an iPad2! - Department of Physics and Astronomy

Transcription

October 2011
Serving Western Canadian Processors
Yara Belle Plaine
Saskatchewan facility cuts a
wide swath with new ownership
Miracle material
Can graphene live up to
its early rave reviews?
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Counting on coal
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ALSO INSIDE
Rethinking process seal standards
Decentralized energy and oilsands
How to deal with critical data loss
Swan Erickson Publishing Inc. / www.processwest.ca
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second PROCESSWest issue of 2012.
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Part I - Valves
Are you planning to purchase Valves during the next 12 months? If “yes”, indicate what type(s) by checking your selection(s) after the
item number(s):
1____Ball
2____Butterfly
3____Check & Control
4____Diaphragm
5____Gate & Sluice
6____Globe & Angle
7____Needle & Instrument
8____Plug & Disk
9____Rotary
10___Relief & Safety
11___Sampling
12____Pilot
13___Sanitary
14___Solenoid-operated
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16____20-50 Valves
17____50-100 Valves
18____100-1000 Valves
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21____2”-6”
22____6”-12”
23____Over 12”
Approximate Budget for Valves:
24____Under $10M
25____$10M-$25M
26____$25M-$50M
27____$50M-$100M
28____+$100M
29____Will you be installing automated Valves?
Part II - Pumps
What types of pumps are you planning to purchase in the next 12 months? Check all appropriate selections.
30____Centrifugal
31____Metering
32____Diaphragm
33____Vacuum
34____Vertical
35____Gear
36____Sludge/Slurry
37____Submersible
41____Both Metal & Plastic
50____$50M-$100M
51____+$100M
Number of Pumps to be purchased:
42____1-10
52____Will you be specifying variable
43____10-25
speed drives with your pumps?
44____25-50
45____50-100
Thank-you for completing parts I and II of
46____+100
the survey. Please turn now to the inside
back cover and complete parts III, IV & V.
38____Progressing Cavity
Approximate Budget for Pumps:
Will these Pumps be:
47____Under $10M
Then mail or fax your completed survey.
39____Metal
48____$10M-$25M
Remember to fill in your name, company
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40____Plastic
49____$25M-$50M
name
and contact
information.
October 2011
Serving Western Canadian Processors
Yara Belle Plaine
Saskatchewan facility cuts a
wide swath with new ownership
Miracle material
Can graphene live up to
its early rave reviews?
Counting on coal
Western Canada's 'other'
resource a global consideration
Bullish on bioenergy
Forestry to play larger
role in energy sector
ALSO INSIDE
Rethinking process seal standards
Decentralized energy and oilsands
How to deal with critical data loss
Swan Erickson Publishing Inc. / www.processwest.ca
40065542
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Volume VIII Issue V / October 2011
10
IN THIS
39
ISSUE
Features
Cover Story
10 PROCESSOR PROFILE
by Jamie Zachary
Yara discovers winning formula
in heart of Western Canada.
24 TECHNOLOGY
PROFILE
24
New single- and dual-process seal
standards are changing the playing field.
27 TECHNOLOGY PROFILE
by Ernest Granson
Can graphene, a single layer
of atoms, live up its hype?
by Jamie Zachary
Athabasca Oil Sands Corp. takes first
steps in potential TAGD commercial project.
36 SUPPLIER PROFILE: Precision Digital
Instrumentation specialists eye
the oilsands as key growth area.
by Scott Whitehouse
Management systems pays off for Connacher
at its SAGD plant in northeastern Alberta.
Columns
8
THE ENERGY SECTOR by Ian Verhappen
Coal: Western Canada's 'other' resource.
34 WATER & WASTEWATER by Glen Horne
Changing face of process control.
38 OPC Standards by Mustafa Al-mosawi
How to deal with critical data loss.
40 PROCESS SAFETY by Richard Carter and
Patrick Fisher: Risk exposure factor.
42 PULP & PAPER by Tony Kryzanoswki
Expect big things from the forestry
sector in power generation arena.
46 INSIDE THE PROCESS LOOP
by David Shillington
Decentralized energy and the oilsands.
Departments
6
EDITORIALLY SPEAKING by Jamie Zachary
Is new always better?
14 WESTERN NEWS & VIEWS
45 ADVERTISER / WEB DIRECTORY
PROCESSWest
October 2011
5
EDITORIALLY
SPEAKING
Our own Brave New World
T
Editor
Jamie Zachary
[email protected]
403.703-9339
his might not necessarily be the Brave
Daishowa-Marubeni International (DMI),
New World that Aldous Huxley en- meanwhile, is using more than $40 million
Sales Director/Publisher
visioned when he penned his iconic in funding through the Pulp and Paper
Michael Swan
1.800.572.4231
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1930s novel, but we are certainly living in Green Transformation Program to increase
the dawn of an era that will most certainly its power-generating capacity by 650 per
be characterized by tremendous technologi- cent increase over previous export levels.
Advertising Representative
cal change.
That's enough energy to power 10,588
Richard Owen
416.805.4778
From power generation in the forestry in- homes annually.
[email protected]
dustry to a “miracle material” that has the
Technological advancements are further
potential to revolutionize virtually every area reshaping the agriculture industry, where
Production Manager
of our lives, change is all around us.
fertilizer giant Yara Belle Plaine is introducing
Glen Scholey
905.642.1215
It’s a theme that plays very prominently in new technologies to Western Canadian
[email protected]
the October issue of ProcessWest.
farming practices.
Take Ernest Granson’s insight on
In this issue’s cover story, Yara Belle
graphene, for example — a material Plaine's Andrew Swenson discusses the
Circulation Manager
"nominated by many scientists, engineers company's new ‘N’ sensor, a tractor-mount
Shila Naik
Email for circulation Inquiries:
[email protected]
and entrepreneurs as the most promising mechanism that uses a light system that
substance this century — indeed, some say, reflects off the leaves of the plants to detect
even the last century."
how much nitrogen the plant is taking from
CONTRIBUTORS:
Granson writes that this enigmatic material, the ground.
a single layer of carbon atoms derived from
Heavily used in Europe, the sensor allows
Ian Verhappen
the mineral graphite, exhibits exceptional farmers to essentially map their fields – where
Glen Horne,
conductivity, strength, flexibility and weight they're deficient, where they're not.
Camenex Control Systems
Patrick Fisher and Richard Carter
that could lead to a wide variety of uses,
In addition, Yara Belle Plaine has entered
ACM Automation
from super-fast transistors for microelectronic the micronutrient arena. From copper to
Tony Kryzanowski
devices and circuits to building materials for zinc, and boron to magnesium, these addErnest Granson
Mustafa Al-mosawi
aircraft, when combined with polymers.
ons will help make crops healthier, improve
Matrikon
There is such a strong belief in the potential yields and protein content.
of graphene, notes Granson, that this past
”We’re trying to create efficiencies for the
Editorial Mailing Address
spring, the European Commission approved farmer,” says Swenson.
2805 Coopers Manor S.W. Airdrie AB T4B 3J8
a 10-year, $1-billion Euro research initiative
***
Advertising Inquiries
The October issue of ProcessWest also marks
to push for a technological breakthrough
1.800.572.4231
the return of our annual survey.
leading to large-scale commercialization.
PROCESSWest is published six times per year for
Wrapped around the front cover, the
“Graphene is usually described in
Western Canada’s process industries and other primary
& secondary manufacturing industries utilizing chemical
superlatives; it’s the strongest material survey, once completed, will allow us to get a
engineering processes.
known, the most lightweight, and mostly better feel of our readers' western purchasing
highly conductive. Its electrons move much plans. Not only will this help us to shape our
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today’s transistors,” Dr. Tapash Chakraborty, give you an opportunity to win an iPad2 just
professor of physics at the University of for entering.
Postmaster: Send returns to
The survey can be filled out and faxed or
Manitoba and Canada Research Chair in
4261 - A14 Highway #7 East, Suite 355
mailed to the number and address provided.
Nanoscale Physics, tells Granson.
Markham, ON L3R 9W6
Western Canada's forestry industry, Or complete the survey online at www.
Copyright 2010. All rights reserved. The contents of this
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no responsibility for the validity of claims in items reported
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of change, too.
or advertised. From time to time Swan Erickson Publishing
makes subscribers’ names available to reputable compaAs columnist Tony Kryzanowski points
***
nies whose products or services it is felt may be of interest
Speaking of iPads, October marks a big
out, the sector “is drowning in potential
to readers. If you would like your name excluded from
these mailings, please notify the publisher.
bio-fuel sources capable of being incinerated milestone for ProcessWest, with the magazine’s
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And let's just admit it: everything looks
example, is currently installing an anaerobic better on an iPad. Maybe it's time to start
hybrid digester at its Whitecourt, Alta., pulp running my photo then?
mill to pre-treat waste water and produce
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Zachary
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6
October 2011
PROCESSWest
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4 on processwest.ca/rsc
Coal:
by Ian Verhappen
D
Western Canada's 'other' resource
espite the conversation regarding clean
energy sources, coal will continue to be a
key energy source for years to come.
The majority of new energy required by China
is coming from coal-fired facilities. And unlike
past coal plants, these new units are incorporating the latest desulphurization and energy-efficiency technologies to “squeeze” as much energy
from each tonne of coal with a minimal impact on
the environment.
Globally, the International Energy Agency
predicts a 47 per cent net increase in demand
for coal from 2002 to 2030 — and this is before
recent nuclear incidents in Japan prompted calls
for alternate energy sources.
It should come as no surprise that the majority of this coal demand (48 per cent increase) is
coming from developing countries and regions
such as China, East Asia, South Asia, Latin
America and Africa. Economic development
requires energy because energy is required to proven global coal reserves are estimated to last
convert something from one state to another. It 118 years, with recoverable reserves in around
is also required to transport the materials of fab- 70 countries, thus circumventing the risk that
rication, as well as the finished product to and political instability could bring to sources of
from the place of manufacture.
supply. Canada is world’s seventh largest coal
In addition, as workers' standard of living im- exporter at 31 mt in 2010.
proves as a result of manufacturing activities,
Due to Canada's location near Japan and
their demand for power will also increase. So, in China, it is well-positioned to be able to export
effect, energy demand is an indirect indication to the growing Asian markets. At the end of
of the standard of living.
2007, 22 coal mines were operating in Canada
Coal currently provides 29.6 per cent of our — 17 of them in British Columbia and Alberta.
global primary energy needs, and generates 42 The two western provinces alone accounted for
per cent of the world’s electricity. In South Af- more than 80 per cent of Canada’s coal producrica, coal generates 93 per cent of the country’s tion.
electricity; in China, it’s 79 per cent. And deAs technology evolves, producers are also
spite being considered a “dirty form of energy,” realizing the potential of coal deposits that were
even the United States generates 45 per cent of previously too deep to recover. About 95 per
its electricity from coal.
cent of Alberta’s coal bed methane producers,
Coal comes in two forms: brown coal/lignite for example, come from the low-water, contentand hard coal. Approximately 85 per cent of the thin coal seams in the Horseshoe Canyon and
world’s production/consumption is hard coal, Belly River deposits, located approximately 200
which is used for making steel and heating.
to 800 metres underground. Approximately
In 2010, China produced 3,162 metric tonnes three times as much gas (239 versus 71 tcf of continue to play a role in the energy portfolio of
of coal, and consumed 2,516 mt. China current- reserves) are in thicker, deeper wet deposits such the two western-most provinces for many years
ly imports 177 mt per year, making it second as the Mannville formation at 900 to 1,500 to come, serving not only developing countries'
only to Japan (187 mt).
metres deep. Typical deposits are less than 50 growing export demands, but also chemical
plants and furnaces closer to home.
Approximately 13 per cent (around 717 mt) metres deep.
of total hard coal production is currently used in
The above discussion does not include the poAbout the Author: Ian Verhappen is a
the steel industry, while more than 60 per cent tential growth in syngas as a process for feedprofessional engineer, ISA fellow, certified
of total global steel production is dependent on stock for other petrochemical processes – with
automation professional and recognized
coal. The demand for hard coal used in the steel heat as a byproduct. One only needs to look at
authority on industrial communications
technologies with 25-plus years experience
industry changed little between 1990 (496 mt) South Africa and the well-known Sasol faciliin the hydrocarbon industry. Verhappen
and 2000 (585 mt), but it has almost doubled in ties to appreciate the opportunity syngas repreoperates a global consultancy Industrial
past decade. In 2010, the demand for hard coal sents.
Automation Networks Inc. in specializfor steel production is forecasted to be 938 mt.
Exports, syngas, coal bed methane and signifi- ing in industrial communications, process analytics and heavy
Fortunately, at current production levels, cant reserves in Western Canada mean coal will oil / oilsands automation. E-mail [email protected].
8 October 2011 PROCESSWest
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by Jamie Zachary
Yara Belle Plaine
Recent ownership change is the latest
for storied Saskatchewan fertilizer
plant as it prepares to turn 20
A
10
s far as milestones go, next year ny Cargill to build the nitrogen fertilizer
represents a big one for the sto- plant about 30 kiometres east of Moose
ried Yara Belle Plaine fertilizer Jaw, Sask.
plant in Saskatchewan.
Construction began on the $435-milIn October 2012, the facility will cel- lion plant in 1989, with it opening in to produce 700 tonnes of urea ammoniebrate 20 years — a remarkable achieve- October 1992.
um nitrate (UAN) per day.
ment considering the path it has taken
Originally designed to produce 2,000
In Octboer 2004, Cargill’s 50 per cent
to get there.
tonnes of urea and 1,800 tonnes of am- interest was moved over to Mosaic when
“This milestone represents a huge one in monia per day, the plant made $300,000 Cargill Crop Nutrition and IMC Global
the company’s history,” says Andrew Sw- in its first year of operations, and was re- merged.
enson, project manager of premium offer- portedly already accounting for 80 per
Then in 2008, Norwegian-based Yara
ings for Yara Belle Plaine Inc.
cent of the Ontario nitrogen fertilizer International ASA, the world’s largest
And that’s saying something for a plant market.
fertilizer producer, purchased Saskferdubbed by many as “one of the world’s
The plant expanded its urea produc- co, its nitrogen fertilizer plant at Belle
most efficient nitrogen production facili- tion in 1997, followed in 2004 by a Plaine and storage facilities in Saskatcheties.”
$20-million project that added an urea wan and Manitoba, from Mosaic and the
Yara Belle Plaine — originally Saf- ammonium nitrate (UAN) plant.
province in 2008 for a cool $1.6 billion
erco Products Inc. and later Saskferco
“We were able to secure a mothballed
Prior to the sale, Mosaic reported a toProducts Inc. — was created in the late plant and move it up here,” recalls Sw- tal of $435 million had been invested in
1980s when the Saskatchewan govern- enson.
the plant during its nearly 20 years of
ment partnered with U.S. grain compaThe 2004 expansion allowed the plant existence.
October 2011 PROCESSWest
“It didn’t fundamentally change the
way we did business because (Yara) bought
us because of the business that we were
doing,” Swenson says of the ownership
change. “You don’t spend $1.6 billion on a
company to change it a whole lot.”
At the time, the plant was annually
producing 650,000 tonnes of ammonia,
980,000 tonnes of urea and 230,000
tonnes of UAN.
Yara then completed an $84-million
expansion project at Belle Plaine that
was originally announced in late 2007 by
the former owners.
By 2009, the plant — now operating
at full capacity — was annually producing 1.12 million of urea annually — or
3,300 tonnes per day — and 725,000
tonnes of ammonia.
The urea, UAN story
Despite the increase in ammonia and
UAN production, urea remains Yara
Belle Plaine’s bread and butter, with the In addition to its 140,000-tonne storage capacity at Belle Plaine, Sask.
plant producing four or five times more (pictured), Yara also has a 70,000-tonne warehouse in Carman, Man.
