Solid Bitumen Brick Transport to Reduce Diluent Use and Spill Risk
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Solution Overview
Problem
The transportation of heavy crude oil and bitumen poses environmental risks due to their high viscosity and density, requiring diluents that increase costs, carbon footprint, and risk of pipeline ruptures and spills, making it difficult to transport and process safely and efficiently.
Innovation Solution
Converting bituminous materials into irregular solid formations with customizable polymer skeletons and buoyant features, allowing for transportation without diluents, reducing environmental impact, and enhancing buoyancy to facilitate easier cleanup in case of spills.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If bitumen is diluted with conventional light crude or natural gas liquids to enable pipeline transport, then the bitumen can be transported through pipelines, but the carbon footprint increases and the risk of pipeline ruptures and spills increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the physical state parameter of bitumen from liquid to solid form. By converting bitumen into solid formations, it eliminates the need for diluents and enables transport without the environmental risks associated with liquid dilbit pipelines, while maintaining transportability through alternative methods.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent converts the harmful high viscosity of bitumen into a beneficial solid formation structure. Instead of trying to reduce viscosity through dilution, the invention embraces the solid state and creates structured formations that are actually more stable and less environmentally hazardous than liquid dilbit.
2Ease of operation
If bitumen is diluted to reduce viscosity for transport, then it can be pumped through pipelines, but the blend ratio requires 25%-55% diluent by volume increasing costs
Solution Approach 1:
The patent fundamentally changes the viscosity parameter by transitioning from liquid to solid state. This eliminates the need for viscosity reduction through dilution, allowing transport without adding 25%-55% diluent volume, thereby reducing both costs and environmental impact.
3Ease of operation
If dilbit is used for transport, then bitumen can be moved to refineries, but pipeline ruptures cause unstable dilbit to float and heavier components to sink making cleanup difficult
Solution Approach 1:
By changing the physical state from liquid to solid, the patent eliminates the density separation problem that occurs during spills. Solid bitumen formations do not exhibit the floating/sinking behavior of liquid dilbit, making them easier to contain and cleanup if spilled.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent converts the potential harm of spills into a benefit by creating solid formations that are more stable and easier to manage in spill scenarios. The solid state prevents the complex behavior of liquid dilbit where lighter components evaporate and heavier components sink, simplifying cleanup operations.
4Quantity of substance
If heavy crude oil and bitumen are transported in their natural state, then no diluent is needed, but their high viscosity makes them difficult to transport and process
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the physical state parameter from liquid to solid, which paradoxically improves transportability without requiring diluent. The solid formation structure allows the material to be handled and transported more easily than high-viscosity liquid, eliminating the need for 25%-55% diluent while maintaining operational feasibility.
Data Source
AI summary
A method of transporting non-volatile bituminous materials from a first location to a second location involves carrying a plurality of irregular bricks formed by the bituminous material in transport chambers carried by vehicles. Bricks are defined by a plurality of non-planar surface, which create gaps between adjacent bricks, and can further include polymer skeletons and other features that help them float. The bricks can travel by land, sea, air, or rail and need not be heated while in transit. Transport chambers have active or preferably passive environmental control systems to circulate cooling air, water, or other substances through the transport chamber and the gaps between adjacent bricks. In a preferred embodiment, ambient air circulates among the bricks during travel by land and ambient water circulates among the bricks during marine travel. The vehicles carrying the transport chambers can be low-emissions or zero-emission vehicles including fuel-cell powered trains and ships.