Reference number : GC-2017-Q2-00537, amendment number : , agreement type : G, recipient legal name : Zeng, Hongbo (University of Alberta), recipient country : CA, recipient province : nan, recipient city : Alberta, recipient postal code : nan, program name english : Engage Grants for Universities, program name french : Subventions d'engagement partenarial pour les universités, program purpose english : Towards the manufacturing of saleable crude oil and derived products, petroleum producers worldwide face the_x000D_
difficult task of separating complex mixtures of water, solids and oil, termed oilfield emulsions. Oilfield_x000D_
emulsions produce excess of water in oil, corrosion and mineral scale in pipes. In order to decrease these_x000D_
problems, demulsifiers, scale and corrosion inhibitors are commonly used. Alberta oil sands mining operations_x000D_
and downhole production release a huge amount of chemical processed water (PW). This enormous PW_x000D_
inventory has caused severe problems to the local environment and has posed a great thread to the human_x000D_
beings and the inhabited wildlife. In order to develop robust and viable methods to tackle this great challenge,_x000D_
oil sands industries and researchers highly rely on routine and accurate measurements on the PW samples by_x000D_
using different analytical characterizations. However, it is extremely difficult to achieve accurate and reliable_x000D_
characterizations on the PW samples, especially when the concentration of desired components (such as scale_x000D_
inhibitor and corrosion inhibitor) is much lower than the interfering species coexisting in PW. Usually, the PW_x000D_
samples contain a high concentration of inorganic salts (high salinity), which can greatly interfere with the_x000D_
intricate measurements and even paralyze the devices. To date, there is still no effective way to reduce or_x000D_
remove the inorganic salts while simultaneously keeping target chemicals unaffected or unchanged in water_x000D_
samples for further characterization. The main objective of this project is to develop a robust technology,_x000D_
based on graphene oxide membranes, to effectively remove most inorganic salt ions from industrial_x000D_
process-affected water while not affect the concentration of desired components (e.g., scale inhibitor and_x000D_
corrosion inhibitor), thereby ensuring collection of sufficient and qualified process water samples for industrial_x000D_
analysis as demanded. The fundamental interaction mechanism will be also investigated and the parameters for_x000D_
the preparation of GO membranes will be further optimized so the technology would be applicable to various_x000D_
process-affected water samples in oil sand and downhole oil production., program purpose french : Towards the manufacturing of saleable crude oil and derived products, petroleum producers worldwide face the_x000D_
difficult task of separating complex mixtures of water, solids and oil, termed oilfield emulsions. Oilfield_x000D_
emulsions produce excess of water in oil, corrosion and mineral scale in pipes. In order to decrease these_x000D_
problems, demulsifiers, scale and corrosion inhibitors are commonly used. Alberta oil sands mining operations_x000D_
and downhole production release a huge amount of chemical processed water (PW). This enormous PW_x000D_
inventory has caused severe problems to the local environment and has posed a great thread to the human_x000D_
beings and the inhabited wildlife. In order to develop robust and viable methods to tackle this great challenge,_x000D_
oil sands industries and researchers highly rely on routine and accurate measurements on the PW samples by_x000D_
using different analytical characterizations. However, it is extremely difficult to achieve accurate and reliable_x000D_
characterizations on the PW samples, especially when the concentration of desired components (such as scale_x000D_
inhibitor and corrosion inhibitor) is much lower than the interfering species coexisting in PW. Usually, the PW_x000D_
samples contain a high concentration of inorganic salts (high salinity), which can greatly interfere with the_x000D_
intricate measurements and even paralyze the devices. To date, there is still no effective way to reduce or_x000D_
remove the inorganic salts while simultaneously keeping target chemicals unaffected or unchanged in water_x000D_
samples for further characterization. The main objective of this project is to develop a robust technology,_x000D_
based on graphene oxide membranes, to effectively remove most inorganic salt ions from industrial_x000D_
process-affected water while not affect the concentration of desired components (e.g., scale inhibitor and_x000D_
corrosion inhibitor), thereby ensuring collection of sufficient and qualified process water samples for industrial_x000D_
analysis as demanded. The fundamental interaction mechanism will be also investigated and the parameters for_x000D_
the preparation of GO membranes will be further optimized so the technology would be applicable to various_x000D_
process-affected water samples in oil sand and downhole oil production., agreement title english : Development of novel graphene oxide based membranes for selective removal of inorganic salts from process-affected water in oil sand/downhole oil production, agreement title french : Development of novel graphene oxide based membranes for selective removal of inorganic salts from process-affected water in oil sand/downhole oil production, agreement number : EGP, agreement value : 25000.0, agreement start date : 2017-08-23, agreement end date : nan, description english : nan, description french : nan, expected results english : nan, expected results french : nan, additional information english : Grant or Award spanning more than one fiscal year (2017-2018 to 2018-2019)., additional information french : Subvention ou bourse octroyée s'appliquant à plus d'un exercice financier (2017-2018 à 2018-2019)., owner organization : nserc-crsng, owner organization title : Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada | Conseil de recherches en sciences naturelles et en génie du Canada