Photos courtesy Yara Belle Plaine.
urea per day than UAN.
Urea is the most concentrated solid nitrogen fertilizer available (46 per cent), Home cookin’
Location, in fact, has played a big part
and has become the world’s major source
in Yara Belle Plaine’s success over the
of nitrogen.
It is made by reacting carbon dioxide past two decades. The plant’s primary
with anhydrous ammonia (NH3) under markets are the ones it operates in or near
to, particularly Saskatchewan, Manitoba
pressure and at a high temperature.
and
Alberta.
The process, known as “dehydration,”
Its
clients are typically retail outlets
removes the water and creates a molten
mixture that is further processed into ei- such as Vitara, Cargill and Richardson,
as well as co-op groups or smaller terther prills or granules.
UAN, meanwhile, contains 28 to 32 minals. Yara does not market direct to
per cent nitrogen, and is used where dis- farmers.
Yara also exports to the northern states
tribution and application techniques suit
such as North Dakota — Swenson says
liquid fertilizer use.
It’s produced by combining urea with the Canada-to-U.S. split is 70/30 split.
“We’re in an ideal situation,” he adammonium nitrate and dissolving it in
water. Many farmers prefer UAN be- mits. “We sit in the middle of the world’s
cause it can be applied more uniformly biggest market. So in terms of logistics,
than pellet fertilizer. It can also be mixed it’s benefitted the company a lot. We
with herbicides, pesticides and other nu- don’t have to send anything to B.C. to
trients, which allow farmers to reduce send it out of country, or anything like
costs by applying several materials si- that, which adds to the cost.”
To that end, Swenson doesn’t see much
multaneously.
growth
beyond the Prairies or northern
“It really comes down to preference,”
Swenson says of the difference between U.S. primarily because of how strong the
local market already is.
urea and UAN.
“Our market remains strong and
“Some people prefer using UAN
steady
... We live in the bread basket of
— they prefer using liquid for applicathe
world
and try to keep our product as Yara Belle Plaine manufactures four
tion purposes. Some people prefer to use
to five times more urea per day
close
to
home
as possible,” he says.
granulation. Sometimes it comes down
than UAN.
to what’s available and pricing, which is
Extending its reach
ever-changing.”
While Yara Belle Plaine’s primary mar- as monitoring mechanisms that control
Much of Yara Belle Plaine’s product is
ket
might not be changing, its services seed flow.
stored on site, with the plant being able
are.
“It’s so that you’re not over-seeding,
to hold upward of 140,000 tonnes.
New resources now available to the you’re not over-fertilizing, you’re not
Some is also transported to Yara’s
70,000-tonne warehouse facility in Car- plant as part of the Yara International over-lapping — it’s about creating effiman, Man., which allows the company to family is allowing the Belle Plaine loca- ciencies, reducing the cost to the farmbetter access the northern U.S. market, tion to turn its attention to new technol- er,” he says.
ogies such as precision farming.
To that end, the company is starting to
says Swenson.
Swenson notes there’s been a big drive market the ‘N’ sensor to Western Cana“It’s a closer distance and provides
direct access to North Dakota,” he says. in the agriculture community toward dian farmers. Already used in Europe, the
GPS and autosteer in tractors, as well sensor is a tractor-mount mechanism that
PROCESSWest October 2011 11
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and Infrared
provided for
personal use
only - not forConference!
reproduction or retransmission.
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Leading
Camera
Applications
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Use
employs a light system that reflects off the
leaves of the plants to detect how much nitrogen the plant is taking from the ground.
“Essentially what you’re able to do is
map your field — where you’re deficient,
where you’re not, where you have too
much,” says Swenson.
“The other thing is, once you’re out
there with a high-clearance sprayer, if
you’re doing a second application of, say,
liquid fertilizer, it monitors as you go and
sends a signal to the sprayer, or the boom,
to regulate the flow.”
Yara Belle Plaine is also entering the micronutrient arena — the coppers, zincs,
borons and magnesiums of the world. The
products, which the plant will be bringing
to Canada later this year from its parent
company’s plant in Pocklington, England,
are designed to make crops healthier, as well
as improve yields and protein content.
“They just need to be applied in a micro
way — just filling the voids that are in the
ground,” says Swenson.
“We’re leveraging Yara’s global ability,
and bringing it into Western Canada.”
Zero-discharge ponds at Yara Belle Plaine mean unusable water produced from the plant's manufacturing process is not put back into
streams or lakes. Photos courtesy Yara Belle Plaine.
world because they ran out of storage ca- removed. On that end of the business,
Weathering the storm
pacity,” he says.
we are trying to be as environmentally
While Yara International’s involvement
“Our particular plant moved what we friendly as we can.”
in the Belle Plaine plant represents a suc- needed to move, and stayed operating.
Swenson adds the push to become more
cess story, that doesn’t mean the facility This plant never in 20 years has been shut environmentally friendly has always been
hasn’t faced its share of challenges, par- down because there was too much inven- part of the company’s mantra for a numticularly in recent years.
tory — that’s uncommon.”
ber of reasons.
In the midst of its ownership change,
Further helping matters, was the price
“Let’s face it, with efficiencies come
Yara Belle Plaine, like many companies of natural gas — used in the manufactur- profits. It’s just something we always realat the time, was also realizing the ugly ing process of nitrogen fertilizer — fell ized — that it’s efficient for everybody.”
truths associated with the global reces- along with the other commodities.
sion. Prices of nitrogen fertilizer, like
Looking ahead
other commodities, dropped substantially Minimizing its footprint
New technologies, sustainable practices
during the worst of the economic downYara Belle Plaine was further able to and a new owner — it’s a lot to take in for
turn in late 2008 and early 2009, forcing weather the storm via a number of ena company, regardless of its age.
Yara to adapt, says Swenson.
vironmental initiatives that helped the
Yet for Yara, that, combined with rising
“The 2008 global crises did see us slow plant manage costs while also minimizing
consumer demand, is reason enough for
down ... and we didn’t see a big demand its eco footprint.
optimism, says Swenson.
again until spring 2009,” he says.
The plant uses zero-discharge ponds
“The global demand for food is increas“We very much are subject to world pric- that handle water left over after the maning exponentially. In order to feed a projing and world demand in this business be- ufacturing process. While the company
ect nine billion people by 2050, we will
cause so much of it comes from overseas. A recycles as much as it can back into the
have to produce more food, and nitrogen
lot of nitrogen production is in Saudi Ara- process, it’s still eventually left with water
fertilizer will play an important role in dobia, Europe, Australia and China.”
that is unusable,
ing that,” he says.
Yet unlike many others in potash, phos“But instead of putting into lakes or
“We anticipate that our markets will be
phate and nitrogen production, Yara streams, we have giant retaining ponds
leaders in feeding the world, so we anticididn’t get caught with any additional in- that are packed and lined with clay so that
pate the strong demand to continue well
ventory — partly because the company nothing can seep into the ground water,”
into the future.”
worked with customers to leverage addi- says Swenson.
tional storage capacity, says Swenson.
“They are also evaporation ponds. We About the Author: Jamie Zachary is the editor of
“Many plants shut down around the then have them dredged and responsibly PROCESSWest.
PROCESSWest October 2011
13
Oilsands
Former Greenpeace leader praises ‘responsible’
oilsands
Patrick Moore, co-founder and former leader of Greenpeace, says reclamation work under way in Alberta’s oilsands
demonstrates the resource is being developed in an environmentally
responsible way.
“I’ve seen the land reclamation progress at oil sands sites,” he
says.
“It’s a necessary, staggeringly complex process, and evidence shows
the land will be reclaimed as thriving ecosystems after oilsands are
developed to help meet the world’s growing energy needs.”
Moore, who released his book Confessions of a Greenpeace Dropout
earlier this year, is currently appearing in newspaper and television
advertisements in Canada as part of an information campaign sponsored by the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, which
represents 90 per cent of Canada’s oil and gas production.
Canadian Natural resumes horizon production
Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. has resumed synthetic crude oil
sales from its Horizon Oil Sands operation in northern Alberta.
This comes after some seven months after a fire that occurred in
the coker unit.
Production initially averaged approximately 75,000 bbl/d of SCO,
later ramping up to full production capacity of 110,000 bbl/d of
SCO.
Future job prospects in oilsands to remain healthy:
CAPP head
Canada’s oilsands and pipelines are job creators that enhance
North America’s energy security and economy through substantial
employment and government revenue, says the head of the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers
“Canada’s oilsands provides and continues to create significant
long-term, well-paid, skilled jobs in Canada and the United States,”
says Dave Collyer, president of CAPP, which represents 90 per cent
of Canada’s oil and gas production.
According to the Canadian Energy Research Institute, as oilsands
production grows, employment in Canada as a result of new investments in production and processing is expected to grow from
75,000 jobs in 2010 to 905,000 jobs in 2035, with 126,000 jobs
being sourced in provinces other than Alberta.
New oilsands development is expected to contribute more than
$2.1 trillion to the Canadian economy over the next 25 years –
about $84 billion per year.
The oilsands industry will also pay an estimated $766 billion in
provincial and federal taxes and royalties in the same period
Collyer’s comments comes in the midst of controversy surrounding Transcanada’s Keystone XL pipeline, which would link Alberta’s
bitumen deposits to the gulf coast of Texas.
Critics say the pipeline would result in shipping tens of thousands
of jobs to refineries south of the border.
Grizzly partners with Rockwell
Rockwell Automation Global Solutions has secured a $4-million
contract with Alberta-based Grizzly Oil Sands to develop a new process
automation system that’s expected to help produce more than 5,000
bpd at the first phase of the Algar Lake Project.
A shadow control room will be developed at Grizzly’s Calgary
5759 - 67 Street, Edmonton, AB T6B 0B4
780.469.6002 Fax: 780.469.3257
[email protected] • www.pickford.com
14
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copyright
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For reprints
headquarters to monitor and control the
company’s sites across northern Alberta –
particularly steam-assisted gravity drainage, an enhanced oil recovery technology
for producing heavy crude oil and bitumen.
The project also includes project management and engineering services, low- and
medium-voltage motor control centres and a
medium-voltage, variable-frequency drive.
Endress+Hauser, a global provider of
process field instrumentation and plantasset management solutions, will provide
instrumentation.
Grizzly Oil Sands is one of Alberta’s
largest independent development-stage oil
sands companies, with more than 280,000
hectares of oilsands leases and permits.
TAM expands to Leduc
TAM International Inc., an independent
oilfield services company providing inflatable and swellable packers, has opened a
new office in Leduc, Alta.
The 5,600-square-foot office is expected
to service a number of existing and prospective clients in central and northern
Alberta, says the company. TAM’s complete product line will be available with
the opening of the new office, including
swellable and inflatable zonal isolation
packers that are used in open hole, cased
hole, vertical and horizontal wells.
TAM is headquartered in Houston, with
subsidiary offices in Calgary, Aberdeen,
Scotland and Perth, Australia.
Energy
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www.ca.endress.com/flow
Commercial operation underway
at Keephills 3 coal-fired plant
Capital Power Corp. and TransAlta
Corp. have announced they have started
commercial
operation of their new 495Content is copyright protected and provided for personal use only - not for reproduction
or retransmission.
Endress+Hauser
Canada Ltd
1075 Sutton Drive
Burlington, ON L7L 5Z8
16
Shell head urges Canada to
adopt a more global strategy
Canada risks losing the opportunity to position itself as an energy superpower unless
it acts quickly to take advantage of a rapidly
changing global energy market, warns Shell
Canada president Lorraine Mitchelmore.
In a recent speech to the Canadian Chamber of Commerce in St. John’s, N.L., Mitchelmore said every major energy-producing
country in the world is going after the growing Asian market – except Canada.
“We are the only major oil and gas producer in the world that does not have access to a global market. All our eggs are in
one basket – the US,” she said.
However, U.S. demand for Canada’s energy products is not growing, she added,
and unless Canada diversifies its market, it
could be in trouble down the road.
“Right now, Asia is setting up its energy supply points and Canada is not one of them.”
Mitchelmore said Canadians are losing
about $50 million a day of revenue because
Canada does not have access to global energy markets.
“It adds up to $18 billion every year of
which $4 billion would be the government’s take. In other words, that’s $4 billion that could be used to provide services
for Canadians,” she said.
Tel: (905) 681-9292
1-800-668-3199
Fax: (905) 681-9444
[email protected]
What’s the easiest, most reliable way
to measure the level in solids?
SITRANS LR560 radar transmitter for solids level measurement.
Manufactured in Canada, this 2-wire, 78 GHz FMCW radar transmitter with Process Intelligence echo processing, aiming
flange, and an integrated narrow-beam lens antenna provides exceptional signal reflections. The Quick Start Wizard and
removeable backlit Local Display Interface allow you to be operational in minutes. With HART, Profibus or Foundation
Fieldbus communications, SITRANS LR560 provides reliability beyond your expectations.
www.siemens.ca/sitransLR560
Answers for industry.
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Solid Performance
OPTIWAVE 6300
a new biomass gasification system at the
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Battle Creek, Mich.
The 28 MMBtu/hr gasification system will
provide clean, carbon-neutral heat and power
to the health-care facility by generating 2 MW
of renewable electrical power and 14,000
pounds per hour of saturated steam.
The system is expected to allow the centre to cut its greenhouse emissions by approximately 14,000 tons per year, reducing its carbon footprint by approximately
80 per cent.
The total cost of the project is $18 million.
Encana adds natural gas facility
Encana Natural Gas Inc. says its new
compressed natural gas station in Strathmore, about 40 kilometres east of Calgary,
demonstrates the company’s commitment
to building the necessary infrastructure to
support a transportation future driven by
natural gas.
“We believe that natural gas as a transportation fuel has huge potential to improve the bottom line of its users,” says
Encana president and CEO Randy Eresman.
“Our vast North American supply of natural gas truly represents a domestic energy
solution and a way to further strengthen
the economies of both Canada and the
United States.
The Strathmore CNG station will fuel
Encana’s fleet of natural gas-powered vehicles, which now has 39 trucks converted
to run on natural gas in the company’s
Clearwater Business Unit encompassing
the Strathmore area.
Overall, Encana has 128 of its approximately 1,400-vehicle North American fleet
running on natural gas to date, as well as
15 drilling rigs.
The facility follows the recent openings of new CNG facilities in Fort Lupton,
Colo., and Sierra, B.C.
B.C. pledges support to
liquefied natural gas industry
B.C. Premier Christy Clark announced
earlier this fall that the province is taking
Powder, granulates and bulk solids
steps to create a prosperous liquefied natural gas industry and jobs, notably making
are no problem for the OPTIWAVE
the Kitimat, B.C., plant operational by
6300 C. Its narrow FMCW radar
2015.
beam produces accurate and
Clark noted the government will focus
reliable measurement - even in
on accelerating the lengthy permitting
dusty environments up to 260 feet.
processes and improve the decision making
The innovative drop antenna is
required to bring large-scale production
impervious to dust buildup - thus
facilities from a concept to a reality
minimizing maintenance.
She also said the province has engaged
with
key provincial officials to attract
KROHNE – Process engineering
enough investment to establish up to
is our world.
three LNG plants by 2020. The plant closest to reality currently is the Kitimat LNG
Email: [email protected]
terminal currently proposed by Apache Enbridge acquires Tonbridge
Tel: 1-800-FLOWING
Enbridge Inc. has closed its acquisition
Canada, EOG Resources and Encana.
www.krohne.com/northamerica
Once completed, the Pacific Trail Pipeline of Tonbridge Power Inc. for $20 million.
