Grant: Industrial Research Chairs

Canada is the fifth largest hydrocarbon energy producer in the world. The upstream sector is the largest private sector investor in Canada. Capital spending in the industry totalled $54 Billion in 2008, and payments to governments in royalties, fees and taxes were $26 Billion. The total employment impact exceeds half a million people and is expected to double by 2050 (Source: Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers). This ongoing success is based on hydrocarbon resources such as bitumen and heavy oil and industrial processes we still do not fully understand. Each insight regarding the fundamental behaviours and properties of bitumen, heavy oil, and reservoir fluids spurs innovation in production, transportation and refining, reduces industry costs and environmental impacts, and increases revenues, all contributing materially to the Canadian and the global economy. The impact of pure and applied research and development is significant. Greenhouse gas emission intensity, a key indicator of process knowledge, has decreased 40 % over the past 20 years. Significant efficiency and environmental gains remain to be tapped because heavy oil and bitumen are ill-defined hydrocarbon resources. Their phase behaviour, and thermophysical and transport properties are our research focus. Property discovery presents significant experimental and theoretical challenges. The nature and behaviours of these materials - at the diverse length scales and in the varied environments required for their characterization, production, and processing - can only be discovered through coordinated use of diverse experimental and theoretical approaches. We plan to use approaches as diverse as x-ray transmission videography, small angle x-ray scattering (SAXS), cross polarized light microscopy, nano-filtration, calorimetry, rheology, and quantum mechanics. Global collaboration, development of new experimental measurement techniques, new materials separation and analysis techniques, and new theory are also key elements in discovery. New process knowledge and new industrial processes will arise from fundamental and applied research achievements, and partnerships with industry described in this proposal.