Sodium Chloride Market - Alberta Energy · 12/21/2012 · This report will focus on the sodium...

Sodium Chloride Market: An Overview of the Sodium Chloride (Salt) Market in Western Canada (v.02) Author: WaterSMART Solutions Ltd. Date: December 21, 2012

Table of Contents

Executive Summary 1 Introduction 1 Sources / Types of Salt 2 Salt Deposits 3 Extraction / Production Methods 5 Primary Uses for Salt 6 Price 6 Distribution 7 Canadian Salt Market 9 Western Canada Salt Market 9 Salt in Oil Sands Mining 12 Road Salts 14 Sodium Carbonate and Sodium Bicarbonate 17 Caustic Soda and Sodium Chloride Consumption in SAGD 18 Summary 20

Tables Table 1 - Extraction and Production Technology ______________________________________________________ 6 Table 2 - Canadian Salt Market by Form ____________________________________________________________ 7 Table 3 - Final Packaging and Price of Salt to Public Consumer __________________________________________ 7 Table 4: Western Canada Salt Market Overview _____________________________________________________ 11 Table 5 - Primary Uses for Salt in Western Canada ___________________________________________________ 12 Table 6: Chloride Based Road Salts ________________________________________________________________ 14 Table 7: Radius of Competitiveness _______________________________________________________________ 16

Figures

Figure 1: Table 2.3 Survey of High-Reduction and ZLD Technologies for Municipal Utilities ____________________ 2 Figure 2: Major North American Salt Deposits ________________________________________________________ 3 Figure 3: Western Canada Salt Deposits ____________________________________________________________ 4 Figure 4: Solution Mining ________________________________________________________________________ 5 Figure 5: Railway Distribution _____________________________________________________________________ 8 Figure 6: Canadian Salt Production by Form _________________________________________________________ 9 Figure 7: Estimated Salt Production from Oil Sands Mines _____________________________________________ 13 Figure 8: Total Salt Production Comparison _________________________________________________________ 14 Figure 9: Road Salt Consumption in Alberta _________________________________________________________ 15 Figure 10: Radius of Competitiveness ______________________________________________________________ 16 Figure 11: Solvay Process _______________________________________________________________________ 17 Figure 12: Process for Producing Soda Ash from Trona ________________________________________________ 18 Figure 13: Chemicals Derived from NaCl ___________________________________________________________ 19

Overview of the Salt Market in Western Canada December, 2012

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Executive Summary The Athabasca oil sands bitumen reserves are underlain by pressurized saline aquifers. During and prior to the mining of the bitumen, mine operators must manage the aquifers. Historically, the pressurized aquifer waters encountered have been of relatively good quality and have been used in the process or returned to the environment. However, as mines are moving into new areas, more and more saline water is being encountered, which has introduced the challenge of managing the dissolved salts. Sodium chloride is a significant if not always the major part of the salts in mine depressurization brines. Sodium chloride is an essential part of life on earth. It is a main component of our diet and is used for seasoning, colouring, and preserving our food. Sodium chloride is also an essential raw material for the production of glass, paper and plastics, as well as de-icing roads and minimizing dust from gravel roads. Currently, Canada is one of the world’s largest producers of sodium chloride, and the largest per capita consumer. Canada is connected in almost every marketable way to sodium chloride, including extraction, processing, importing, exporting and consumption. Canada contains some of the largest sodium chloride rock deposits of salt in the world, which are spread out in three different locations across the country in six different Provinces. This report provides a summary of the commercial sodium chloride market in western Canada so that oil sands mining operators can assess the potential of a beneficial use outlet for sodium chloride produced from mine depressurization brine.

Introduction

Currently the oil sands mining companies have four potential options to help address the challenge of final disposition of brine or salt from mine depressurization. Return the Salt to Where it Came From: In this scenario concentrated brine or crystallized salt is returned to the vicinity of where it was produced. Return to the Environment Return to the Environment alternatives include discharge to local surface water outlets (rivers, streams, and lakes) Disposal: Disposal options include deep well injection of brine, disposal to surface ponds, or disposal into landfills. Beneficial Use: Using the collected brine for other uses either locally (northern Alberta) or regionally (western Canada), has the potential to create a sustainable outlet for brine or salt from mine depressurization.