As part of the deal, Enbridge will also
will connect natural gas from the Western
repay
approximately $50 million of debt
Sedimentary Basin to the Kitimat facility,
and then transported to markets primarily incurred in the development of the Montana-Alberta Tie-Line power transmission
located in the Asia Pacific region.
project being developed by Tonbridge. EnNexterra announces new biobridge will also inject further funding to
mass system for Michigan centre complete the first 300-megawatt phase of
Vancouver-based Nexterra Systems Corp the project as well as a low-cost expansion
has signed a $6.9-million US contract for to 550 to 600 MW. The total cost to EnContent is copyright protected
and provided for personal use only - not for reproduction or retransmission.
Reliable, Efficient Radar Level
Measurement of Solids
18
megawatt coal-fired Keephills 3 generating facility in central Alberta.
The $1.98-billion project, located near
Lake Wabamun 40 kilometres west of Edmonton, is expected to be the most advanced
coal-fired plant ever built in Canada.
Keephills 3 is equipped with an advanced
air quality control system, which achieves
superior environmental performance and
uses new boiler technology, which features
higher boiler temperatures and pressures,
and a high-efficiency steam turbine.
Because less fuel is used, the facility will
emit approximately 24 per cent less carbon
dioxide in producing the same amount of
power previously generated by the Wabamun units that were retired by TransAlta
in 2010. Emissions of sulphur dioxide, nitrous oxides and mercury will also be reduced by 60 to 80 per cent in comparison
to the same amount of power produced by
the Wabamun units.
The facility also features a mercury emission control system, using activated carbon
injection technology, and a high-efficiency
particulate collection system, using fabric
filters (baghouse) to capture 99.9 per cent
of particulate emissions.
bridge for both phases of MATL is expected to be approximately
$300 million, of which approximately half is being funded through a
low cost 30-year loan from the Western Area Power Administration
of the U.S. Department of Energy.
The Montana-Alberta Tie-Line power transmission project is a 345kilometre transmission line from Great Falls, Mont., to Lethbridge,
Alta., designed to take advantage of a growing supply of electric
power in Montana, including green power production, and the buoyant power demand of Alberta.
Tonbridge also has a 200-km southern extension of the project, the
Green Line, in early development
B.C. petroleum, natural gas sale nets $24 million
The Province of B.C.’s petroleum and natural gas sale in October
resulted in more than $24.3 million in bonus bids, bringing the calendar year total to over $147 million.
The Oct. 12 sale offered 27 parcels in northeast B.C. covering
35,565 hectares. Eighteen parcels covering 18,797 hectares were
sold. The average price was approximately $1,295 per hectare.
Key parcels in this month’s sale included four drilling licences located in the Jedney-Bubbles area about 100 kilometres northwest
of Fort St. John, B.C. These four licences, covering 12,943 hectares,
earned $19.5 million in total tender bonus bids at an average price
of $1,507 per hectare.
Also notable were four leases located about 100 kilometres north of
Hudson’s Hope, B.C. in the Blair Creek region. These leases averaged
$1,221 per hectare, for a total tender bonus bid of $1.3 million.
Drilling licences provide the exclusive right to explore for petroleum and natural gas by drilling wells. They are acquired by the successful bidder at the Crown sale. Primary terms are three, four or five
years, depending on location.
The next sale, scheduled for Nov. 9, will offer 16 parcels covering
9,499 hectares.
RENTAL OF ELECTRICAL TEST EQUIPMENT + PORTABLE
INSTRUMENTS, FIELD TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE,
REPAIR + CALIBRATION TO N.I.S.T.
ERCB unveils changes to well-spacing framework
Alberta’s Energy Resources Conservation Board has announced
changes to its well-spacing framework for conventional and unconventional oil and gas reservoirs that is expected to allow companies
to better optimize resource recovery.
Hart / Fieldbus Communicators
Subsurface well-density controls for coalbed methane and shale gas
Meters and Calibrators
have now been removed across Alberta, and in certain gas zones in
Recorders and Dataloggers
southeastern Alberta.
In addition, baseline well densities have been increased from one
Flow meters
well to two wells per pool per standard drilling spacing unit provPressure Equipment
ince-wide for conventional gas reservoirs.
Temperature and Humidity
Centralized target areas for drilling spacing units will also be standard throughout Alberta, with the exception of a specific area in
southeast Alberta where corner target areas will be standard for gas
Cable and Fault Locators
reservoirs only.
Electrical Testers
And regulation amendments have been implemented which deHigh Voltage Testers
crease the complexity of the current spacing framework.
Transformer Testers
Well spacing relates primarily to the subsurface aspects of reservoir
development, and does not impact the rights of landowners with re9730-32 AVE, NW. Edmonton, AB
spect to surface development.
Canada, T6N-1L9, TEL (780) 434-0501
ERCB requirements for development of all surface facilities — such
1-800-667-RENT, FAX (780) 434-9116
as wells and pipelines, which include public notification requirements
and allows landowners to participate in ERCB processes — remain
www.AccutechRentals.com
unchanged.
Content is copyright protected and provided for personal use only
- not for reproduction or retransmission.
19
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Shell announces LNG expansion
Shell has announced it plans to have Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG)
available for heavy-duty fleet customers beginning in 2012 at select
Shell Flying J truck stops in Alberta.
Shell is pursuing engineering and regulatory permits to produce
LNG by 2013 at its Jumping Pound gas processing facility in the
Alberta foothills.
Pending regulatory approval, it will be the first investment of its
kind for Shell globally, and will include production facilities and
downstream infrastructure.
Until then, LNG will be supplied to the Shell Flying J truck stops
from third-party supply agreements.
Encana, Enbridge partner on B.C. gas plant
development
Enbridge Inc. and Encana Corp. have reached an agreement
whereby Enbridge will become the majority owner in the Cabin Gas
Plant Development located 60 kilometers northeast of Fort Nelson,
B.C., in the Horn River Basin.
Under the terms of deal, Enbridge will acquire a 57.6 per cent
interest in the first and second phases of the project, which will be
capable of processing 800 million cubic feet per day of natural gas.
Enbridge’s total investment is expected to be approximately $900
million.
The first phase of the development will have 400 Mmcf/d of natural gas processing capacity. The plant is currently under construction and is expected to be in-service in the third quarter 2012.
The second phase, which will add an additional 400 Mmcf/d of capacity, is expected to be ready for service in the third quarter 2014.
Water
WRI and partners launch Aqueduct Alliance
Bloomberg, the Dow Chemical Company, Talisman Energy and
United Technologies have thrown their support behind a new World
Resources Institute initiative that’s designed to assess and respond
to increasing water risk globally.
Referred to as the Aqueduct Alliance, the consortium of leading
water experts from the private and public sectors was founded by
WRI, Goldman Sachs and General Electric. The Coca-Cola Company is also engaged in the alliance.
At the heart of Aqueduct is a global database of water risk information that will enable companies, investors, governments and others to create water risk maps with an unprecedented level of detail
and resolution.
The maps generated by Aqueduct combine advanced hydrological
data with geographically specific indicators that capture the social, economic, and governance factors that affect companies and economies.
Agriculture
Agrium inks long-term rock agreement with OCP
Calgary-based Agrium Inc. has secured a long-term rock supply
agreement with OCP S.A. to purchase phosphate rock to supply its
facility in Redwater, Alta.
The phosphate rock from OCP will replace the material currently
supplied from Agrium’s mine at Kapuskasing, Ont. The move is expected to take place in the second half of 2013, when economic rock
www.universal-connectivity.com
reserves at Kapuskasing will be depleted. The agreement, pending
board
rock supplyoruntil
2020.
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For more information contact us at:
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© PHOENIX CONTACT 2011
Agrium’s Redwater phosphate facility accounts for approximately half of the
company’s phosphate production capability. Redwater’s annual rock consumption is
approximately one million tonnes.
Agrium developed the Kapuskasing mine
in the late 1990s to replace phosphate rock
which had previously been purchased from
Togo.
Forestry
Canfor resumes operations at
Vavenby sawmill
Canfor has resumed operations at its
Vavenby sawmill in the B.C. interior following a $24-million upgrade that included a new canter line, new grade optimizer
in the planer and an upgraded planer feed
system. At full production, Vavenby will
add 240 million board feet of SPF to company capacity on an annual basis.
Sask minister praises revival of
Big River sawmill
Saskatchewan Energy and Resources
Minister Bill Boyd says the sale of the sawmill near Big River, Sask., speaks volumes
about the commitment of companies and
communities to revitalize the province’s
forest industry.
Carrier Forest Products Ltd. announced
in early August that it was establishing a
new sawmill and planer mill development
in Big River, about 200 kilometres north
of Saskatoon, and has recently concluded
a purchase of the existing sawmill from its
previous owner.
“Big River is, and always has been, a forestry town,” says Boyd. “And it’s so gratifying to see a forestry leader like Carrier showing its confidence in this community and the
great business prospects it has here.”
Carrier expects that the sawmill and
planer mill will employ up to 110 people
when running at capacity.
The mill start-up is expected to coincide
with the re-opening of the pulp mill in
Prince Alberta, Sask., which Domtar sold
earlier this year to Paper Excellence, a unit
of Indonesia’s Sinar Mas.
22
The foundation, which is also celebrating
its 30th anniversary, announced Demers
Contracting Services is donating a 2002
CAT 160H Motor Grader in partnership
with Finning, which will supply parts for
the engine rebuild. The approximate value
is $125,000.
The foundation also announced that the
Quality Group of Companies is donating
a 2000 five-ton Digger Bucket, valued at
$75,000, while the CAT Rental Store would
provide be helping Keyano secure an aerial
work platform to be used for safety training. The Equipped for the Future initiative
was founded in response to the trades and
heavy industrial division’s need to cut lease
and purchase costs of equipment for use in
training. A total of 16 companies have donated to the program since its launch two
years ago.
Wajax unveils new brands for key
divisions
Wajax Corporation, a leading distributor
and service provider for equipment, industrial
components and power systems, has unveiled
new brands for its three key divisions, further
strengthening the Corporation’s national identity. The newly rebranded divisions include:
> Wajax Power Systems – This division combines Waterous Power Systems, DDACE Power Systems, and the recently acquired Harper
Power Products.
> Wajax Industrial Components – Formerly
known as Kinecor and its Peacock division,
this division’s 58 branches distribute, service
and repair industrial components.
> Wajax Equipment – Wajax Industries receives this updated brand name throughout its
31 branches, which reflects the division’s role as
a multi-line distributor of equipment.
Upcoming Events
Calgary to host inaugural Global
Clean Energy Congress
Calgary will host the Global Clean
Energy Congress Nov. 1-3
More than 500 delegates are expected to
gather in Calgary for the inaugural congress. In addition to keynote speakers, the
three-day conference will cover topics such
Industry
as fuels and generation; infrastructure and
Big boost for Keyano College
supply chain optimization; health and the
Foundation initiative
environment;
market transformation; and
The Keyano College Foundation recentinvestment
and
financing.
ly commemorated the second year of its
For more information, visit www.globalEquipped for the Future initiative by uncleanenergycongress.com
veiling three new donations.
Content
is
copyright
protected
and
provided
for
personal
use
only
not
for
reproduction
or retransmission.
Kinecor and Peacock are now proud
to be Wajax Industrial Components
We are a nationwide distributor of industrial components providing
technical solutions and services to all major industries across Canada.
Over the years our company has forged itself through the contributions
of numerous businesses, resulting in our present-day expertise.
Kinecor, one of Wajax Corporation’s three divisions, will now share
the Wajax name. The Wajax company has existed for over 150 years
and is largely recognized within the industrial sector of the Canadian
economy.
Kinecor and Peacock will begin operating under the Wajax
Industrial Components name on December 31st, 2011. Only the
QDPHRIRXUIDFLOLWLHV±KHDGRI¿FHGLVWULEXWLRQFHQWUHVDQGEUDQFKHV±
will change; their locations will remain the same.
1.866.546.3267
www.wajaxindustrial.com
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courtesy Bob Botwinski,
Magnetrol International, Inc.
Changing the face of single- and
dual-process seal standards
Recent developments create a new playing field
T
wo is better than one, right?
Applying this old adage is often
good guidance, but sometimes
it’s just not appropriate. Case in point:
comparing single- and dual-process
seals.
Over the years, well-defined standards have been established to address
the requirements for process sealing between an electrical system and process
fluids, where a failure could allow the
migration of the fluids into the electrical system. The primary audiences
for these standards are the owner/operators of process facilities and installers of
electrical equipment and instrumentation.
Definitions: process fluid,
seals
A process fluid is any liquid or vapor
used in, or byproduct of, an industrial
process.
A process seal, meanwhile, is a device
that prevents the migration of a fluid
from a designed containment into an
external electrical system.
Process seals are often grouped into
two categories: single and dual.
Single Seal: A device that incorporates a single sealing structure that is
considered to have a negligible probability of failure when used in accordance
with the manufacturer’s specification.
Dual Seal: A device that incorporates, along any single potential leakage
path, a primary process seal and one or
more secondary process seals such that
the failure of two or more independent
seals is required to allow migration of
process fluid from their designed containment into the external electrical
system.
24
International Society of Automation
Independently, the CEC required sec(ISA), National Fire Protection As- ondary seals must be provided between
sociation (NFPA), National Electric devices containing a primary seal and
Code (NEC) and Canadian Elec- conduit/cable seal, where failure of a
tric Code (CEC) have issued slightly single component in the device containdifferent standards for process sealing.
ing the primary seal could allow passage
More than 20 years ago, NEC process of process fluids.
sealing standards required the use of
In 2003, ISA required that dualProcess sealing standards
primary and secondary seals, and speci- seal devices incorporate a method that
history
fied that the secondary seals must be indicated or annunciated a primary
Although they all have the same goal able to withstand conditions equal to or seal failure (i.e., visible leakage, an auin mind, over the years the American greater than the conditions that caused dible whistle, or other means of moniNational Standards Institute (ANSI), the primary seal to fail.
toring).
In 2005 and 2008, the NEC modified its requirements for process sealing
to include the concept of dual seals consistent with the standards specified in
ANSI ISA-12.27.01.
The NEC still did not allow singleseal devices. The NEC modifications
required that either a device listed and
marked as a dual seal was installed, or
that the installer must add an external secondary seal (or other mitigation
technique) to the system. However,
during this same time period, CEC
and ISA changed their standards to
allow both single- and dual-seal approaches.
Reviewing all seals
Some process facility owners/operators
are replacing any equipment that has a
non-compliant seal with a device that
has a process seal that meets the ANSI
ISA 12.27.01 standard. These changeovers may be directed by local legislation or inspired by more stringent safety
practices.
On a case-by-case basis, owners/operators should review their equipment
with single-seal that are not covered by
the new standards. Some of these applications will be acceptable as-is; some
should be changed in order to be compliant with ANSI ISA 12.27.01.
Here’s an example. Consider a stainless steel thermowell isolating a temperature sensor from a process. A thermowell is considered a single-seal device
and covered by the standards. Since the
thermowell is a pressure-tight solid container, it has negligible chance of a failure.
It is a common and good engineering
practice to use thermowells for safely
separating electrical systems from a
combustible media and does not need to
be changed.
Alternatively, consider the same temperature sensor inserted directly into the
process with a single o-ring forming a
seal. Assume this process connection initially passes all standard agency testing.
However, over time, the seal could age
and weaken, thus allowing combustible
gases to pass.
This type of process seal has a significant chance of failure over time and
should either be protected by a secondary seal or replaced with an approved
single-seal device.
70 standards for process-sealing
methods have brought the current version of the NEC into alignment with
CEC and ISA standards. A new clause
(501.17) replaces clause 501.15(F)(3)
relative to process seals. The key statement in this clause is in the last paragraph:
“Process-connected electrical equipment that does not rely on a single process seal or is listed and marked ‘single
seal’ or ‘dual seal’ shall not be required
to be provided with an additional means
of sealing.”
In summary, the NEC now allows devices to be marked as either single seal
or dual seal per ANSI ISA-12.27.01.
The NEC and CEC reference the testing
standards as specified in the standard.
