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James Auld, CN senior manager of product development, holds a “Canapux” filled with solidified bitumen. (CN Rail) CN Rail has hired a Calgary engineering firm to take the next step in its pilot project to increase the safety of crude oil shipped by rail. The “Canapux” project is moving to a high-volume test phase this year with a pilot plant in Calgary, CN said in a statement from its Montreal headquarters. The trademarked name refers to rectangular packages using polymer plastic to solidify and encase the heavy oil. Calgary-based Toyo Engineering Canada has been selected to build a facility to test the product’s durability at the volume required for open rail car shipping, similar to bulk commodities like coal and petroleum coke, a byproduct of conventional heavy oil refining. The Canapux float in water and oil doesn’t leak out. CN and other railways are facing increased demand for liquid crude oil shipments as Alberta looks for ways to move oil sands crude with pipeline projects stalled or cancelled. CN serves Prince Rupert on B.C.’s North Coast, an increasingly busy route with lumber, grain and other commodities, and is planning extended sidings and other work to handle more long freight […]