For the purpose of this report it will be useful to define several terms: Salt as defined in chemistry: In chemistry, salts are any of the various ionic compounds which are created by the reaction of an acid and base. From a practical perspective, they are the inorganic constituents in brine which can be matched as anions and cations into readily identified minerals. Salt in general use: Most references to “Salt” are intended to mean sodium chloride.


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Sources / Types of Salt Figure 1 shows Table 2.3 from Survey of High-Reduction and ZLD Technologies for Municipal Utilities, Mickley, Water Reuse Foundation, 2008 show the various major salts that are often found in natural brines:

Figure 1: Table 2.3 Survey of High-Reduction and ZLD Technologies for Municipal Utilities

This report will focus on the sodium chloride market in western Canada and the available options for the beneficial use of brine collected from oil sands mining operations. In this report, references to salt are references to sodium chloride. Sodium Chloride, commonly known as salt, is found throughout the world in three primary forms, seawater, salt rock formations, and in saline groundwater wells (also known as brine or saline water). Salt found in a solid state, in salt rock formations, were deposited thousands of years ago from shallow seas that were disconnected from the ocean and left to dry up.


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Salt Deposits

Salt, also known as halite in its solid and natural state, can be found throughout North America. A sedimentary salt deposit or basin is described as a “depression in the earths surface previously covered by shallow seas, resulting in the deposition of layers of mineral-rich sediment” (NRC, 2009). In Canada, salt deposits are found in three major rock formations. The salt deposits in western Canada extend from southwestern Manitoba through central Saskatchewan up into northern Alberta. In eastern Canada, major salt deposits are located in southern Ontario around Lake Huron and Lake Erie in what is referred to as the Michigan Basin, and underneath the Maritime Provinces. Figure 2 illustrates the major salt deposits found throughout North America.

Figure 2: Major North American Salt Deposits

Sifto’s Operation at Goderich Ontario Sifto Canada’s mine in Ontario is the world’s largest salt mine. Sifto’s operation incorporates both a series of mines and an evaporation plant. The evaporation plant is used to separate the water and salt. Additional washing and filter drying allows Sifto to produce high grade food salt.

The largest salt deposits in Canada are found in the western Provinces, extending over 390,000 square kilometres through Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta. The salt deposits in western Canada average 400 feet in depth and contains an estimated one million billion tonnes of salt (NRC, 2009). Figure 3 illustrates the salt deposits in western Canada.


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Figure 3: Western Canada Salt Deposits


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Extraction / Production Methods There are four main technologies used to produce salt; solar evaporation, solution mining, vacuum pan evaporation, and rock salt mining. In western Canada, there are two primary production techniques used to extract salt; solution mining and rock salt mining. In Alberta, salt is primarily recovered the use of a technology known as solution mining. Solution mining is very similar to that used in the in situ production of bitumen. Water (or another liquid solution) is pumped down hole into deep salt deposits to dissolve the salt. The dissolved salt creates a brine that is then pumped back to the surface. In order to produce salt in a solid form (crystal or rock) that is easier to transport and use, a process called vacuum pan evaporation is used. Vacuum pan evaporation heats the brine to separate water from the salt. The solution mining process is illustrated in Figure 4.

Figure 4: Solution Mining

In Saskatchewan, salt is recovered using both solution mining and rock salt mining. In rock salt mining, salt is mined from shallow salt formations using traditional mining techniques. The traditional method involves using shovel and truck to remove the rock salt (halite) from salt mines above or bellow ground. In rock salt mining, companies use a drilling and blasting technique to access underground salt deposits. Similar to the process of building roads in the mountains, holes are drilled into the rock salt and filled with explosives to blast the rock salt into a manageable size. The salt is then crushed prior to bringing it to the surface. Large pillars of salt are left untouched and serve as support beams. Table 1 provides an overview of the different extraction and production technologies currently being used.


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Table 1 - Extraction and Production Technology

Extraction / Production Technology

Technology Use Description

Extraction

Solar Evaporation Natural occurring salt / water mixtures (seawater)

Used for extracting salt from seawater. Uses the sun and evaporation to separate salt from water.

