welcome to Contendo training solutions fundamentals of steam assisted gravity
drainage training course for bitumen processing
Contendo also offers fundamentals of SAGD courses covering SAGD well pads produced water De-Oiling
and water treatment our unique presentation of learning material
our unique presentation of learning material provides something
for all types of students whether their strong suits are
listening reading or watching.
we combine narrated discussions with animations and
other visuals to clarify each concept presented
straight forward learning objectives are presented at the beginning of each chapter
while review sections reinforce what we have discussed the steam assisted
gravity drainage process is a leading in-situ bitumen recovery technique.
we discuss all aspects of bitumen processing in a SAGD facility from
recovered emulsions to sales oil
we describe the technologies and processes
used to safely produce saleable oil from reserves of bitumen recovered from the oil sands.
the purpose of a sag D facility is to
safely and economically produce sales oil with specific vapor pressure water
content API gravity and viscosity.
You will follow the bitumen as it flows
through a model SAGD central processing facility and learn how it is processed
from a high pressure mixed emulsion of bitumen
water and the hydrocarbon gas to oil meeting all sales oil specifications.
We use a combination of narrated animations text and other visuals to demonstrate
how a process operates.
We start with diluent heating and injection into
the produced emulsion for density adjustment of the bitumen.
note that several downstream process vessels produce hydrocarbon condensate which can
often be recycled and used as diluent.
We follow the produced emulsion through the bitumen Inlet section of a SAGD
central processing facility where bulk separation of oil and water occurs in a
free water knockout.
The resulting produced emulsion diluent
mixture then has most of the remaining water removed in an electrostatic
treater to produce dehydrated dilbit
The dilbit flows through the sales
oil stabilisation system gas boot where it is reduced in pressure to bring it to
sales specification.
The separated hydrocarbon vapors are processed through
the gas handling section of the stabilization system to produce fuel gas
and hydrocarbon condensate.
The sales oil is then stored until it can be
transferred to the sales pipeline we also follow the separation and recovery
of produced gas from the produced gas separator as it is processed for use as
fuel gas in steam generation
oilie produced water and hydrocarbon liquids
are removed and directed to their respective processed trains
the produced gas joins other gas streams in the mixed fuel gas separator for
liquid removal before being burned in the steam generators.
accumulated unbroken emulsions called rag layers are removed from separation vessels and
tanks and processed through the flash treater to vaporize any remaining water
from the Dilbit so that it can rejoin the dehydrated Dilbit flowing to the
stabilization section
hydrocarbon vapors from the flash treater are processed through the flash
gas system to produce fuel gas and hydrocarbon condensate
a vapor recovery unit collects and processes various usable gas streams to
produce fuel gas and hydrocarbon condensate.
we include appropriate
pressure safety valves throughout the entire process and include a gas flare
system to accept and burn relief vapors and purge gases.
detailed descriptions of
process control systems show how certain parameters up or downstream can affect
local conditions
control logic set points and commands explain how out of
range process conditions can be dealt with and comprehensive shutdown
responses are demonstrated to show the relationships between various system components
here we show a vibration transmitter on the VRU compressor
and how a high vibration will alarm tripping the compressor motor off to avoid damage
and simultaneously closing a gas recycle valve the PV and opening a compressor
ring water bypass valve the X V
in this course we discuss safety points relating
to protection of personnel equipment and the environment
how gas vapors are removed and processed for use as fuel gas so that the bitumen
meets sales oil specifications for vapor pressure
how water and water vapors are
removed so that the bitumen meets sales oil specifications for water content
and how Diluent is added so that the bitumen meets sales oil specifications
for API gravity and viscosity
here is an excerpt from our free water knockout chapter that demonstrates our presentation
heated diluent reversed demulsifier
and demulsifier are added to the produced emulsion to enhance the oil water
separation process
the diluent and chemicals are completely blended into
the emulsion in an inline mixer
slop oil may also be routed to the free water knock out inlet stream on a batch
basis this is done to recycle the hydrocarbon liquids from the slop tank
as required
chemicals are added to the inlet stream
to enhance oil water separation throughout the process these include
demulsifier and reversed demulsifier this is an important chemical process that
accelerates oil water separation