A Nationally Recognized Testing Lab
(NTRL) such as FM or CSA typically
provides the certification such these devices.
Meeting process sealing
requirements
Single seal qualifications: To be certified and marked as single seal, a device must pass the following controlled
tests:
> Leakage and burst: must not show
visible signs of leakage when subjected
to overpressure. The maximum pressure
requirements and duration are different
for different devices and are dependent
on the maximum working pressure.
> Temperature cycling: must not fail
when subjected to repeated changes in
temperature (150 temperature cycles).
A cycle is an increase and then a decrease in temperature of 10 to 15 K
starting from the manufacturer’s maximum rated temperature.
> Fatigue cycling: must not fail
when subjected to changes in pressure
(100,000 pressure cycles). First, 10,000
cycles from standard atmospheric to the
manufacturer’s maximum rate working
pressure, held for at least one minute,
and return to atmospheric pressure.
Then, 90,000 cycles from atmospheric
to maximum pressure for five seconds
and back to atmospheric.
worst case for the manufacturer’s rating
of the device.
Single versus dual: In a dual-seal
device, the primary seal must pass the
same leakage and burst tests as the single seal. However, this primary seal does
not have to be subjected to temperature
and fatigue cycling.
Further, the secondary seal on a dualseal device is pressure tested to much
lower pressures than a single-seal device (150 per cent of maximum venting
pressure for one minute for a venting
design, and 150 per cent of maximum
rated working pressure for a non-venting device). Neither the primary nor
secondary seals are required to be nearly
as robust as the single-seal device.
In summary, the requirements for a
single-seal device are more stringent
than the requirements for a dual-seal
device.
Installing the standard: The NEC
and CEC standards are written for the
installer of equipment, not necessarily
for the equipment manufacturer. Therefore, mitigation techniques are provided
by installers of equipment when a device
is not listed and marked single seal or
dual seal.
Of course, installers prefer to comply
with the standard without using any additional mitigation techniques — it is
more cost-effective and does not complicate the installation process. Therefore,
the easier way is for the installers to rely
on the manufacturer to include features
in their product that simplify the installation and make their product independently acceptable to the appropriate local standards.
One over two
The new NEC and CEC standards no
longer require secondary means of sealing a process-connected electrical device
when the device is marked single or dual
seal per ANSI ISA-12.27.01.
To gain a single- or dual-seal marking, the device must pass a strict series
of tests. Single seals meet a higher performance level than dual seals.
Further, the recent experience and successful application of single-seal devices
seems to indicate that owners, operators, and installers are more concerned
with meeting the required specification as simply as possible, rather than
the counting the number of seals used.
This can lead one to the conclusion that
two is not necessarily always better than
one; especially when you’re selecting
process seals.
Dual seal qualifications: To be certified and marked as dual seal, a device must pass the following controlled
tests:
> Leakage and burst: same as those
for the single-deal device.
Recent revisions to the
> Venting capacity: must account for
standards
the pressure and flow capacity of the
The new NEC edition has expanded worst-case primary seal failure. Pressure
its process-sealing standards and added is applied until the required annunciadetail as to what will meet the require- tion method (typically venting) has inments for installation of process con- dicated the primary seal failure.
nected equipment and the prevention of
> Annunciation: must be verified by
process material from getting into the failing the primary seal and applying About the author: Bob Botwinski is the guided
conduit of this equipment.
pressure to the device. The verification is wave radar product manager for Magnetrol
The 2011 update to the NFPA carried out under the conditions deemed International, Inc.
25
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19 on
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by Ernest Granson
Graphene: The miracle material
Can this single layer of atoms live up to its promise?
I
t has yet to be commercialized on a
large scale, yet graphene has been
nominated by many scientists, engineers
and entrepreneurs as the most promising
substance this century — indeed, some say,
even the last century.
This enigmatic material, a single layer
of carbon atoms derived from the mineral
graphite, is the subject of research around the
world, as well as countless publications and
much serious contemplation by industry.
“Graphene is usually described in
superlatives; it’s the strongest material
known, the most lightweight, and mostly
highly conductive. Its electrons move
much faster than the semi conductors used
in today’s transistors,” says Dr. Tapash
Chakraborty, professor of physics at the
University of Manitoba and Canada Research
Chair in Nanoscale Physics.
Graphene’s exceptional conductivity,
strength, flexibility and weight means it
could have a wide variety of uses, from
super-fast transistors for microelectronic
devices and circuits to building materials for This diagram of a graphene lattice illustrates a unit cell containing two
aircraft, when combined with polymers.
atoms – Atom A and Atom B. Illustration courtesy Tapash Chakraborty.
There is such a strong belief in the potential
of graphene that this past spring, the Graphene and the weirdness of
per unit cell where one carbon sits at each 120
European Commission approved a 10-year, quantum physics
degree corner,” he says.
$1-billion Euro research initiative to push
“That bonding explains why graphene
For the non-physicist, it could be difficult to
for a technological breakthrough leading to grasp the logic behind graphene’s properties is considered stronger than steel, while the
large-scale commercialization.
that make possible its seemingly limitless flexibility is as a result of its single layer, two
It may not take 10 years for some applications. But then again, logic is usually dimensional formation.”
graphene-based products to be brought to out the window when it comes to relativistic
Graphene burst onto the physics scene in
market though. Last year, IBM researchers quantum physics, which happens to be the 2004 with the publication of the paper Electric
demonstrated a 100-gigahertz graphene logic under which the graphene operates.
Field Effect in Atomically Thin Carbon Films in
transistor, although the main researcher,
Technically speaking, electrons moving the journal Science. Authors Andre K. Geim
Yu-Ming Lin, stressed that graphene in its through the structure of graphene are subject and Konstantin Novoselov, professors at the
current form wasn’t capable of replacing to quantum electrodynamics (QED) as opposed University of Manchester in England, along
silicon as the main component of circuits. to quantum mechanics. One phenomenon with fellow professors, described how they
However, this past spring, it seemed that within QED theory called “perfect quantum extracted graphene by mechanical exfoliation
IBM researchers had worked their way tunneling” allows for objects, such as electrons, (repeated peeling) of small mesas of highly
around a number of obstacles to build the to pass through energy barriers without any oriented pyrolytic graphite. In practical terms,
first integrated circuit based on a graphene resistance. This property, and also the conical- a flake of carbon with a thickness of just one
transistor.
shaped bands in graphene that cause electrons atom was obtained using regular adhesive tape.
Other near-future commercial possibilities to behave as if they are massless, moving at This came at a time when many believed it was
include graphene film for use in flat-panel 1/300th the speed of light, accounts for the impossible for such thin crystalline materials to
displays such as smart phones or tablets, substance’s super conductivity, Chakraborty be stable.
technologies into which both Samsung and says.
Geim, Novoselov and colleagues went on
Nokia have placed significant investment
“The single layer of carbon atoms which to explain the surprisingly high quality of
for research. It’s been suggested that those forms graphene is made up of extremely electron transport they found for a film of
products could be ready for use in several tightly bound atoms which form a honeycomb such thickness, suggesting the properties of
years.
or hexagonal lattice with two carbon atoms graphene would make it a more than ideal
candidate as a metallic field-effect transistor,
at least for in the future. For their research
into this material, Geim and Novoselov were
awarded the 2010 Nobel Prize in Physics.
While graphene, as a viable product has only
come to the forefront in the last 10 years or so,
graphite has long been considered as a useful
mineral, going back to, at least, the Aztecs who
used it as a marker. It wasn’t known in Europe
until the 1400s, but was thought be lead at the
time. When a large, pure deposit of graphite
was found in England in 1564, it became the
main source for marking utensils which, at that
time, were known as “lead” pencils.
In 1779, Swedish chemist K.W. Scheele,
recognized for his major role in discovering
oxygen, determined the mineral was not
lead, but carbon after realizing that burning
graphite resulted in carbon dioxide. The term
graphite was given to the mineral in 1789 by
well-known German scientist and geologist
Abraham Gottlieb Werner.
Acute academic interest into graphite led to
the discovery of several notable characteristics
of graphene long before it became designated Energy dispersion relation of graphene (as derived by Philip Wallace).
The lower band is completely filled and meets the totally empty band
as an isolated substance.
It was a Canadian physicist conducting at the K point. Illustration courtesy Tapash Chakraborty.
theoretical research into graphite to understand
its electronic properties who pointed out a nanotubes, which are also essentially graphite, a layer of carbon is formed onto a graphene
number of significant observations that still he first attempted to create thin layers of film. The film can then be transferred to a
graphite by using polishing equipment to flexible polymer.
hold relevance to today’s research.
What’s significant about this technology is
Philip R. Wallace, then with the National reduce a piece of graphite,. He later reverted
Research Council of Canada’s Chalk River to the less hi-tech method of using Scotch tape it shows promise of larger-scale production,
Laboratory at Chalk River, Ont., published his to peel away the layers of graphite. The tape and the graphene maintains its important
Band Theory of Graphite in 1947, in which he was dissolved and the layers were placed into electronic properties even with the film being
bent or twisted.
explained graphite’s unique electronic energy solution.
More recently, another team of MIT scientists
Geim said the experiment didn’t actually
band structure and, essentially, paved the way
result in single-layer graphene, but in a injected compounds of bromine or chlorine
for the discovery of graphene.
German chemist Hanns-Peter Boehm is substance about 10 layers thick; thin enough, into a fragment of graphite. The compounds
also considered a pioneer in the development however, to show promise of eventually penetrated in-between layers, pushing the
layers slightly apart. When the graphite was
of graphene. Using transmission electron obtaining a single layer.
“Now that the remarkable properties of dissolved, it naturally came apart where the
microscopy and X-ray diffraction, Boehm and
co-workers isolated and identified graphene graphene have been confirmed, the objective is added atoms were, forming graphene flakes
sheets in 1961 — although there is some to find other ways of controlled growth of the two or three layers thick, and much larger
in surface area. This resulting structure also
controversy about whether his results are substance,” says Chakraborty.
For instance the School of Physics at Georgia produced the crucial band gap necessary
technically considered isolation of layered
graphene since what was actually produced Tech has been working on the epitaxial to control electron flow, and allowing the
were graphene flakes that were placed on technique where wafers of silicon carbide are graphene to act as a semi-conductor.
The lack of a band gap has been one of the
thin nitrocellulose films for microscopic heated to 1,000 C, evaporating the silicon, and
major
obstacles in the development of graphene
leaving carbon layers, — in essence, graphene.
observation.
“There was some difficulty in achieving a material as a viable successor to silicon. It
Boehm and his colleagues produced the
graphene flakes by oxidizing bulk graphite single layer, but they are able to do this because, should be noted that numerous other research
with a potassium/sulfuric acid solution and even if there several layers, when you grow the groups around the world are also zeroing in on
using dilute sodium hydroxide to enlarge the layers they rotate slightly and de-couple,” says removing this barrier.
Chakraborty.
resulting interlayer graphite spacing.
“So that’s one controlled manner to grow Moving ahead with
There is no dispute, however, Boehm’s
overall contribution toward graphite research. graphene. This technique is being used by a commercialization
While there is considerable effort taking place
In 1994, as part of a committee and co-author number of research groups at companies such
into graphene research, it’s important to point
of a paper for the International Union of Pure as IBM.”
Another promising method is chemical out there are already numerous commercial
& Applied Chemistry, he helped officially name
and describe the various graphite compounds, vapor deposition, says Chakraborty. The efforts aimed at bringing graphene into full
Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s commercial production. Vorbeck Materials
including the newly identified graphene.
Geim’s work with graphene began in Electrical and Computer Science Department, Corp., based in Jessup Md., produces graphene
2002 when he arrived at the University of led by Jing Kong, as well as the SKKU using a thermal exfoliation method patented
Manchester from the University of Nijmegen in Advanced Institute of Nanotechnology and by the Aksay research group at Princeton
the Netherlands (and originally, from Moscow Center for Human Interface Nano Technology, University.
Vorbeck CEO Kristen Silverberg, explains
Physical-Technical University and the Institute Sungkyunkwan University in Seoul, South
of Solid State physics in Chernogolovka, Korea, have had considerable success with this the Vorbeck process intentionally introduces
method, in which methane gas is flowed onto a “wrinkles” into the graphene sheets to prevent
Russia).
them from restacking.
like nickel.
It’s cooled
Becoming Content
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- notwhich
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“Much like a sheaf of paper, if the individual
sheets of paper lie flat, it’s easy to restack
them,” she says.
“If each individual sheet is slightly wrinkled,
it prevents the stack from reforming.”
The process used at Vorbeck has the
advantage of cost-effectively producing
commercial quantities of high-quality graphene
using standard industrial equipment.
Some researchers have explored other
exfoliation methods using bursts of energy
or chemicals to produce graphene. Other
researchers have attempted to produce
graphene including by growing it epitaxially
— that is, growing one crystal structure on
top of another crystal structure.
Silverberg says Vorbeck is the only company
authorized by the Environmental Protection
Agency to produce graphene for use in
commercial products. Vorbeck commissioned a
ton-scale production plant in 2007. Two years
later, it became the first company to launch a
commercial product using graphene with the
launch of the Vor-ink product line of graphenebased conductive inks for printed electronics. SEM micrograph of a strongly crumpled graphene sheet on a Si wafer. It
MeadWestvaco, a leading packaging company, looks like silk thrown over a surface. Lateral size of the image is 20 miis using Vor-ink in a new packaging product crons. Si wafer is at the bottom-right corner. Photo courtesy K. Novoselov,
designed to deter theft.
University of Manchester.
In addition to its existing line of grapheneFurther testing, Agnihotri says, allowed
based conductive inks, Vorbeck expects to be the batteries. yet still an order of magnitude
first company to sell graphene-based batteries. slower than electrolytic capacitors. Research researchers to project a cycle life of two million
Last year, the company — in collaboration with into ultracapacitors began in the 1970s, but discharge/charge cycles before end of life,
the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory it’s only been in the recent decade that their compared to a half to one million cycle life for
operated by Battelle Memorial Institute, a potential as a longer-term energy storage a conventional ultracapacitor.
“These results were very exciting,” he
private, not-for-profit research organization, device has been recognized.
Graphene Energy acting CEO Dr. Dileep says. “And to get the graphene products into
for the Department of Energy — announced
a co-operative research and development Agnihotri says ultracapacitors, with their commercial production will not take any
agreement to develop Li-ion battery electrodes increased capacity for energy storage, have extreme reconfiguration of existing products.
using Vorbeck’s unique graphene material, Vor- become possible alternatives to lead acid The current super and ultracapacitors are
basically jelly-rolled cells ranging from coin
x. These new battery materials could enable batteries for hybrid vehicles.
“We compared the energy generation size to large soda cans. The graphene products
electronic devices and power tools that recharge
in minutes rather than hours, or function as part capacity of traditional activated carbon based shouldn’t be much different.”
Just as importantly, Agnihotri says their cost
of a hybrid battery system to extend the range ultracapacitors of about five watt-hours per
kilogram weight to that of lead acid batteries analysis shows that, using graphene, overall
of electric vehicles.
Vorbeck is also active in developing composite with 30 to 40 watt-hours per kilogram and production costs can be reduced by as much
materials using graphene in partnership with to lithium batteries of more than 100 to 150 as 40 per cent.
“The cost per watt/hour stored is what
several large companies, as well as the Army watt-hours per kilogram,” says Agnihotri.
“We were aware of the growing use of matters most,” he says. “On that metric, when
Research Lab.
“We believe graphene has enormous potential ultracapacitors in use at train stations for we are in full scale production, it will cost
to transform a number of industries by enabling stopping and starting trains, and with China’s two-and-a-half times less than the current
dramatic performance improvements at a low- use of the device in buses. Given this data, we technology.
“A major cost for ultracapacitors using
had to ask if there might be a role for this new
cost,” Silverberg says.
activated carbons is quality control. However,
Graphene Energy Inc. of Austin, Tex., is material of graphene.”
