Patent ID: 8851862

Claim:
A slurry transportation system for transporting an oil sand slurry, comprising: a pump having an inlet for receiving the slurry and a discharge for discharging the slurry; an upstream line in fluid communication with the inlet and a downstream line in fluid communication with the discharge; a shaft connectable to the pump; a driving mechanism connectable to the shaft to drive the same to operate the pump; a regulator connectable to the driving mechanism for regulating discharge flow rate from the pump, the regulator being configured to: regulate torque applied to the shaft; and operate the driving mechanism in a positive torque mode during times of high process flow rates to cause the pump to discharge the slurry into the downstream line at a higher flow rate, and in a negative torque mode during times of low process flow rates to cause the pump to discharge the slurry into the downstream line at a lower flow rate.