reversed emulsifiers will cause the oil
droplets suspended in the produced water to coalesce so they will rise to the
surface as they are water-soluble they will more readily mix with the produced
water contained in the inlet stream
demulsifiers promote coalescence of
the water droplets in the dilbit to form larger droplets that fall out of suspension
heated diluent is injected downstream of these chemical injection points to
reduce the density and viscosity of the emulsions bitumen components
this aids in separating the bitumen from the produced water by increasing the density
difference between the two and allows shipping of the bitumen via pipeline by
meeting the sales oil density specification
remember if diluent is not added to the bitumen the sales oil at the end of
the process would stop flowing as soon as it's cooled below its pour point
temperature where a liquid becomes semi solid and loses its flow characteristics
generally the diluent to free water knock out flow control scheme will take
into account the production flow rate downstream of the free water knock out
after removal of produced water to determine the diluent injection rate
the mix feed stream it's introduced into the free water knockout through an inlet
diffuser
a series of internals within the vessel promote the gravity separation of the
dilbit and water the internals include various deflectors baffles and packing
to direct the flow and enhance coalescence note that each installation
will differ
the produced emulsion separates into a layer of wet dilbit in the upper section
and oily produced water in the lower section
with a rag layer between them
the wet dilbit overflows a weir and collects in an oil box located in the
outlet end of the vessel
from the oil box the wet Dilbert is routed to the tree to feed coolers for
cooling before proceeding to the electrostatic treater
for further processing this dilbit flow is controlled to maintain the oil box level
produced water is drawn off the bottom
of the vessel under interface level control the produced water is sent to
the produced water system this process is discussed in the produced water de-oiling course
a rag layer of unbroken emulsion
accumulates over time and will impair separation at the oil water interface
this is inherent in the process and requires management to minimize its
effect on the process
to minimize the accumulation of a rag
layer a portion of it is drawn off at the interface level and recycled back to
the inlet stream of the free water knockout for further processing
if the rag layer continues to accumulate despite recycling the rag layer may have
to be drawn off to the slop tank for further processing
this gives you an idea of how we discuss process through system vessels
as you progress through the course you will see various warnings and safety
points associated with the topic being discussed
these can be represented as safety points to denote specific safety hazards
and/or equipment used to mitigate the hazards
cautions to bring attention to possible hazards
or reminders to review material safety data sheets
we use various graphs and charts to explain hazards such as hydrogen sulfide
concentrations here is an excerpt
h2s is colorless and flammable with specific odor characteristics depending
on the concentration
at low concentrations less than one part per million it has a very identifiable
rotten egg smell
this odor gets stronger in
concentrations up to approximately 30 parts per million
between 30 and 100 parts per million the odor becomes sweeter
above 100 parts per million the concentration paralyzes nerves causing a loss of the
sense of smell
at this point you can be easily overcome by the h2s without smelling anything
at h2s concentrations above 200 parts per million even a few breaths can cause
collapse and death due to respiratory failure
formulas are used occasionally to prove concepts such as this excerpt explaining
gravity separation rates
here is the modified Stokes law as a
formula the modified Stokes law states that
the velocity of separation V is equal to the density difference of the two phases
represented by D 1 minus D 2
times the square of the size of the dispersed
particles R squared
times the gravitational constant C
all divided by
the viscosity of the continuous phase and 1
all of the variables in the formula influence separation to make the phases
separate faster we can
increase the difference in density
decrease the viscosity of the continuous phase or increase the size of the droplets to be separated
however the greatest impact is the size
of the particles or droplets to be separated because the relationship is
not one-to-one but instead is the square of the size
this means that as the droplet size doubles the separation velocity is
increased by four times
as size triples the separation time is nine times faster
as size quadruples the droplet separates 16 times as fast and so on
chapters include printable worksheets for students to complete as they learn
and individual tests that can be attempted after viewing each chapter
try the contend Oh fundamentals of sag d bitumen processing course and you will
receive the best comprehensive process training available
come on and see for yourself