IDE/Clean Harbours tie-up aims at oil sands clean-up

Desalination designer and constructor IDE Technologies Ltd and US waste and wastewater specialist Clean Harbors today announced a joint research and development (R&D) program to increase the availability and reliability of mechanical vapor compression (MVC) evaporators for treating oil sands produced water in Alberta, Canada.

The R&D project will focus on improved operation, service and maintenance capabilities of MVC evaporators by integrating IDE’s unique horizontal evaporator design with Clean Harbors’ chemical development and cleaning procedures expertise.

IDE Technologies‘ modular horizontal falling film evaporation technology provides a more reliable, energy-efficient, and cost-effective steam-assisted gravity drainage produced-water treatment solution. In addition, the unique design of the MVC evaporator incorporates an embedded clean-in-place system for online and offline internal tube-bundle cleaning (both for descaling and fouling removal).

“Treatment of Alberta’s oil sands produced water is challenging because of the high scaling and fouling potential, as well as occasional process excursions. MVC evaporators are a critical step in the water treatment process as they provide boiler feed water quality,” said Chris Porter, Clean Harbors’ senior vice president, Canadian Industrial Services. “We believe we can deliver the ideal solution to the marketplace through IDE’s experience providing MVC evaporators for produced water treatment over the past two decades and our expertise in the field of industrial chemical cleaning and ultrasonic technology.”

“We are pleased to launch this R&D partnership with Clean Harbors, which will enhance the operation and maintenance procedures of the MVC evaporation technology,” said Avshalom Felber, CEO of IDE Technologies. “By promoting novelty and creating added value for customers in the water treatment market, we continue to develop more reliable, sustainable and economical solutions.”