Depending on the situation, the VPC Process can be introduced into one of three places in the bitumen extraction operation. It can be introduced at:
- Primary separation
- Froth treatment or
- Tailings treatment
In all three situations the bitumen recovery will be the same 99+%, however, operating costs and capital costs will differ.
Froth Treatment
The VPC Process can be used to replace the solvent-based froth treatment phase of the Clark Hot Water process.
When used at this stage of bitumen extraction, all of the emulsions will be broken, creating clear middlings comprised of CAC-24 with absorbed water that can be recycled to the extraction process. The solids contained in the froth will drop to the bottom of the tank; will be contaminant and hydrocarbon free and ready for environmental reclamation. 99+% of the hydrocarbons in the froth will float to the top and be recoverable, ready for transport to the upgrader.
Tailings Reclamations
The VPC Process can be used to treat tailings (including MFT’s) resulting in full recovery of all hydrocarbons while producing clear, emulsion-free middlings as well as contaminant-free, dry and stackable sand and clay.
Applying the VPC Process at tailings treatment will result in no changes in the current operating plant and infrastructure. Our process can literally be plugged into the current tailings discharge pipelines without any disruption in current operations.
Oil Sands
The VPC Process holds the promise to revolutionize bitumen extraction from oil sands. The VPC Bitumen recovery is done at a fraction of the cost of conventional methods, the scalable process integrates seamlessly into current operations and uses 75% less water. Bitumen recovery is 99+%, while creating no environmental contaminants. Government compliance is a snap, workers and people in the community are safer, goodwill is the word of the day, and consistently higher profits are the bottom line.