Based on research undertaken by researchers with high-quality graphite as the raw material,
also pursuing graphene’s potential for efficient
energy storage. However, this type of storage at the University of Texas in Austin — including that quality control is much easier to manage
will be in the form of an ultracapacitor that well-known professor, Dr. Rodney Ruoff, who and therefore less expensive. Even the packing
can store and quickly deliver energy in a short began studying graphene in the early 1990s material will cost less since less is required to
and who leads the U of T’s nanoscience and store same amount of energy.”
amount of time compared to a battery.
The company is confident about its technology
Capacitors, from which ultracapacitors are technology lab — the company began testing
derived, have been used for years to regulate ultracapacitor cells that contained graphene component, including current research and
and smooth out power output for electronic electrodes. Agnihotri says they were surprised technology, and partnership talks are underway.
Its future steps are to set up a pilot project,
circuits in common appliances,. They are also to learn the power capability and speed
used to temporarily maintain a power supply improve dramatically compared to electrodes with a timeline of about 12 to 18 months, and
then to contract a third-party manufacturer for
made of activated carbon.
while a battery is being charged.
“Typically, there should be a discharge cycle full-scale production.
The energy stored in a capacitor, though,
is generated electrostatically, as opposed of 0.5 Hz, which means every couple of seconds
About the Author: Ernest Granson
to electrochemically as in a battery. The the capacitor discharges and then charges. The
is a Calgary-based writer and
ultracapacitors utilize the storage based on graphene-based cell tested to a range of five
editor,
and a regular contributor to
to
10
Hz,
which
means
it
can
charge
in
one(electrochemical) polarization of ions in an
PROCESSWest.
electrolyte which is still much faster than quarter of a second or less.”
by Jamie Zachary
Leduc
TAGD
Leduc
SAGD
SAGD in
oilsands
Turning down the heat
Athabasca Oil Sands Corp. explores TAGD technology
W
hile many are turning up the
heat in Alberta’s oilsands, one
company is turning it down.
And in doing so, it hopes a new spin
on a decades-old technology will pay big
dividends.
Athabasca Oil Sands Corp. (AOSC),
which operates in the northern Alberta
oilsands, is currently in the middle of a $35million pilot project at its wholly-owned
Dover West property located approximately
90 kilometres northwest of Fort McMurray
that involves using electricity instead
of steam to heat bitumen deposits and bring
them to surface using conventional wells.
30
The process, known as thermal-assisted
gravity drainage (TAGD), was originally
developed in Sweden during the Second
World War to crack oil from source rocks.
It has the potential to be more efficient
than traditional steam-assisted gravity
drainage (SAGD), in that it uses less
heat. And less heat, of course, means less
money.
“You waste a lot of energy when you
have to heat it so much, so we expect lower
heating costs with TAGD due to that,”
says AOSC president and CEO Sveinung
Svarte.
If the testing is successful, TAGD could
^ Pictured top: In January
2011, AOSC drilled two,
250-metre horizontal wells
and four observations wells
to pilot test thermal-assisted
gravity drainage for six to
10 months. After freeze-up,
the company will turn off
the lower heater and
produce bitumen from the
bottom well. On the left is
steam-assisted gravity
drainage wells at Dover West.
Illustration courtesy AOSC.
Content
is copyright protected and provided for personal use only - not for reproduction or retransmission.
PROCESSWest
October 2011
further open up a Cretaceous-age oilsands
with approximately 2.0 billion barrels
of contingent resource, in addition to
approximately 2.7 billion barrels of
contingent resources in the Devonian
age Leduc carbonate formation.
“This test is designed to heat only a
small portion of the reservoir to gain
valuable information and enable us to
take important steps forward towards
a commercial-scale project,” Svarte told
investors earlier this year.
The challenge for AOSC is, instead
of conventional oilsand, the bitumen at the
Leduc formation is encased in limestone,
meaning it’s harder to concentrate
high-pressure steam evenly through the
rock.
TAGD, however, could potentially be
used as a low-pressure alternative.
“It’s the same as the rocks that made
Alberta famous when they discovered
the Leduc field in 1947 by Imperial
Oil,” says Svarte.
“It’s carbonate, not sandstone. It was
proven by the Leduc wells by Edmonton.
Those light oil field there probably had
the best productivity you’ve ever seen.”
Heater
producer
Heater
OBS
Well #1
OBS
Well #2
OBS
Well #3
OBS
Well #4
Athabasca’s thermal assisted gravity drainage uses electric cables
to conductively heat the Leduc carbonate reef at Dover West.
Illustration courtesy Athabasca Oil Sands Corp.
Customized Solutions
A01037EN
How it works
Heather Douglas, AOSC vice-president
of communications and external affairs,
likens TAGD to in-floor heating, in
which you put cables underneath the
floor and then flow hot water through
to heat the surface.
For AOSC, it started by drilling two
horizontal wells in the Leduc carbonate
reef this past January. Each well was
approximately 250 metres long and 10
metres apart.
The company followed that with four
vertically drilled observation wells.
The company then inserted mineralinsulated heating cables — not unlike
the heating coils you would find on a
traditional electric stovetop — into two
horizontally drilled wellboxes, and left
them there.
The company expects to leave the
Thanks to the special AC-Trim, Customized valve designs made of
cables in until later this year. In January,
SAMSON’s modular valves op- special materials such as titanium,
erate perfectly even under the Hastelloy, or Duplex steel allow even
it anticipates removing the cable in the
most severe operating conditions. critical media to be controlled relilower well, at which point it will start
Multi-stage plugs or seat-guided, ably and safely.
producing.
shape-optimized parabolic plugs
in combination with carefully sized Special features such as hard-faced
In the meantime, the company is
attenuation plates ensure that your trims, anti-wear sleeves, ﬂushing,
expected to apply for a TAGD pilot of
plant runs at considerably reduced and heating jackets for the valve
up to 12,000 barrels per day later this
noise level even at high pressure body and bellows ensure the smooth
operation of your plant.
year, with regulatory approval coming
drops.
in late 2012 or early 2013. Following
www.samsoncontrols.com
[email protected]
construction, start-up would be expected
SAMSON CONTROLS INC.
in late 2013 or early 2014.
1-105 Riviera Drive, Markham, Ontario L3R 5J7
Because the rock at the Leduc
905-474-0354 • 1-800-7-SAMSON • Fax 905-474-0998
formation is so permeable, Svarte says
Sarnia, ON
519-383-0922 • Fax 519-383-0534
they won’t have to heat the wells to
Montreal, PQ
514-947-0354 • Fax 450-629-5830
Edmonton, AB
780-464-3338 • Fax 780-464-9998
steam temperatures in order to get the
Calgary, AB
403-244-7026 • Fax 403-244-7069
bitumen out.
Cincinnati, OH
513-235-8510 • Fax 513-829-2579
Steam temperatures are typically 230 C,
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use only
PROCESSWest
October 2011
31
whereas work so far indicates the AOSC
can get the bitumen out at 130 to 140 C,
says Svarte
“What we’ve seen thus far at the
observation wells is the temperature is
rising as we had predicted, so our model
seems to be supported by that,” he says.
TAGD is relatively new to Western
Canada. Shell Canada has experimented
with electrical heating at its Peace River
oilsands holdings. While it was reportedly
considered a technical success, it’s not
known if it was ever a commercial
success.
“It has been done on a pilot basis (in
Western Canada), but the operator heated
it up to 500 to 600 C, because they wanted
to use it in rock that’s much tighter, and to
gasify it in the reserve well,” says Svarte.
“And that works, it’s just a question
of cost. When you heat that high,
intuitively you can think the costs much
be enormous.”
AOSC has partnered with Shell Canada
on the Leduc test, wherein Shell will share
its experience in TAGD in exchange for
first results from the wells.
TAGD versus SAGD
In addition to heating variations, TAGD
and SAGD differ in the use of water, adds
Svarte.
“There’s no water involved in the TAGD
process. If you’ve seen a SAGD plant,
there’s typically a large water-processing
facility. So while we’ve had to drill more
wells (for TAGD), that’s far offset by the
savings we do on the (water treatment)
— possible a third or less than you would
typically see on a SAGD project,“ he says.
New Product Highlights and
Hot Promotions Fall Flyer
Iff your BHD insert is missing ffrom this issue,
please call 800.565.3317
or visit www.bhd.ca
There are also a lot of operational
synergies between TAGD and traditional
SAGD, adds Svarte, notably the coalgeneration facility.
“Coal-generation takes exhaust gases
from when you burn the gas from steam
generation,” he says. “It uses those very
warm gasses to generate electricity.
The problem is this is very elegant for
producers, but those producers get too
much electricity, and there’s very little
value to sell it to the grid. With TAGD,
you have an electric need next door.”
The future of TAGD
While TAGD offers access to previously
untapped plays that were previously too
expensive to explore, it’s not expected to
replace mining of SAGD anytime soon,
admits Svarte.
Yet he’s quick to add that every
technology has the start some where.
“There could be some niche areas where
you could use it, especially where it’s too
deep to mine but too shallow to SAGD,”
says Svarte.
“When you have an area that’s 70 to 100
metres mining is getting too expensive,
while SAGD is too shallow to sustain the
pressure on the steam.
Instead, TAGD is positioned to be
complementary to processes such as
mining and SAGD.
“All technology starts at a place. People
start develop hybrids, and you never know
what will happen,” says Svarte.
The mineral-insulated heating
cables were expected to heat the
bitumen to 130 to 140 C.
Top photo courtesy stock.xchng.
Bottom photo courtesy Athabasca Oil
Sands Corp.
and provided for personal use only - not for reproduction or retransmission.
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Content is copyright protected and provided for personal use only - not for reproduction
or retransmission.
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Where are we headed?
WATER TREATMENT
by Glen Horne
D
Process control in water, wastewater treatment
uring a recent a conversation with a
newly graduated engineer, I casually
mentioned something about circular
chart recorders. His confused stare made me
realize two things: One, he had no idea what a
circular chart recorder was; and two, I must be
old, because I did.
I have been in the instrumentation and
control business, in various capacities, for
nearly 40 years. And when I stop and think
about it, the changes that have occurred in this
industry over that period truly are amazing.
I was fortunate in the early years of my
career to work on some of the earliest SCADA
(Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition)
systems — before the word SCADA had even
been created.
That was before the days of integrated
circuit chips, never mind microprocessor chips.
System designers invented ingenious methods
of using electromechanical relays to multiplex
and measure analog signals — massive
circuit boards full of discrete transistors were
connected to encode and decode RTU station
addresses. You have to admire the genius that
went into a tank level measuring instrument
that bounced a motor-driven float off the
surface and converted that time interval into
a “time-duration-modulated” electrical signal
that could be transmitted down a leased wire
line and decoded many miles away.
The paradox here is although the technology
has changed, it really hasn’t that much.
Granted, we can measure parameters more
accurately, control a process more precisely and
move massive amounts of information faster.,
yet the underlying technology has not changed.
The design of the sensor bead used in a pH
monitor has remained largely unchanged over
the past several decades. In fact, the theory
behind a magnetic flow metre was discovered
by Michael Faraday more than 150 years ago,
while the PID controller predates the Second
World War.
What has changed, however, has been the
microprocessor chip, which has improved the
accuracy, reliability and connectivity of these
instruments.
In years' past, there was a well-defined
pecking order for new technology. NASA got
first crack — not surprising because they likely
funded the research and development behind
it.
Next, the military acquired the rights,
followed by the aviation industry and finally, as
the technology became affordable, it entered
the industrial and then consumer domains.
Now, that process has been reversed, whereby
the technology begins at the consumer level
and migrates upward through the industrial,
aviation and military domains. A good example
of this is wireless Ethernet, which began as a
consumer product, only later to be accepted in
industry.
Process control for water and wastewater
facilities continues to undergo change that
is unparalleled in any other process industry.
Quickly becoming one of the most regulated
industries, it also holds the greatest potential
for implementation of new technologies.
Tighter water quality regulatory standards and
increasing public expectations are combining
with new technology to change the way these
systems operate.
Basic process control of 20 years ago, focused
on simply running the plant, has evolved into
complex systems utilizing intelligent, predictive
control and extensive online reporting. Today,
the general public often has access to real-time
operational data from their local water plant
through the Internet.
Public expectation is arguably the most
influential driving force in the changes we are
seeing in water and wastewater treatment. The
public is continually increasing its expectations
for higher quality drinking water, while also
becoming ever more cynical of government
regulators’ ability to ensure a safe, quality
product. Recent high-profile incidents in
several Canadian municipal water systems have
exposed vulnerabilities in a regulatory system
that, until then, was taken for granted.
So where are we headed?
> Connectivity is arguably the most quickly
evolving area of process control — everyone
wants to remain connected. The days of the
massive, central control room are disappearing.
The control room is now wherever the plant
operator is. Internet connectivity and the use of
smart phones and tablet computers bring critical
plant information to the operator. Ten years ago,
this was just wishful thinking. Today it is reality.
Connectivity goes beyond simply getting the
information to the plant operators. Everyone
also wants to know everyone else’s business.
Connectivity extends to all departments. The
accounting department wants real-time access
to water-meter readings. The purchasing
department wants access to plant floor data
to ensure chemicals and other supplies are
replenished. Management wants to oversee
the entire operation. And then there are the
government regulators.
> There is also an insatiable thirst in process
control for more — more accuracy, more speed,
more memory, more data, more information.
Drinking water used to be analyzed for
just a few parameters: chlorine, turbidity
and pH. That has now extended to heavy
metals, pesticides, pharmaceuticals and other
contaminates. Where concentrations were
once measured in the parts per million range,
regulators are now demanding measurements
into the parts per trillion.
> Traditional control systems, such as
feedforward and PID, blindly rely on fixed
mathematical relationships between the various
parameters in a process system. In water and
wastewater process control, intelligent control,
such as artificial neural networks, are beginning
to appear in many areas to predict the results
of complex control processes where the physical
or mathematical relationships between the
various parameters are either unknown or are
too complex. Unlike traditional systems, these
intelligent systems have the ability to learn
plant-specific behavior without requiring specific
knowledge of the underlying relationships.
All of these factors will influence the future
direction of process control for water and
wastewater treatment.
Twenty years ago, process control was largely
limited to simply “making it work” — ensuring
the water was there when the tap was turned
on. New consumer awareness and regulatory
standards — combined with the availability
of the new technologies in control, monitoring
and reporting — will undoubtedly change the
face of process control in this industry in the
coming years.
About the Author: Glen Horne has 30+ years of
experience in a range of process control, including HVAC,
water & wastewater, petrochemical
and manufacturing settings. He has
extensive experience in design, installation, and commissioning of control
systems, as well as teaching to engineers,
scientists, technologists and operators.
Glen served as National Director of
the Canadian Council of Technicians
and Technologists in Ottawa from 1997 to 2001 and is a
regular columnist with PROCESSWest. Glen is the President
of Camenex Control Systems Ltd, based in Edmonton. His
company specializes in water and wastewater treatment,
process control & instrumentation. Glen can be reached at
www.camenex.com, telephone 1-888-483-9439.
SRP control systems ltd.