Vacuum Pan Evaporation (Canada)

Producing rock salt from brine

Used to produce salt rock or crystal from brine. Uses heat to separate water and salt.

Freezing Separation Producing rock salt from brine

Used to produce salt rock or crystal from brine. As water freezes, salt is separated and collected.

Production

Solution Mining (Canada) Deep salt formations (between 150–1,500m deep)

Similar to in situ, water is pumped into deep salt formations to dissolve the salt, creating a brine mixture. The brine is then pumped back to the surface.

Rock Mining (Canada) Shallow salt formations Traditional mining operation, using truck and shovel to remove rock salt from shallow formations.

Primary Uses for Salt Salt serves a resource with a vast array of significant uses in a number of different industries including, food production, food preservation, food flavouring, glass production, pharmaceutical production, de-icing, water softening, pulp and paper bleaching, and chemical production. The primary use of salt in Canada is for highway and road de-icing, most of which is used in Ontario, Quebec and Atlantic Canada. Due to its winter conditions, Canada is the largest per capita consumer of salt in the world. Following de-icing agents, the leading consumption of salt in Canada is for the chemical industry, water conditioning, food processing and other industrial uses. Sodium chloride is the primary de-icing and road salt agent. However, different forms of salt such as calcium chloride, are also used for road salts depending on site requirements and environmental regulations. In 2004, Environment Canada released the Code of Practice for the Environmental Management of Road Salt. Organizations that use or store more than 500 tonnes of road salt a year must prepare a salt management plan that addresses any possible negative impacts of road salt on the environment. On a global scale, the largest market for salt is in the chemical industry. Salt is used in the chemical industry to produce a number of different chemicals that are essential in the manufacturing of polyester, plastics, explosives, rayon, fertilizers, and glass. The main chemicals produced by the industrial chemical industry include chlor-alkali (soda-ash), chlorine and sodium chlorite.

Price

The price of salt is generally determined by its unique production, processing, and packaging factors. These prices all depend on the location of extraction, extraction method, form of salt (rock, fine, brine) and its ultimate end use. It is difficult to determine specific prices for salt in Canada as salt is very diverse in uses. As stated above, the largest use for salt in Canada is in road salts and de-icing. The price of roads


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salts are easier to track as its end use is relatively direct and comes in rock form. The average price for road salt in 2011 was $50 per tonne. In general, fine vacuum salt is the most expense due to the high energy costs associated with production, the complexity of the production process, and its intended end use, often for household consumption or use in chemical laboratories. Table 2 outlines the general market for salt in Canada based on distribution form, highlighting market share and average value per tonne. These are average values within Canada and are geographically sensitive. For example, rock salt used for road salt in Edmonton costs approximately $80, which includes the cost of transportation.

Table 2 - Canadian Salt Market by Form

Canadian Salt Market (2009)

Form Market Share Average Value ($ / t)

Fine Vacuum Salt 6% $120

Mined Rock Salt 93% $42

Salt in Brine 1% $30

Rock salt holds the largest share of the salt market in Canada. This is mostly due to its availability and easy access in the Ontario and Saskatchewan salt deposits. The price of rock salt is comparatively low to that of fine vacuumed salt, as it can be produced in large quantities for a relatively low cost, the relative simplicity of extraction and it can meet the market needs for a number of different end use products. The use of salt in brine form has changed drastically over the last six years. The largest change occurred in 2006, when the total volume of Canadian brine shipments dropped from over one million tonnes in 2006 to just over two hundred thousand tonnes in 2007. The decreased shipment of brine in Canada was primarily brought on by the pulp and paper industry moving away from the use of brine in the chlorinated bleaching process. Certain health issues related to the use of processed salt, another use of brine, further decreased the demand for brine and ultimately dropped it’s value. Referring to Table 2, the approximate cost of producing fine crystalized salt from salt in brine is $90. This approximate cost is based on facilities designed and built for the purpose of producing commercial salt. The cost of salt produced in Ft. McMurray from a system installed to produce salt from waste brine will likely be higher. For the purpose of this report, $90 is used. Table 3 provides the types of packaging and price range for salt products typically found in stores.

