through a detection volume, or may be placed in and removed from the detection volume as a batch.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 1, 2016
    Date of Patent: April 30, 2019
    Assignee: SYNCRUDE CANADA LTD. in trust for the owners of the Syncrude Project as such owners exist now and in the future
    Inventor: Darcy Daugela
  • Patent number: 10139019
    Abstract: A pipe or fitting having a polymer liner and a replaceable component including an outer ring having an outside diameter matching the inside diameter of the pipe or fitting, a polymer liner bonded to the outer ring and having an inside diameter matching the inside diameter of the liner of the pipe or fitting. The replaceable component is disposed in an inlet or outlet of the pipe or fitting so as to form a continuous bore lined with a polymer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 28, 2017
    Date of Patent: November 27, 2018
    Assignee: SYNCRUDE CANADA LTD.
    Inventors: Soon Won Moon, Stefano Chiovelli, Shane D. Ryan
  • Patent number: 10053632
    Abstract: A process for extracting bitumen from oil sand ore to produce a bitumen froth having reduced solids is provided, comprising mixing the oil sand ore with water and a first process aid comprising at least one surfactant to form an oil sand slurry; conditioning the oil sand slurry to produce a conditioned oil sand slurry; and introducing the conditioned oil sand slurry into a separation zone for forming the bitumen froth having reduced solids.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 20, 2016
    Date of Patent: August 21, 2018
    Assignee: SYNCRUDE CANADA, LTD.
    Inventor: Jun Long
  • Patent number: 9851025
    Abstract: A pipe or fitting having a polymer liner and a replaceable component including an outer ring having an outside diameter matching the inside diameter of the pipe or fitting, a polymer liner bonded to the outer ring and having an inside diameter matching the inside diameter of the liner of the pipe or fitting. The replaceable component is disposed in an inlet or outlet of the pipe or fitting so as to form a continuous bore lined with a polymer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 21, 2015
    Date of Patent: December 26, 2017
    Assignee: SYNCRUDE CANADA LTD. in trust for the owners of the Syncrude Project as such owners exist now and in the future
    Inventor: Soon Won Moon
  • Patent number: 9796930
    Abstract: A process for operating multiple oil sand mine sites for extracting bitumen from oil sand is disclosed, comprising preparing a first conditioned oil sand slurry at a first location using a first oil sand slurry preparation and slurry conditioning process; preparing a second conditioned oil sand slurry at a second location using a second oil sand slurry preparation and slurry conditioning process; combining the first conditioned oil sand slurry and the second conditioned oil sand slurry in at least one slurry distributor to produce a combined oil sand slurry; and distributing the combined oil sand slurry to at least one separation vessel to produce bitumen froth.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 21, 2015
    Date of Patent: October 24, 2017
    Assignee: SYNCRUDE CANADA LTD. in trust for the owners of the Syncrude Project as such owners exist now and in the future
    Inventors: Jonathan Spence, Yin Ming Samson Ng, Robert Siy, Barry Bara, Jun Long, Kevin Reid, James Lorentz, Shane Hoskins
  • Patent number: 9724732
    Abstract: A screen cloth for use in a screening device for screening out oversize objects in a material flowing in a direction is provided, comprising a metal plate having a perimeter and comprising a plurality of openings therethrough and forming a grid having longitudinal ligaments substantially parallel to the direction of the material flow and transverse ligaments substantially perpendicular to the direction of the material flow, the metal plate having an impact surface and a bottom surface; a coating or liner comprising an elastomer, coating or lining at least the impact surface of the metal plate or a portion thereof; and a wear material at least partially embedded into the elastomer coating or liner, or a portion thereof.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 4, 2015
    Date of Patent: August 8, 2017
    Assignee: SYNCRUDE CANADA LTD.
    Inventors: Soon Won Moon, Khaled Obaia, Damien Reid
  • Patent number: 9719933
    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 LIBS method may be applied to oil sands ore being conveyed prior to a slurry process to measure oil sand composition and provide information which may predict extraction characteristics. The LIBS method may be applied to oil sands core samples in a laboratory setting to reduce the cost and analysis time associated with conventional laboratory measurement techniques.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 23, 2016
    Date of Patent: August 1, 2017
    Assignees: SYNCRUDE CANADA LTD, NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL OF CANADA
    Inventors: Richard Paproski, Aïssa Harhira, David Duford, Josette El Haddad, Darcy Daugela, Alain Blouin, Mohamad Sabsabi
  • Patent number: 9719023
    Abstract: A method for recovering hydrocarbon diluent from froth treatment tailings comprising bitumen, solids, hydrocarbon diluent and water is provided, comprising: introducing the froth treatment tailings into a vessel chamber and allowing the coarse solids to settle to the bottom of the vessel and form a solids layer having a portion of hydrocarbon diluent and a portion of water trapped therein; and heating the water in the solids layer to generate steam bubbles in-situ and strip the hydrocarbon diluent associated with the coarse solids to produce stripped tailings.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 15, 2016
    Date of Patent: August 1, 2017
    Assignee: SYNCRUDE CANADA LTD. in trust for the owners of the Syncrude Project as such owners exist now and in the future
    Inventors: Xin Alex Wu, Sujit Bhattacharya
  • Patent number: 9701908
    Abstract: A process is provided for treating an aqueous oil sand slurry containing bitumen droplets and air bubbles prior to separation in a separator, comprising separating the aqueous oil sand slurry into at least two individual slurry streams and allowing the at least two slurry streams to collide with one another such that the bitumen droplets and air bubbles in each slurry stream make contact with one another to increase both collision frequency and efficiency, and providing sufficient residence time to allow the bitumen droplet to coalesce, grow, and aerate to produce a treated oil sand slurry with larger and lighter bitumen droplets to improve bitumen flotation and recovery.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 20, 2016
    Date of Patent: July 11, 2017
    Assignee: SYNCRUDE CANADA LTD.
    Inventors: Jun Long, Shane Hoskins