Instrumentation & Calibration Instruments
www.srpcontrol.com
[email protected] • 1.800.268.2605
Repair & Calibration Services • State-of-the-Art Calibration Services • ISO 9000, QS 9000 & FDA Compliance
NOSHOK 625 & 626 CSA
Intrinsically Safe Pressure
Transmitter
STS Sensor ATM/N/T
Pressure & Temperature
Depth/ Level Transmitter
• Designed for pressure
measurement in hazardous
locations
• Fully submersible 0.94"
diameter
• Ranges: 0-40" WC to 0-360
PSIG
• Pressure ranges: 0 to 50 in H2O
through 0 to 60,000 PSIG, or
0 to 15 PSIA through
0 to 300 PSIA
• Other ranges and pressure
units can be specified
• Dual outputs: 4-20mA, 0-20mA,
0-5 VDC or 0-10 VDC
• Accuracy: ±0.25% full scale,
±0.125% F.S. optional
• Material: 316L stainless steel or
titanium
• Factory Mutual and CSA
approved
• Standard threaded connection or
flush diaphragm configuration
PRODUCTS FOR WATER & WASTEWATER TREATMENT
PMC MTM 3000
Miniature Depth / Level
Transmitter
L070/L070HP Series
Side Mount Float Switches
• Available to 5000 psig
• 10mm (0.39") diameter
• All stainless steel
• Fully submersible
• May be used Normally-Open
or Normally-Closed
• Titanium with 5 year corrosion
warranty
• Operates on falling or rising
level
• Ranges: 0-15 PSI to 0-500 PSI
• Other ranges and pressure units
can be specified
• Interface capabilities
• Accuracy: 0.10%, 0.25%, 0.5%
• Available with on-board
5 amp DPDT relay
• Reliable reed switch action
• Output: 4-20 mA, 0-5 VDC or mV
• UL, FM, CSA approved
Toronto - Head Office
19-5155 Spectrum Way, Mississauga, Ontario L4W 5A1
Tel: 905.238.2880 • Fax: 905.238.9590 • Toll Free: 1.800.268.2605
Vancouver
Calgary
Tel: 403.736.0508
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604.451.7300
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Precision Digital Corp.
Oilsands growth key for instrumentation specialists
F
or more than 35 years, Precision Digital
Corp. has been an industry leader in the
manufacturing of digital display and
control instrumentation utilized primarily in
industrial processes worldwide.
Headquartered in Holliston, Mass, the company’s motto is “Simplified information where
and how you want it.” Its products — which
range from line- and loop-powered indicators
and rate/totalizers to scanners, annunciators,
temperature indicators and controllers — are
used mostly in flow, level, pressure and temperature applications. As a result, Precision
Digital has been involved in everything from
refineries, water/wastewater facilities and
even bakeries, to a growing presence in the
Western Canadian oilsands market.
PROCESSWest asked the following
questions, and here is how Precision Digital
representatives responded.
Describe your corporate mission
“Precision Digital is committed to be the
premier supplier to the process instrumentation industry. Precision Digital supplies digital display and alarm instrumentation, monitoring and control devices, and data-logging
products. Our vision is to play an integral role
in the success and competitiveness of our customers.”
36
Describe the beginnings of your
company
“Precision Digital was started in 1974 by
Charles Jack Peters. In the late 1970s, we
introduced our first digital displays and over
the past 30 years have been improving and
expanding on these products.”
Describe the growth over the
last decade
“During the last five years, Precision Digital
introduced a number of new instruments —
from various panel meters to explosion-proof
products. These products, and their constant
promotion resulted in significant growth for
the company — we held our own through the
recession. During the last two years in particular, growth has been excellent.”
Have any extraordinary
challenges or opportunities
contributed to growth?
“Our hazardous area product volume gave
us the opportunity to tool up on our own
series of modern explosion-proof enclosures,
which led to the introduction of more than
200 new models for hazardous locations.
“Along with this and a steady stream of other new products, we have made a significant
effort at training our staff and key distribu-
tors. We continue to conduct formal on-site
and off-site training, webinars, and create application and product highlight flyers, as well
as quite informative literature.
“The Internet is an extraordinary opportunity we have been capitalizing on, and with
tremendous success. In the last 12 months,
we have increased traffic to our website by 43
per cent. We are certain that Internet marketing continues to be a major factor in our
growth.”
highlights in terms of sales,
growth and technology?
“New product development and promotion, especially during the last six years, has
grown Precision Digital’s sales significantly. Constant feedback from our customers
is logged, routinely reviewed and acted
upon by top management. This feedback
resulted in new features and functions, new
products, and better ways to serve our customers.
“New explosion-proof enclosures, with patent-pending design, allow us to bring our
powerful safe-area meter technology into
hazardous areas; fulfilling numerous customer needs and desires. This includes Precision
Digital’s new ProtEX-MAX product family.”
Content
is copyright protected and provided for personal use only - not for reproduction or retransmission.
PROCESSWest
October 2011
What are your major markets?
“We serve most of the major process markets with a high percentage of our products
being used in level and flow applications.
Many of these applications are in hazardous
areas for which we have a very wide variety of
meters/controllers.”
What are your current Western
Canadian growth or ’hot’
markets?
“Instrumentation needs for oilsands mining
are big for us, especially relating to the sales
of our hazardous area products.”
Will these markets endure, or are
you looking to other markets for
future opportunities?
“Precision Digital is constantly identifying
other markets/niches that would be good for
us. Even the instrumentation needs of the existing markets are changing, as new technology is adopted (i.e. wireless communications
and more digital communications in general).
Precision Digital is also working on several
products for the water/waste water market
that will utilize full color graphical displays.”
How will your company evolve
over th
the nextt decade?
d
d ?
“Evolving technologies are definitely playing a very large part in the evolution of the
market place. Instruments are becoming
friendlier, but more sophisticated. The ProVu meter, for example, is many times more
sophisticated than meters sold just five years
ago; but the software interfaces make it easy
for the user to configure and use the product.
“Looking ahead, more sophisticated designs
will also allow products to be tailored to very
specific industries, and include features targeted for their applications. Some work on
these application-targeted products has already begun.”
Are new technologies in your
market offering new sales
opportunities?
“Yes. As instrumentation technology becomes more advanced and lowers in cost,
Precision Digital is more capable than ever
of providing complex monitoring and control solutions in small, low-cost meter packages.
“The advances in microprocessors and
display technologies in particular, have
revolutionized what meters can offer in increased performance and features. This has
allowed Precision Digital to design products that are simple to use, but that can
now satisfy more demanding local display
and control applications. Earlier generations of panel meters and hazardous-area
instruments could not accommodate these
opportunities.”
What gives your company a
competitive edge?
“Precision Digital takes pride in having industry leading service (No. 1 in MCAA Customer Survey) and product reliability. Great
new products make up more than half of our
sales and bring many more functions and features sought by our customers.”
How does your company excel?
“Precision Digital offers a complete and
current line of versatile products to the process industries. Precision Digital is an ISO
9001 company with solid management systems in place, and excels by having a welltrained staff and distribution network in
place.
“Precision Digital’s renowned service
and reliability gives us very high customer
retention. Precision Digital has a comprehensive product line for flow, level, temperature and pressure measurement and
control.”
What would you describe as the
heart and soul of the company?
“The heart and soul of Precision Digital is
our attention and dedication to our customers
by all of our employees.”
What makes customers return to
your company?
“Surveys have told us our competitively
priced products, excellent delivery and service, and high product reliability are the
three major factors for returning to Precision Digital, and for recommending us to
others.”
Describe one of your company’s
most interesting orders?
“What we find most interesting about
our orders is where they end up. Precision Digital’s meters can be used almost
anywhere — they can be found in trains,
planes, helicopters, trucks, power plants,
dams, breweries, tank farms, refineries, water/wastewater facilities, bakeries, cosmetic
factories, NASA, farming equipment and
yachts.”
What do you like best about
g business in Western
conducting
Canada?
“The growth in the oilsands operations
in Western Canada and our wide offering of explosion-proof products (200-plus
models) has proven Western Canada to be
a great place for Precision Digital to do
business. ”
For more information about Precision Digital, visit
www.predig.com, or contact Bill McTighe, wmctighe@
predig.com, 89 October Hill Rd Ste 5, Holliston MA
01746-1378.
PROCESSWest
October 2011
37
Importance of being critical
How OPC deal with critical data loss
W
by Mustafa Al-mosawi
ith data, as in life, it’s easy to lose
sight of the critical in the hurlyburly of the important.
Important data is like a roof over your
head or food on the table: most people
wouldn’t want to imagine life without it,
but under extreme circumstances, we can
do without for short periods of time.
Critical data is like the air we breathe
— lose it for even a short while, and the
impact is disastrous.
Analogies aside, it’s clear we should
take care of our critical data. But how do
we differentiate critical data from good ol’
important data?
If you don’t already have a method,
consider a risk matrix. It’s simple and easy
to use. At MatrikonOPC, we use a risk
matrix for releasing our OPC Software and
for health and safety. A risk matrix compares
the likelihood of an event with its impact to
see if action needs to be taken.
Once you determine, based on the risk
matrix, if any action needs to be taken,
consider what form should that action take?
Do you tackle the likelihood or impact first?
How much to spend?
The real downside is the touchy feely,
qualitative information. Business decisions impact of $200,000, then the risk exposure as 75 per cent reliability). In this scenario,
— and decision-makers — demand hard is $10,000.
I could spend $50,000 on the solution and
numbers.
That means I could spend $10,000 on come out ahead.
Once you’ve determined the critical data,
You can get a good estimate if you have mitigating that risk by reducing the likelihood
reasonable information on the likelihood of failure, or by reducing the impact is there are quite a few options available:
the
telecommunication
that data will be unavailable (as a percentage money well spent. If the cost goes up, or the upgrading
probability), and the dollar impact of lost communication reliability goes down, then I backbone, modifying the equipment to hold
data on-board, introducing redundancy or
data.
can justify spending even more.
It’s common to have reliability ratings
Often,
critical
data
is
spread adding on-site store-and-forward.
One of the most cost-effective ways of
instead of failure ratings for equipment. geographically, along a pipeline, within
Thankfully, calculating the failure probability multiple buildings or manufacturing sites. avoiding losing critical data is an OPC Hub
from reliability ratings is simple.
In this scenario, each location has its own and Spoke solution, such as MatrikonOPC’s
If the reliability of the system is 99 per communication backbone with its own OPC Buffer with History Link.
Built on the OPC-DA and HDA
cent, that is the same as a one per cent reliability rating.
probability of failure. Likewise, a 95 per
When you are dealing with multiple open standards, it will connect any end
cent reliable system has a five per cent locations, the probability of data loss is equipment to any corporate data store,
probability of failure.
cumulative. Although the reliability of any across a wide variety of communication
Once you have calculated the probability one connection is still the same, and the backbones, ensuring your critical data gets
of failure, you can just multiply the likelihood of all the connections failing is to its final destination.
probability by the impact to get obtain your vanishingly low, the likelihood of any one
About the author: Mustafa Al-mosawi, BSc,
current risk exposure. The risk exposure is connection failing is the sum of the failure
is Matrikon’s product manager
the baseline used to calculate the amount of rates at each site.
for Matrikon Analytics. He has
money that is worth spending to mitigate
eight years' experience in design,
If we expand the earlier example, to five
development, commissioning and
that risk.
sites, each with a 95 per cent reliability
testing of industrial software products.
For example, if I had data coming across rating wireless connection, then that is
Prior to his current role, Al-mosawi
a wireless radio at 95 per cent reliability, equivalent to having one site that is 75 per
was a senior product designer for the
and I were to lose data that is required cent reliable (five x five per cent failure rate
Matrikon Suite of products, including
by a regulator or used for billing, with an is 25 per cent failure rate, which is the same Operational Insight, Alarm Manager, and TaiJi PID.
courtesy Scott Whitehouse,
Endress + Hauser
Database, density profiling at work
Management system pays off for SAGD plant
W
hen Connacher Oil and Gas Ltd.
completed the commissioning of its
Algar steam-assisted gravity drainage
(SAGD) plant in northeastern Alberta on time
and under budget, it had the Endress+Hauser
W@M Life Cycle Management system partly
to thank.
Following construction of the company’s
Pod One SAGD plant in the Great Divide oilsands, Connacher revealed a number of shared
resources and best practices that would allow
it to accelerate completion of its Algar plant.
That meant being able to simultaneously start
up multiple systems, and to do so required a
Endress+Hauser’s W@M Life Cycle Management system can provide
dynamic instrument database.
“We needed manufacturer-level access to in- details for just about every piece of equipment at Connacher’s Algar
formation,” says Herve Laforest, maintenance plant in northeast Alberta. Photo courtesy Endress+Hauser Canada.
coordinator at the Algar plant. “We didn’t have
the time or the people to dedicate to putting bit (finished bitumen with diluent) content count interface windows of any size with the use of
this information together, so we requested that of five parts per million. The cleaner the water is multiple sources and/or scintillators.
The system determined fluid levels through
W@M implementation be added to the deliv- when it leaves the free-water-knock-out (FWKO)
vessels, the easier and more cost effective the rest density readings at various heights in the vessels.
erables of the Algar project.”
Endress+Hauser technicians verified the in- of the water treatment process becomes. Con- At Algar, four scintillator units were applied to
stallation of all instruments and transmitters nacher learned, through Pod One, that produc- the exterior design of each of the two FWKO
involved in the project, and created the W@ ing clean water and oil from the initial emulsion vessels, with a single, low-level, gamma-ray
source inserted inside.
M online database with access to model details, can be a costly and labor-intensive challenge.
To
ensure
neither
the
water
nor
the
bitumen
To implement the Gammapilot solution, the
process connections, updated manuals, TAG
numbers, calibration certificates and details of leaving the FWKO vessels was fouled, identify- Endress+Hauser Gamma team first demonstrating the interface level and thickness was critical. ed that the nuclear technology was safe. Then, a
original order numbers.
Information on all the instruments and trans- Initially, Connacher monitored the level with collaborative team determined the correct source
mitters was available through the W@M portal radio frequency probes, but found they weren’t strength and position in the FWKO vessels, and
the infrastructure was developed to communicate
prior to commissioning. The database’s format well-suited for the task.
“The problem was these probes only had the pertinent data to the control room when the
was customized to Connacher’s needs, allowing
the commissioning team to export spreadsheets, about a seven- to 10-inch window for measure- system was running in automatic mode.
review all the materials and create the facility’s ment and control. We found the interface swings The Gammapilot payback
much more than this,” says Dean Bannister, an
first inventory list of spare parts.
The success of the DPS solution has signifiW@M was also set up to assist with pro- instrument technologist with AMEC BDR who cant implications for the Algar SAGD facility,
curement when replacement instruments were worked on the project. “The other problem was its operations and profitability:
required. The online portal allowed customers the probes got coated with sludge and became
>Accurate interface level measurement reduces the number of oil contamination upsets in
to create catalogues specific to their needs, fa- dead inside the vessel.”
As a result, the Great Divide FWKO vessels the FWKO vessels’ produced water outlets.
cilitate online ordering and track orders through
had
to be operated in manual mode — this was a
> Cleaner water from the initial separathe supply chain. Details could be made availhuge drain on labour, and was subject to human tion point allows the de-oiling process to run
able for every piece of equipment in the facility.
error. Connacher needed a measurement solution smoothly. That, in turn, reduces the amount
As equipment at the new Algar SAGD plant
that could monitor a wider range in the interface
wears down or becomes obsolete, W@M was de- level, reliably operate automatically and not be of chemicals used to help clean out the excess
bitumen from the produced water flow, and
signed to help Connacher engineers manage and fouled by sludge in the vessel’s interior.
minimizes shut-downs at the numerous water
identify the optimal replacement instruments
In the end, Endress+Hauser gamma-ray
effectively, source those products and document density-profiling measurement technology was treating facilities.
their installation into the plant’s operations.
employed. Gammapilot FMG60, the density
profiling system (DPS) model used at Algar, For more information, please contact:
Compliance with regulations
Government regulations demand that 95 per was a compact transmitter for non-contact fluid Scott Whitehouse
cent of water produced in each SAGD plant li- density detection. The DPS units implied inter- 905-681-4386
cence is reused. This water is then cleaned to a dil- face levels using internal software and measured [email protected]
PROCESS SAFETY
by Richard Carter
and Patrick Fisher
P
Risk exposure factor:
A profitable safety metric
rocess safety is a difficult subject. All
Risk w/o Safeguards
Risk w/ Safeguards
plants accept risk on a daily basis, and
Causes
Consequences
Sev.
