Department of Fisheries and Ocean Canada, Centre for Offshore Oil, Gas and Energy Research, Bedford Institute of Oceanography, Dartmouth, NS, Canada.
Environ Sci Process Impacts. 2020 Apr 29;22(4):863-872. doi: 10.1039/c9em00493a.
Canadian bitumen is too viscous to transport by rail and pipeline to markets. One approach to solve this viscosity issue is to dilute the bitumen with a thinning agent to meet transport specifications, but the addition of diluent underutilizes pipeline capacity and increases production cost. A second approach involves the partial refinement of bitumen to produce synthetic crude, which better utilizes pipeline capacity; however, capital and operational costs are high. A third alternative is a new technology that involves wrapping bitumen in a polymer layer to form a solid "puck" termed Canapux, but transportation of this product to coastal ports is limited to rail. Also, greenhouse gas emissions are greater when oil is transported by rail rather than pipeline. In the end, a variety of bitumen products will be transported in Canada, but not all of these products will respond to remediation equally when spilled. In order to ensure effective spill contingency planning, we recommend that engineered bitumen products have physical properties that are resilient to change, within the range of typical response times, after a spill.
加拿大沥青的粘性过高，无法通过铁路和管道运输到市场。解决这个粘性问题的一种方法是使用稀释剂将沥青稀释，以满足运输规格，但添加稀释剂会降低管道的利用率并增加生产成本。第二种方法涉及对沥青进行部分精炼以生产合成原油，这可以更好地利用管道容量；然而，资本和运营成本很高。第三种选择是一种新技术，它涉及用聚合物层包裹沥青，形成一种称为 Canapux 的固体“ puck”，但这种产品的运输仅限于铁路。此外，与通过管道运输相比，铁路运输石油会产生更多的温室气体排放。最终，加拿大将运输各种沥青产品，但并非所有这些产品在泄漏时都能同等程度地做出补救。为了确保有效的应急计划，我们建议工程沥青产品具有在泄漏后在典型响应时间范围内对变化具有弹性的物理特性。
