Canada鈥檚 largest railway believes the 鈥淐anaPux鈥� can be a game changer for the country鈥檚 oil industry.
The CanaPux, developed by the Canadian National Railway, is essentially crude oil mixed with a polymer and wrapped in that same polymer. The result is a solid puck-like product that CN Rail believes will mitigate the risks associated with train-based oil shipping, while at the same time opening the product to the global market and reducing shipping costs.
The Canapux would be shipped as a solid product. When it arrives at its destination it can be processed and restored to a traditional crude oil.
indicates oil spills along the railway are three times more likely than a spill from a pipeline, but James Cairns, vice president of Petroleum Products and Chemicals at the Canadian National Railway, told CTV鈥檚 Your Morning the CanaPux would limit the damage of any potential oil spill.
鈥淭hey won鈥檛 burn, they won鈥檛 ignite, they won鈥檛 create any dust, they won鈥檛 leach or dissolve into the environment and the best part about CanaPux is they float in water,鈥� he said.
The pucks can also be transported in gondola cars, which are lighter than tank cars and make shipping more affordable.
Cairns says one of the biggest problems with Canada鈥檚 oil industry is that under the current rail and pipeline system, the majority of sales are to the United States.
鈥淐anaPux allows us to get to tide water and export our crude oil to Asia,鈥� he said.
Cairns hopes to have the first pilot plant up and running in the next 18-24 months.
This comes at the same time when Canada鈥檚 oil industry is increasing its reliance on the rail system. According to the 134,132 barrels of crude oil were shipped through the rail system in September 2017, compared to 269,829 a year later.
To help with the backlog, the Alberta government is planning to buy two new trains of oil tanker cars.