Lik.
Exist. Safeguards
Sev.
Lik.
most processes cannot be profitable without some risk.
1. Valve upstream of
1.1.1.1. Damage $100k to 1 per 3y
1. PALL-400 will
$100k to 1 per 20y
The challenge comes when trying to quanC-100 Compressor
to C-100
$1,000k
shut down C-100
$1,000k
tify the risk and ensure the right risk decisions
inadvertently
closed.
Compressor.
are being made during design and operation.
Compressor.
internals;
Process incidents that occur at high freeconomic
quency but with a low consequence are well
impact.
quantified and mitigated, as the mitigation is
often low cost.
What is most ignored and least mitigated the profit generated by that plant. It is cal- is one in 20 years (five per cent chance per
are the incidents that occur in low frequency culated using good quality hazard and oper- year), and the risk exposure is $550,000 x
but with severe consequences, such as explo- ability study (HAZOP) or layer of protection 0.05 = $27,500.
analysis (LOPA) data. Each consequence in a
Repeating this calculation for the full
sions, oil spills and sour gas releases.
Compared to the well-mitigated minor HAZOP is risk ranked by likelihood of the in- HAZOP from which the above example was
events, the financial costs of these events are itiating event and severity of the consequence. taken, and adding all of the individual risk
difficult to quantify. If such a value can be cal- Non-monetary consequences can be given a exposures together, the risk exposure before
culated, safety can go from a cost centre to a dollar value based on the expected cost and safeguards for the entire compressor station is
experience with past incidents.
$109 million. When the safeguards already in
profit centre, known as profitable safety.
By multiplying the likelihood that a given place are taken into account, the risk exposProfitable safety is about maximizing profits by avoiding process incidents. Hazardous hazardous event will occur by the cost of that ure after safeguards is $19.7 million.
Based on the expertise of the HAZOP team,
events, plant outages and partial production event, it is possible to get a prediction of the
losses all impact profitability by decreasing average amount that one scenario will cost the risk exposure shows this company could
revenue while increasing operating costs. due to upsets each year — this is the risk ex- potentially lose $19.7 million per year in revenue due to damage to equipment and lost
Safeguards reduce the frequency of process- posure for the consequence.
The individual event risk exposures can be production during downtime after incidents,
safety incidents, but can be costly to install,
maintain and test. Profitable safety ensures combined to give a risk exposure for the en- even with existing safeguards. The safeguards
the added costs of the additional safeguards tire facility, which can then be compared to in place are important to have, as they will save
the company $89 million per year.
are offset by the savings gained from the addi- the profits generated to calculate the REF.
The well pad produces an annual profit of
tional protection against incidents.
$5.5 million by producing $100,000 worth of
Profitable safety is not possible without Calculating the REF
quantifiable metrics. Most current safety
The steps involved in determining the REF are: gas per day at a profit margin of 15 per cent.
metrics are based on personal safety indica- > Calculate risk exposure for each HAZOP Dividing the facility risk exposure by the
profit gives the REF $19.7M/$5.5M, or 3.6.
tors, such as lost time injuries, fatalities and scenario.
near misses. While these factors are import- > Sum all scenarios to find total risk exposure This number appears to show an unprofitable
facility. Yet if the HAZOP recommendations
ant for personnel safety, they cannot be used for the facility.
as process-safety metrics, because, historically, > Divide the risk exposure by the predicted are implemented, the REF is greatly reduced.
The key components to a meaningful REF
there has been little or no correlation between annual profit of the facility.
personal safety and the severe, low-frequency
The example pictured top right is a portion of are good quality HAZOP data, consistent
HAZOP methodology across the company
events that contribute most to the loss of a HAZOP for a well pad compressor station.
plant profitability.
For this scenario, the economic impact is and strong assumptions about the revenue
New profitable safety metrics are required between $100,000 and $1 million. For ease generated by the facility in question.
By varying the assumptions about the futo try to quantify the cost of the risk exposure of calculation, the midpoint of $550,000 is
ture market price and production of the facilof these events.
used.
The risk exposure factor (REF) is one metric
The likelihood before safeguards is one in ity, it is possible to perform a sensitivity anbeing developed to do exactly that. The REF three years, or a 33.3 per cent chance this alysis on this data in order to make an better
not only predicts expected long-term costs consequence will occur in a given year. The informed decision.
due to process incidents, but also compares risk exposure is impact multiplied by proboperating facilities across industry. Similar to ability, or $550,000 x 0.333 = $183,150. Using the REF as a
how blood pressure can be used to compare This means that without any safeguards in decision-making tool
likelihood of health complications between place, it is expected that, on average, this
The REF is also a strong decision-making
people, the REF can be used to calculate pro- company will spend $183,000 repairing this tool for the implementation of additional
cess safety risk between plants.
compressor due to the inadvertent closure of safeguards. It can be used to compare the cost
The REF compares how much money a one manual valve.
of any additional safeguard with the predicted
plant is expected to lose due to incidents to
With safeguards in place, the likelihood financial benefits to be gained.
In the example on the previous page, if all
of the additional layers of protection proposed
as recommendations are implemented, the
risk exposure after recommendations is $3.7
million. This yields a REF of $3.7M/$5.5M,
or 0.67, which is reduced from 3.6 before recommendations.
This reduction in risk exposure from $19.7
million to $3.7 million can be used as part of a
simplified return on investment calculation.
Based on the HAZOP data, implementing the safeguards will save $16 million per
year. A rough estimation of the cost of the
recommendations was $5 million. Assuming
this value is correct, return on investment in
the first year alone is up to 320 per cent. This
allows for safety to be quantified as profitable
rather than as a cost, and allows for that profit
to be maximized.
Comparing facilities across
the industry
A doctor considers the blood pressure of a
patient compared to the average blood pressure of the population at large. In a similar
manner, the REF can be used to compare risk
across a company or an industry.
The REF is normalized to the profit generated by a facility to allow safety performance
to be compared between plants of different
sizes in different locations producing different products. The operating organization can
set a goal for all their facilities to achieve and
compare this against the performance across
the industry. Companies with a low REF can
quantify their commitment to safety, and
therefore maximum profit. Companies with a
higher REF have a quantifiable goal to reduce
the risk to an acceptable level, and a tool to
determine the most effective places to spend
the money to achieve it.
By comparing different facilities within one
operating organization, it quickly becomes
apparent which locations are the leaders in
profitable safety and which need to review
their safety philosophies to achieve the standard set by the company and by industry.
A Profitable Safety Analysis allows safety to be quantified as profitable
rather than a cost, and allows for that profit to maximized.
Illustrations courtesy ACM Facility Safety.
operating facilities. Yet these do not provide
an accurate prediction of safety performance
in the future. In the same way that the high
blood pressure of a seemingly healthy person
may indicate an impending health issue, the
REF provides a prediction of the process safety
performance of the plant. Since it is calculated
from the HAZOP data, it includes the expertise of the operations, maintenance and engineering personnel that attended the analysis.
Using the REF in real time can facilitate
operator decisions when they matter most,
and track the process safety record of a plant.
Instead of relying on personal safety metrics
such as lost time injuries, decision-makers can
quantify risk and turn costly safety into profitable safety.
The REF can be used to compare risk
across a company or an industry.
About the authors: Patrick Fisher (Machu Picchu operations
lead) and Richard Carter (profitable safety specialist) of
ACM Facility Safety may be contacted for more information
by e-mail: [email protected] and [email protected]; or
phone: 403-264-9637.
Real-time REF
The REF can also be used on a day-to-day
basis to determine the current risk level of the
plant. By monitoring which safeguards are
functioning correctly and which are bypassed
or in need of maintenance, the same HAZOP
data (including any updates made as the plant
operates) can be used to determine the REF
on any given day.
This gives a clear view of the cumulative effect of several safeguards being out of service,
as the REF will rise accordingly. It also allows
facility personnel to view the current operating risk in terms of annual profit, which
provides a more concrete number than other
available metrics.
By tracking the REF, a history can be displayed to demonstrate the facility REF over
any period of time. This can be used to highlight any past events with high risk.
Companies can also use an REF on a day-to-day, or month-to-month,
There are many well-established metrics basis, thus providing a clear view of the culmative effect of several
being out
of service.
for tracking Content
the pastissafety
performance
of andsafeguards
copyright
protected
provided for personal
use only
41
Only the beginning:
by Tony Kryzanowski
I
Expect big things from forestry in power generation
n the Forest Products Association of only program allowed pulp and paper million from the Alberta government to
Canada and FPInnovations' Future Bio- companies located in Canada to claim invest in a new $50 million power turbine
pathways initiative, regarded by many $0.16 per litre for the black liquor generator at its Grande Prairie, Alta., pulp
to be the industry's road map at least for they produced at their mills between mill. With the investments, the company
the next decade, it identified production of Jan. 1, 2009 and Dec. 31, 2009. Capped at $1 expects to sell 27 megawatts annually to
bio-energy as the lowest-hanging fruit for billion, companies had to spend the credits the Alberta grid by next summer.
achieving economic diversification.
they received over a three-year period on
Weyerhauser is also spending $70 million
Looking at the infrastructure surround- capital expenditures that improved energy to install a new seven-effect evaporator
ing the forestry industry, is that any won- efficiency and environmental performance train at its Grande Prairie pulp mill that
der, particularly in provinces where the at pulp mills.
is expected to improve energy efficiency.
Other programs, such as Canada’s The company hopes the train will free
electricity market is either partially or fully
deregulated? The industry is drowning in Economic Action Plan and the Canada up to 100,000 pounds of steam per hour,
potential bio-fuel sources capable of being EcoTrust for Clean Air and Climate which can then be directed to the mill's new
incinerated directly to drive stream tur- Change, have had similar positive impacts turbine and power generator.
bines or converted to fuels such as syngas on the environment. The results have not
Al-Pac is also using $63 million in
and bio-diesel.
only created more efficient pulp mills and funding from the Pulp and Paper Green
Being a fan of advances in alternative enhanced their ability to produce power, Transformation Program to allow its pulp
energy, I was surprised to hear one well- but also demonstrated new technology.
mill near Athabasca, Alta., to supply 20
respected Alberta senior bureaucrat who
A good example of that is the $17.5 megawatts of power to the grid by the end
works regularly with the forestry sector million granted to Miller Western Forest of the year. It hopes to increase that to 60
comment that typical pulp recovery from Products as part of the Canada EcoTrust for megawatts per year within five years, or
raw wood chips is only between 42 to 45 per Clean Air and Climate Change initiative. enough power to supply 21,000 homes.
cent. Lignin, or black liquor, makes up the The funding is helping the company
So it just goes to show that with the right
single largest by-product at about 30 per install an anaerobic hybrid digester at its stimulus, it is possible to fuel investment into
cent. Most forest companies incinerate by- Whitecourt, Alta., pulp mill to pre-treat new, alternative energy technologies, which
products such as lignin to generate some, waste water and produce biogas, which will will have us all breathing a little easier.
if not all, of the heat and power needed to be used to generate electricity.
Yet, I can’t help but notice the naysayers
produce pulp.
Slated for completion in two years, the claiming it will take a massive investment
No mystery here. It all makes sense pulp mill is expected to draw 6.2 fewer program for these types of new bio-energy
— except when you look at that 42 to 45 megawatts of power from the power grid sources to really make a dent into consumer
per cent recovery rate. No wonder pulp annually.
demand.
producers are having difficulty attracting
West Fraser’s Slave Lake, Alta., pulp mill,
Truth is, we haven’t even scratched
investors when a production process meanwhile, is using $5 million in funding the surface of what bio-based fuel can
captures less than half of the commercial from Alberta’s Climate Change and Emissions do to become a leading source of power
value of the raw material.
Management Corporation to integrate an generation in Canada. Organizations such as
As a result, most Canadian producers energy-efficient digestion system into its the Canadian Wood Fibre Centre (CWFC),
are using by-products such as lignin as operations. The system will treat effluent a division of FPInnovations, would love
substitute energy sources, and then using and generate methane-rich biogas, which will to find someone willing to take a greater
it as fuel to power add-on generators that then be used to generate electricity and heat interest in what they have developed in its
sell electricity to the grid. Doing so allows for the plant's pulping process.
short rotation woody biomass program,
them to stay competitive with low-cost pulp
This is only the beginning. Companies which is pretty much a proven technology
producers in other parts of the world. These such as Daishowa-Marubeni International that is ready for roll out as a cash crop and
pulp producers benefit from using faster- (DMI), Weyerhaeuser and Alberta Pacific in bio-remediation.
growing fibres such as eucalyptus, often Forest Industries (Al-Pac) have already
To put things into perspective, I wonder
grown on plantations outside their doors, taken the next logical step — marketing if 75 years ago it was common to hear
and not in natural forests 100 kilometres power to the grid.
business traditionalists, perhaps from the
away. Do the math, and you'll discover why
DMI is using $40.57 million in funding coal industry saying, “what about this
so much of the North American industry through the Pulp and Paper Green natural gas thing? Personally, I think it’s
has moved south.
Transformation Program to increase just a fad.”
Governments, however, can create the its power-generating capacity to 14.4
right environment to encourage investment megawatts per year, which represents a 650
About the author: Tony Kryzanowski
in alternative energy and climate change per cent increase over previous export levels.
writes about forestry, alternative
initiatives. The Canadian government’s That's enough energy to power 10,588
energy, and natural sciences for a
Pulp and Paper Green Transformation homes annually.
variety of national and international
Program is a good example of that.
Under this same program, Weyerhaeuser
publications, and is headquartered
Established in 2009, the one-time- received $32 million and a further $4.5
in St. Albert, Alta.
PROCESS
PRODUCT
REVIEWS
Pumps For Recovery of Brackish Groundwater
KSB’s UPA and UPZ borehole pumps are
efficient, multi-stage specially designed to
fit into a cylindrical space such as a pipe or
borehole. They are available in diameters
from 50 mm to 200 mm (2” to 8”) and can
be supplied in a variety of corrosion-resistant materials including duplex stainless
steel. KSB’s borehole pumps have the potential of playing a very important role in
the Alberta oilsands industry. Oilsands production requires large volumes of water and
while improved technologies have reduced demand by increasing the
amount of water that can be recycled within the process, some extra
water, termed makeup water, is still required.
KSB Pumps
www.ksb.ca
Needle and Manifold Valves for a Wide Range
of Applications
NOSHOK offers a full range of
needle and manifold valves to provide precise flow management.
Models include valves suitable for
high pressure, high temperature
and heavy-duty industrial applications. NOSHOK carbon steel
valves come standard with zincnickel plating for exceptional corrosion resistance. Other benefits
of zinc-nickel plating include increased deposit hardness, extended wear resistance and longer service life. They are also WEEE and RoHS compliant.
SRP control systems www.srpcontrol.com
Digital Capacitance Manometers Improve
Measurement Reliability
The CMC and XacTorr Series digital
capacitance manometers incorporate
features to improve measurement reliability, minimize drift, resist diaphragm
contamination and minimize thermal
effects in vacuum measurement applications. They are ideal for thin-film
processes. The CMC Series manometers
are compact, unheated gauges featuring
robust all-welded construction and Inconel sensing diaphragm.
Brooks Instrument
www.brooksinstrument.com
Unique to TURCK’s modular I/O systems, RFID can be incorporated to any distributed I/O product simply by applying the necessary RFID-S slices.
Chartwell Automation
www.chartwell.ca
Rugged Multi-Function Digital Pressure Sensor with
Display
The Ashcroft GC35 digital pressure sensor provides remote signaling, local reading and pressure
control. Equipped with a 4-20mA
analog output, 4 digit LED display and programmable switch
contacts, this multi-function instrument performs the functions
of a transducer, digital indicator
and pressure switch. The GC35
is offered in ranges from 0/50
through 0/7500 psig and compound ranges to 300 psi, and is
available with either a back or bottom-located pressure connection.