Table 3 - Final Packaging and Price of Salt to Public Consumer

In-Store Salt Products

Form Packaging Value ($/Kg)

De-icing 20Kg bag / 20L pail $1.30 - $8.10

Road Salt 20Kg bag $1.10 – $15.20

Water Softener 25Kg bag $0.15 – $0.30

Food Grade 1Kg box $0.80 - $1.10

Distribution

Salt is primarily transported in a solid state, either rock or crystalized form. The transportation of salt in a liquid form, such as brine, is done so either by truck or pipeline. However, this process is expensive and time consuming, as it is much harder to store brine then it is to store rock or crystalized salt. The low price


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of brine and decreased demand for brine, due to changes in the pulp and paper and the process foods industries, has made the transportation of brine uneconomical. Salt produced at a mine or evaporation facility is initially transported by truck to major railroad distribution hubs, such as Calgary, Edmonton, Regina or Moose Jaw. The salt transported by truck is then unloaded and stored at railroad loading sites. The salt is loaded and transported by rail to markets in Canada, United States, or sent to the coast for export to markets over sea. Figure 5 illustrates the railroad distribution channels used to transport salt in western Canada. Rail distribution in western Canada is shared between Canadian National Railway (CN) and the Canadian Pacific Railroad (CPR). The list below identifies the major rail and storage yards, where salt can be stored and loaded onto trains for distribution to other markets. Figure 5 does not illustrate a rail line running all the way to Ft. McMurray, however, there is a rail line run by Athabasca Northern Railway Ltd. that connects the CN line to Ft. McMurray. Rail / Storage Yards:

1. Vancouver, British Columbia 2. Kamloops, British Columbia 3. Edmonton, Alberta 4. Calgary, Alberta 5. Regina, Saskatchewan

6. Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan

Figure 5: Railway Distribution

As the United Sates is Canada’s largest importer of Canadian salt products, the majority of salt exported from Canada is transported to the U.S. by truck or train.


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Canadian Salt Market Currently, Canada is the fifth largest salt producer and the largest per capita consumer of salt in the world (United States Geological Survey, 2012). The salt market in Canada consists of a small number of large salt producing companies. With large quantities of salt found in vast resource deposits across the country, Canada is in an excellent position for future exploration and continued development of its salt market. In 2009, Canada’s salt companies produced 14.6 million tonnes of salt that was valued at $664.1 million (Canadian Mineral Yearbook, 2009). The majority of salt produced in Canada came from mined salt rock, 92% (13.5 million tonnes). The remainder came from fine vacuum pan evaporated salt from brine, 8% (1.1 million tonnes). Approximately 40% (5.9 million tonnes) of Canada’s production was exported, with 99% of this production being exported to the United States. Figure 6 illustrates the past salt production in Canada based on the different market forms of sodium chloride.

Figure 6: Canadian Salt Production by Form

Provincially, Ontario lead the Canadian salt industry with their production reaching 9.8 million tonnes in 2009, accounting for 68% of all Canadian salt production. In western Canada Saskatchewan produced 1.2 million tonnes (or 8.9%) and Alberta produce 0.14 million tonnes (or 0.9%) (Canadian Mineral Yearbook, 2009).

Western Canada Salt Market In western Canada, Saskatchewan and Alberta are the primary producers of salt, with British Columbia not producing enough to record with Natural Resources Canada. Salt production in Alberta is primarily completed through solution mining, as the major deposits are deep underground (between 300 and 500 feet deep). Currently, the majority of the salt produced in the Western Canada is used for road salts, de-icing agents, fine crystals for use in the chemical industry or for bleaching agents in the pulp and paper industry. Alberta is a major transportation route for salt, as large quantities of salt produced in Saskatchewan are transport through Alberta to British Columbia and the west coast. Historically, the pulp and paper industry was a primary consumer of salt products, using brine to produce

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chlorine for the bleaching process. As stated earlier, pulp and paper industry has recently moved away from the use of brine in the chlorinated bleaching process due to a demand for improved effluent quality, resulting is a drastic drop in demand. Salt produced in Saskatchewan is completed through both rock mining and solution mining. Salt is also produced as a by-product of potash production. Table 4 provides an overview of the salt market in western Canada.


