Route Selection By Nara Altmann

IBP1038_09 AN INTEGRATED APPROACH TO ROUTE SELECTION IN SLURRY PIPELINE DESIGN ROY G. BETINOL, P.E.1 DR. NARA ALTMANN2

Copyright 2009, Brazilian Petroleum, Gas and Biofuels Institute - IBP
This Technical Paper was prepared for presentation at the Rio Pipeline Conference and Exposition 2009, held between September, 22-24, 2009, in Rio de Janeiro. This Technical Paper was selected forpresentation by the Technical Committee of the event according to the information contained in the abstract submitted by the author(s). The contents of the Technical Paper, as presented, were not reviewed by IBP. The organizers are not supposed to translate or correct the submitted papers. The material as it is presented, does not necessarily represent Brazilian Petroleum, Gas and Biofuels Institute’opinion, or that of its Members or Representatives. Authors consent to the publication of this Technical Paper in the Rio Pipeline Conference Proceedings.

Abstract
The pressure to get engineering projects done and constructed as fast as possible in order to take advantage of the high prices in metals and petrochemicals has been driving companies to skip the conceptual phase and go straight intobasic engineering with cost estimates in the level of 15% accuracy. By-passing early engineering and demanding higher cost estimating accuracy is a contradiction. In most cases, savings made on capital investment is much higher had money been spent in conceptual studies which allow for the optimal solution to be found. This paper reviews one of the key aspects in conceptual engineering of slurrypipeline designs: route selection. This activity is often overlooked, causing capital cost and operating difficulties to rise unnecessarily. This paper describes and gives example on how an integrated client/engineering company’s approach to route selection can produce significant savings in pipeline construction and operating costs.

1. Introduction
In not too distant past, mine developmentrelies on the old mentality that mine process plants must be located as close as possible to the mineral ore deposit. After the process plant is designed, mine developers then considers how to transport the product to the market or nearest port of export. This is true when it was a common belief that the only way to bring the ore concentrates to the nearest port is by trucking or by rails. Upuntil some 30 years ago, where long distance pipeline transport for commercial use is a relatively new concept, mining operators tend to stay away from it for fear of pipeline plugging leading to loss of production. However, this concept has since changed when numerous long distance slurry pipelines has been designed and successfully put into operation with proven high availability and reliability.With this as a viable option, most mine development now considers mine product transport as one of the key parameters in mine planning and design. Evaluation of the long distance slurry pipeline takes into account two major important factors: 1) the pipeline route and, 2) slurry properties. Route selection is the most critical aspect in the design of the long distance slurry pipeline as it has thehighest cost impact on capital investment. This paper will focus on the first aspect, with discussion on the different key issues that must be addressed. In a long distance pipeline system, the impact of by the pipeline material and construction cost can reach up to 60% of the capital expenditure (CAPEX). Therefore, for each kilometer length of pipeline saved, impact in cost savings issignificant.

2. Route Selection Considerations
Route selection is an iterative process that goes through at least 3 cycles during the project development. During the early phases of the design as in Pre-Conceptual studies pipeline route evaluation normally involves the

______________________________ 1 General Manager, BRASS Chile S.A. 2 Ph.D., Chemical Engineer – BRASS Chile S.A.

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