Ashcroft
www.ashcroft.com
Versatile Explosion-Proof Meter for Wide Range of
Applications
The new ProtEX-MAX PD8 exproof series offers a wide range
of models that include process
meters, flow rate/totalizers,
batch controllers, temperature
meters, dual-input process meters, and Modbus meters with
standard, dual-line, or large 1”
displays. SafeTouch throughglass button programming and
Modbus RS-485 serial communications are standard.
Precision Digital
www.predig.com
Electromagnetic flow measurement with
system integration
The Promag 53 Ethernet/IP electromagnetic flow measurement system includes
an output option optimized for control
systems with an Ethernet/IP connection.
It provides easy and cost-effective integration into existing plant systems via
Ethernet/IP as well as HART, Profibus
DP/PA, Foundation Fieldbus or MODBUS RS485. The installation requires
no additional components. Features
include sensors with long-term stability, improved process monitoring and
improved quality assurance. The Promag 53W includes drinking water approvals: KTW / W270, ACS,
NSF61, WRAS, BS and 6020.
In-The-Cabinet Distributed I/O for Ethernet
TURCK has announced the availability of BL20 Economy gateways
for EtherNet/IP and Modbus TCP.
Providing a flexible in-the-cabinet
system for distributed I/O, these
gateways can be paired with a broad
range of I/O slices to suit virtually
any application’s communications
Endress+Hauser www.ca.endress.com
and transparency requirements.
PROCESSWest
October 2011
43
PROCESS
PRODUCT
REVIEWS
Transmitters with Local Operator Interface Option
Emerson Process Management has expanded its PROFIBUS
offering to include the Rosemount 2051 pressure transmitter. The current portfolio of the Rosemount 3051 and 2051
pressure transmitters and the Rosemount 644 temperature
transmitter are available with PROFIBUS PA profile V3.02.
The Rosemount 2051 pressure transmitter now includes a
Local Operator Interface (LOI) option that features simple
addressing and configuration at the transmitter. PROFIBUS PA with LOI are available on the complete line of
Rosemount 2051 products, including 2051CF flowmeters,
and 2051L level transmitters. Emerson devices communicate with hosts to provide complete, open and interoperable
access to device functionality and information.
Emerson Process Management
www.emersonprocess.com
Circle 34 on processwest.ca/rsc
Wireless Transmitters Communicate on Wi-Fi Network
Omega’s new wSeries wireless transmitters for analog voltage and current, temperature, humidity and barometric
pressure, communicate on a standard 802.11 b/g Wi-Fi
network which is an ideal and economical solution for facilities with an existing Wi-Fi network as well as a new installation. The wSeries sends alarms through text message
or email if variables go above or below a set point that you
determine. The CE compliant product features a NEMA 4
(IP65) Enclosure.
Omega
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44
Switch Amplifiers with Line Fault
Transparency
Pepperl+Fuchs has
introduced three
new Switch Amplifiers with Line Fault
Transparency (LFT).
The NIC2831 and
HIC2832 are oneand two-channel
switch amplifiers
with LFT suitable
for mounting on
termination boards.
The K-System KFD2-SOT2-EX1.N provides line fault transparency to the control
system in a standard DIN rail mounting
configuration. They significantly reduce
the wiring required in hazardous area applications. They also provide process automation users with comprehensive monitoring of field and control lines.
Pepperl+Fuchs
www.pepperl-fuchs.us
Safety Trip Alarm for Potentially
Hazardous Process Conditions
The STA Safety
Trip Alarm is
certified to IEC
61508:
Parts
1, 2 and 3 by
TÜV Rheinland
for single use in
Safety
Instrumented Systems
up to SIL 2. The
STA firmware is
suitable for a SIL 3 system, allowing the
STA to be used in a redundant architecture
(1oo2, 2oo3, etc.) up to SIL 3. It performs
as a logic solver and acts on potentially
hazardous process conditions.
www.miinet.com
Moore Industries-International
Low Maintenance Radar Gauge
The VEGAPULS 61 is a
high-frequency, economical, low maintenance radar gauge designed for
measurement in installations with standard to easy
process conditions. The
threaded 40 mm antenna
is suitable for small vessels with corrosive liquids.
With the use of the 80 mm
antenna, the measurement
range is 65 ft (20 m).
Vanko
www.vanko.net
Use 38 on
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WEB SITE DIRECTORY
Connect with advertisers in this issue. Utilize the information below to make the right connections! Whether you phone or fax, visit a
web site or send an e-mail, getting the information you need is quick and easy. You may also use the Reader Service Card in this issue,
or request information on-line by visiting us at: www.processwest.ca/rsc
Page
Advertiser
Phone
Fax
E-Mail
Website
19
Accutech Rentals Ltd.
780.434.0501
708.434.9116
[email protected]
www.accutechrentals.com
32, 44
BHD Instrumentation
800.565.3317
780.436.3768
[email protected]
www.bhd.ca
47
Chartwell Automation
877.513.7769
905.513.7101
[email protected]
www.chartwell.ca
16
Endress+Hauser
800.668.3199
905.681.9444
[email protected]
www.ca.endress.com
22
Enerfest
403.261.8008
403.775.4232
[email protected]
www.enerfest.ca
19
ESG Filtration
403.571.0202
403.571.0214
[email protected]
www.esgfiltration.com
12
FLIR Systems
800-613-0507
905-639-5488
[email protected]
www.flir.ca
23
Peacock, a division of Kinecor
1-866-KINECOR
780-435-2580
[email protected]
www.kinecor.com
18
Krohne
800.356.9464
978.826.6943
[email protected]
www.krohne.com
33
Magnetrol
905.738.9600
905.738.1306
[email protected]
www.magnetrol.com
20
MatrikonOPC
780.448.1010
780.448.9191
[email protected]
www.matrikonopc.com
9
Moore Industries
818.894.7111
818.891.2816
[email protected]
www.miinet.com
48
Muis Controls
780.486.2400
780.486.2500
[email protected]
www.muiscontrols.com
3
Omega Engineering
514.856.6928
514.856.6886
[email protected]
www.omega.ca
15
Pepperl+Fuchs
403-807-1700
330-486-0086
[email protected]
www.am.pepperl-fuchs.com
21
Phoenix Contact
905.890.2820
905.890.0180
[email protected]
www.phoenixcontact.ca
26
Precision Digital
800.343.1001
508.655.8990
[email protected]
www.predig.com
31
Samson Controls
905.474.0354
905.474.0998
[email protected]
www.samsoncontrols.com
17
Siemens Canada Ltd
905.315.6933
905.315.6984
[email protected]
www.siemens.ca
4
SICK Ltd
905.771.1444
905.771.1616
[email protected]
www.sicknorthamerica.com
35
SRP control systems
800.268.2605
905.238.9590
[email protected]
www.srpcontrol.com
14
The Pickford Group
780.469.6002
780.469.3257
[email protected]
www.pickford.com
20
Tracerco
403.472.8455
780.413.0254
[email protected]
www.tracerco.com
2, 7
Vanko
780.436.0281
780.436.0283
[email protected]
www.vanko.net
SAVE TIME! REQUEST INFORMATION ON-LINE: www.processwest.ca/rsc
Reader Service Card
System Defines All Interfaces in any Multiphase Tank
up to 60m
Tracerco has designed a system
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throughput, minimize the use of various separation enhancement
chemicals, and automatically control interface levels within a DCS
system. Other advantages include no moving or wetted parts, minimum maintenance required, and a complete picture of the inventory
within your vessel or tank. The results of adding demulsifying chemicals can be visualized immediately in the control room so that the
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PROCESSWest
October 2011
45
INSIDE THE
PROCESS
LOOP
Decentralized energy and the oilsands
D
ecentralized energy generation
for the oilsands development has
several benefits. Producing on-site
generation at the point of consumption
will help increase production efficiency,
lower operating costs and reduce emission
intensities.
The utilization of decentralized energy in
the Alberta oilsands is essential for creating
a sustainable economy that is capable of
keeping up with the rising global demand
for oil while leaving minimal impact on the
environment.
Global demand for oil is steadily
increasing. And although recent shifts in
the market has curbed the intensity of this
demand, the International Energy Agency
estimates demand for oil will increase by
60 per cent from 2000 to 2030.
In his article Cogeneration and the Alberta
oilsands Jeremy Moorhouse writes that
“unconventional oil supplies such as heavy
oil and bitumen resources” will play a major
role in satisfying the global demand.
According to the United States
Geographical Survey, Alberta holds
approximately 80 per cent of the world’s
bitumen deposits, and in 2009 produced
1.5 million barrels per day. To bridge the
global demand gap, oilsands production
must be increased at a more efficient rate.
Natural gas cogeneration, as decentralized
energy, has already played a pivotal
role in increasing production efficiency.
Rapidly adopted in 1999 due to Alberta’s
deregulation of the power industry,
producers were able to switch from
centralized coal-fired thermal generation to
natural gas fired cogeneration.
Moorhouse refers to a 1996 report
published by Natural Resources Canada
that examined all energy resources and
demands from 1996 through 2020. The
report forecasted oilsands production
growth at a modest rate. However, due
to deregulation of the power industry and
the rapid implementation of cogeneration,
oilsands production increased by more
than 100 per cent compared to the original
NRCan estimates.
Cogeneration is being used for many
operations in the oilsands. Yet electricity
from the provincial power grid is still being
purchased. Not only is coal-generated
power carbon intensive, but the cost of
purchasing this power can be extremely
expensive for producers.
In Pat Roche’s article Get off the Grid,
consulting engineers Marc Godin and
Bruce Peachey believe it would be more
cost effective to implement on-site power
generation where it’s directly used. Godin
and Peachey argue a simple approach to
on-site power generation would reduce
power costs — which, as Roche writes,
can “account for up to 40 to 50 per cent
of operating expenses for mature oil field
operations.”
Several factors weigh in as to why this
would reduce the overall cost. Mainly,
the price of natural gas is relatively low.
Also, when harnessed on-site or at a
nearby location, gas transportation and
power transmission costs are significantly
reduced.
A further benefit of on-site gas energy
systems is the gas consumed for production
is royalty free. In 2010, Calgary-based
producer Paramount Energy Trust budgeted
for two pilot projects that utilized on-site
power generation that will help replace
$20,000 a year in power purchases. Not
only do such projects eliminate reliance on
the power grid, both they are designed to
produce enough electricity for Paramount
to sell, making the economics that much
better. If all goes well, Paramount is
prepared to introduce the concept to over
20 more sites.
Decentralized energy in the oilsands
is also responsible for reducing emission
intensities while increasing production
and lowering costs. Moorhouse’s research
demonstrates that greenhouse gas emissions
from oilsands production dropped by
an estimated seven metric tonne carbon
dioxide equivalent per year between 1996
and 2006 — based in comparison to what
emissions were estimated at under a coal
fired thermal generation power supply.
And while greenhouse gas emissions
were decreased, oilsands production within
the same time frame increased by 100 per
cent.
It is also estimated that 80 per cent of
the decreased greenhouse gas emissions
“resulted from the conversion from carbonintensive coal-generation electricity to
natural-gas electricity.” The remaining 20
per cent was a “direct result from increased
efficiency through on-site cogeneration.”
Another example of decentralized energy
in the oilsands illustrated by Roche’s
article, explains that “if conventional oil
operations could be switched from the grid
to gas-fired power, thereby reducing coalfired power requirements by 20 to 25 per
cent, it would delay the need for another
coal-fired plant.” This would ultimately
eliminate greenhouse gas emissions that
would be produced by a new coal-fired
generation plant.
Moorhouse, Roche, Godin and Peachey
have outlined prime examples of why
decentralized energy concepts such as
cogeneration and on-site power generation
allow producers the opportunity to reduce
their emission intensities while increasing
production and reducing operating costs.
Paramount Energy Trust also demonstrates
the potential to actually generate revenue
by producing on-site power to sell to the
provincial grid.
Other emerging decentralized energy
technologies should also be looked at in
terms of oilsands development. Small
modular reactors, geopower and electrothermal extraction technology are only a
few of the concepts that have the potential
to reap additional benefits of decentralized
energy in the oilsands.
While barely skimming the surface
of the overall benefits of decentralized
energy, it is clear that more can be done to
secure a cleaner and more efficient oilsands
operation. The challenge remains, however,
to get producers and government to become
more active in promoting decentralized
energy in the oilsands.
Created by industry for industry, WADE
Canada is the country’s leading capacity
builder for clean and decentralized energy
integration for our energy supply mix.
WADE Canada is a registered, national,
non-profit industry association that
supports growth and development of the
decentralized energy industry. Its vision is a
sustainable energy future where affordable,
efficient, reliable and clean decentralized
energy technologies are deployed in
community driven markets and enabled by
progressive policies and legislation.
For more information on WADE Canada,
please visit www.wadecanada.ca.
WADE Canada is co-organizer of the
Global Clean Energy Congress being
held in Calgary Nov. 1-3. For more
information about this event, visit www.
globalcleanenergycongress.com
About the Author: David Shillington is director
of business development and
government relations for WADE
Canada. Shillington has more
than 10 years of political and
public affairs experience, as well
as an extensive family background
in oil and gas. Shillington is
responsible for securing partnerships
with organizations and government entities in order to
increase decentralized energy projects across Canada.
David Shillington, WADE Canada
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PROCESSWest 2011 Annual Survey - Win an iPad2!
If you have completed Parts I and II, please fill in your name, title and company name so that
we may properly match up your responses.
Your Name: __________________________________________________________________________________
Title: ________________________________________________________________________________________
Company: ____________________________________________________________________________________
Now, please proceed to Parts III, IV and V.
Part III- Instrumentation
Please check all types of Instrumentation to be purchased within the next 12 months:
53____Actuators
67____Flowmeters
54____Alarm Systems
68____Force & Torque Instrumentation
55____Analyzers
69____Gas Detection Instrumentation
56____Barriers, Intrinsic Safety
70____Gauges
57____Calibration and Test
71____Intrinsically Safe Instrumentation
Instrumentation
72____Level & Interface
58____Communication Devices &
Instrumentation
Networks
73____Meters
59____Computer Hardware
74____pH Instrumentation
60____Computer Software
75____Pressure Instrumentation
61____CEMS - Continuous Emission
76____Programmable Logic
Monitoring Systems
Controllers
62____Controllers
77____ Recorders
63____Displacement & Position Sensors 78____Signal Conditioners
64____Flow Indicators
79____Temperature Sensors
65____ Flow Sensors
80____Torque Instrumentation
66____Flow Transmitters
81____ Transducers, Pressure & I/P
82____ Transmitters
83____Velocity Instrumentation
84____Vibration Control Systems
Approximate Budget for Instruments:
85____Under $10M
86____$10M-$25M
87____$25M-$50M
88____$50M-$100M
89____+$100M
Primary Instrumentation Applications:
90____Pressure
91____Temperature
92____Flow
93____Level
Part IV- Miscellaneous & Equipment
Please check all types of miscellaneous process products or equipment to be purchased within the next 12 months:
94____Blending & batching systems
95____Conveyors
96____Cooling Systems
97____Drives
98____Enclosures
99____Environmental Chambers
100____Feeders
101____Filters & Filtration Systems
102____Motors
103____Process Heaters
104____Speed Reducers
Part V - Wireless Technology Please indicate your interest in wireless technology.
105____We are currently / plan to within 12 months purchase and install WirelessHART devices
106____We are currently / plan to implement within 12 months devices that communicate over an ISA100 wireless network
107____We are currently / plan to implement within 12 months devices that communicate over Wi-Fi or other wireless networks
Thank-you for completing the PROCESSWest annual survey. If returning your survey by mail, please complete both pages and mail to
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