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Table 4: Western Canada Salt Market Overview

Province Company Capacity

(t / y) Form Production Method Distribution / Market Location Market / Product

Alberta Athabasca Minerals Inc. Rock Rock Mining

Caustic Soda, Sodium Carbonate

Calcium Inc.

Canexus Ltd. 2,869 Solution Mining Sodium Chlorate

Tiger Calcium Services Inc. Solution Mining

Canadian Salt Company Ltd. 116,000 Crystal Evaporated Used for water softening and agriculture. Provides road de-icing for local use (Lindberg)

Fine Salt

Crystal Solution Mining

Dow Chemical Canada Inc. Crystal Solution Mining Chlor-alkali

Albchem Industries / Nexen Solution Mining Distributed to Western Provinces for pulp bleaching

Sodium Chlorate

Ward Chemical Inc. 438,000 Crystal Calcium Chloride

Saskatchewan Sifto Canada / Compass Minerals

150,274 Crystal Evaporated Used locally (Unity) for water softening, agriculture, and road de-icing

Fine/Coarse Salt

Rock Rock Mining

NSC Minerals 200 Crystal Rock Mining Used locally (Rocanville) road de-icing, drilling muds, and water softening

Fine/Coarse Salt

300 Crystal Rock Mining Used locally (Vanscoy) road de-icing, drilling muds, and water softening

Fine/Coarse Salt

Canadian Salt Company Ltd. 227,238 Crystal Evaporated Collects brine from Mosaic Potash, producing evaporated salt for water softening and road de-icing

Fine/Coarse Salt

Mosaic Potash Esterhazy 180* Rock Rock Mining Salt as a by-product of potash mining, stored as waste on site

Road de-icing

Sterling Pulp Chemicals Ltd. 45,630 Solution Mining Uses internally for pulp chemical operations

Caustic Soda, Chlorine

British Columbia NONE

*180 (t/y) is noticeably low in comparison. It is important to note that this is a potash mine, producing salt as a by product.


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Table 5 lists the industries and uses for salt in Western Canada.

Table 5 - Primary Uses for Salt in Western Canada

Industry Uses

Roads De-icing

Dust Control

Oil and Gas Drilling Mud

Anti-freeze Agent

Agriculture Fertilizer

Soda Ash Caustic soda

Pulp and Paper Pulp Bleaching

Chemical Production Calcium Chloride

Sodium Chlorate

Chlorine

Salt in Oil Sands Mining As oil sands mining operations continue to expand, the flow of brine on site is beginning to become a growing issue. Currently, the concentration of salt in the brine found on site is relatively low (between 1,000-5,000 mg/L) and therefore easier to manage. With concentrations this low, brine collected in mining operations can be used in facilities for bitumen extraction, or discharges to the environment. However, with projections of increased concentration of salt in brine, oil sands mining companies will need to evaluate alternative options. Figure 7 demonstrates the potential salt production (tonnes per year) from different oil sands mines currently operating in the Athabasca region. These production numbers are calculated using the projected concentration of salt in the brine and the volume of brine leeching into the mines each year. As illustrated in graph the leeching of brine into oil sands mines is currently not a major issue as he concentration of salt in the brine is relatively low and manageable. However, we can see from the graph that future projections, specifically in the Fort Hills, Millennium and Horizon mines, will reach higher levels of salt concentrated brine.


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Figure 7: Estimated Salt Production from Oil Sands Mines

In order to help oil sands companies assess the potential for producing salt from brine, Figure 8 was developed. This figure provides information on the total vacuum pan salt production in Canada, total salt production in Alberta, and the total potential salt produced by oil sands mining companies.

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Figure 8: Total Salt Production Comparison

*AB Vacuum Pan represents production facility capacity, not actual production. As illustrated above, the potential production of crystal salt from the oil sands mines would make up a large portion of Alberta’s total salt production, ranging from 3% to 30% of the market, depending on the mine, and 30% to 90% of the capable vacuum pan production. As salt produced from brine is primarily used in the chemical, pulp and paper and the food industry, there would exist a market for salt produced from oil sands mines.

Road Salts

Road salts used in Alberta primarily consist of sodium chloride in a solid form, as a rock salt and sand mixture (10-20% salt and 80-90% sand). However, applications of brine prior to storm events are used to prevent the formation of ice on roadways. This practice is often difficult due to the unpredictability of weather in Alberta. Table 6 provides an overview of the most common forms of chloride based road salts used in Alberta. The costs outlined in Table 6 do not include the additional costs associated with transportation. Transportation costs for rock salt average between $40-$45 per tonne. Average Annual Road Salt Consumption (Alberta):

Northern Alberta: 20Kg per lane – Km / day

Southern Alberta: 5Kg per lane – Km / day

Table 6: Chloride Based Road Salts

Material Formula Form Effective Temperature (oC @

% Concentration Cost

($ / tonne)

Sodium Chloride NaCl Solid / Liquid -20 @ 23 - 25% $30 - $40

Calcium Chloride CaCl2 Liquid Brine -50 @ 25 - 30% $110 - $120

Magnesium Chloride MgCl2 Liquid Brine -30 @ 20 - 25% $85 - $95

Potassium Chloride KCl Solid -10 @ 49% $90 - $200

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Chloride based roads salts in the form of liquid brines are most commonly used as a pre-treatment option for de-icing road ways. Liquid brines are very effective at preventing the development of frost or black ice, however the brine must be applied prior to road freezing in order to be effective. As outlined in Figure 9, the majority of road salts used in Alberta are consumed by municipalities and the Province for de-icing major roadways and highways. Calgary and Edmonton lead municipal consumption using an average of 30,000-40,000 tonnes and 20,000-25,000 tonnes respectively. Edmonton uses approximately 214m

3 per year

of calcium chloride (liquid brine) to combat the build up of frost and black

ice on roads. Smaller communities, such as the MD of Wood Buffalo, use significantly less road salt, as they consume an average of 3,000-4,000 tonnes per year. Figure 9: Road Salt Consumption in Alberta

Currently, the majority of road salts consumed in northern Alberta is shipped from the potash mines in Esterhazy, Saskatchewan. The majority of the cost of road salt in Alberta is made up of the cost to transport the salt to location by train and truck. Road salt is delivered to the MD of Wood Buffalo for $140 per tonne thus it can be assumed that a tonne of salt could be sold to the MD for $140 per tonne, and road salt is delivered to the City of Edmonton by rail for $80 per tonne, thus it can be assumed that the City of Edmonton would be willing to pay up to $80 per tonne of salt delivered. Tervita has provided a price quote of $250 per hour for a 40 tonne truck. Using these numbers and the cost to produce salt from depressurization water in Ft. McMurray a radius or competitiveness was constructed. The radius of competitiveness outlined in both Figure 10 and Table 7, provide the approximate costs, plus or minus $20 to $40 per tonne, of transporting salt by rail from Esterhazy, to the City of Edmonton, and trucking northward, and producing and transporting road salt from oil sand facilities in Fort McMurray south towards Edmonton. The numbers provide the correlation between cost / price and distance of transportation. In these figures, the price and costs are distributed in 100 kilometre increments. While the full cost recover of the salt production from brine in Fort McMurray is $119 per tonne, any price greater than the cost landfilling plus some risk premium would be of commercial benefit.

55%

40%

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Figure 10: Radius of Competitiveness

Table 7: Radius of Competitiveness

Radius of Competiveness

Distance From Edmonton, km

Delivered Cost of Rock Salt delivered by rail to

Edmonton

Delivered Cost of Oil Sands Salt from Ft. McMurray

Distance From Ft. McMurray, km

0 $80 $200 500

100 $100 $180 400

200 $120 $160 300

300 $140 $140 200

400 $160 $120 100

500 $180 $100 0


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Sodium Carbonate and Sodium Bicarbonate

It has been suggested (Reject Brine Management, Muftah H. El-Naas, United Arab Emirates University UAE) that the Solvay process (Figure 11) can be used to convert waste sodium chloride brine to useful soda ash. However, the process requires almost as much lime as sodium chloride and generates as almost as much calcium chloride as it consumes sodium chloride. In addition, sodium carbonate is most commonly produced from mineral Trona, found in Wyoming (Figure 12). The Trona mining operation and soda ash production is less expensive for production of soda ash in the United States than the synthetic Solvay process. Therefore, soda ash produced from waste brine in Ft. McMurray will cost more than soda ash produced from the Trona mines and that is before taking into consideration the high cost of transportation. Considering the consumption of lime and production of calcium chloride the Solvay process would simply transform one excess salt into another. Sodium bicarbonate, commonly known as baking soda, is also produced from the Solvay process and from Trona mining and processing. Although sodium bicarbonate contains salt and could potentially be used in certain salt applications, such as a road de-icing agent, it is produced as a fine powder and must be pelletized or used as a brine to be effective in the above application. Since the concentration point is approximately 10% sodium bicarbonate to water, it does not seem to make economic sense to sell in brine form. Sodium bicarbonate is not typically used in common salt applications (such as road de-icing) because it is not as effective as sodium chloride and it holds a greater value in other markets such as cooking and medical uses.

Figure 11: Solvay Process

Trona is primarily extracted using mining technologies similar to that of rock salt mining. The mined Trona is sent through a solvate process to produce fine crystal sodium carbonate. Sodium carbonate is used in the production of glass, cleaning agents (detergents), baking soda, chemical production and water treatment. Figure 12 outlines the solvate process used to produce sodium carbonate.


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Figure 12: Process for Producing Soda Ash from Trona

The Trona mines located in the Green River Basin in Wyoming produces 90% of the total sodium carbonate produced in the United Sates, 25% of the sodium carbonate produced worldwide. In 2007, the mines in Wyoming produced 16 million tonnes of Trona. Just over 60% (10 million tonnes) of this production was used to produce sodium carbonate. In 2009, Wyoming produced 11 million tonnes of sodium carbonate. All of the sodium carbonate produced from Trona mines is done so using the solvate process.

Caustic Soda and Sodium Chloride Consumption in SAGD

Assuming a SAGD production of 2,000,000 BOPD with 1,500,000 BOPD of production based on warm lime softening and 500,000 BOPD of production based on high pH evaporation sodium is used in the form of sodium chloride to regenerate zeolite softeners and in the form of sodium hydroxide. Assuming a steam to oil ratio of three and a hardness level of 50 mg/L as CaCO3 after warm lime softening and that all ion exchange is based on zeolite resins, approximately 75 tonne/day of sodium chloride would be used for ion exchanger regeneration to produce 1,500,000 BOPD. Assuming a steam to oil ratio of three and that 400 mg/L of caustic soda is required for pH adjustment upstream of evaporators, then 190 tonne/day of caustic is used to produce 500,000 BOPD. Approximately 140 tonne/day of sodium chloride would be required to produce the caustic using a membrane cell electrolytic process. This process will also produce approximately 80 tonne/day of chlorine gas. It is noted that most membrane cell caustic plants are co-located with poly-vinyl chloride production. DOW had such an operation in Fort Saskatchewan and it was shut down during the past ten years. Figure 13 shows chemicals derived from sodium chloride brine at the DOW facility and the consumption of sodium chloride in that facility compared to the expected production of oils sands mine depressurization brine.


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Figure 13: Chemicals Derived from NaCl


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Summary

As oil sands mining operations continue to grow, the flow of brine on site is becoming a developing issue that will need to be efficiently managed going forward. The majority of oil sands mine sites are predicting increased brine flow in the near future, with no clear mitigation plans. This report provides oil sands mining companies with a general overview of the sodium chloride market in Western Canada, which include information on the extraction and production technologies currently being used, as well as the distribution channels and consumer markets. This report provides operators with the base knowledge to help in the long term decision making process towards mitigating the challenge of managing the brine producing aquifers in the Athabasca region.

Sodium Chloride Market - Alberta Energy · 12/21/2012 · This report will focus on the sodium...

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