This site uses cookies to improve your experience. To help us insure we adhere to various privacy regulations, please select your country/region of residence. If you do not select a country, we will assume you are from the United States. Select your Cookie Settings or view our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Cookie Settings
Cookies and similar technologies are used on this website for proper function of the website, for tracking performance analytics and for marketing purposes. We and some of our third-party providers may use cookie data for various purposes. Please review the cookie settings below and choose your preference.
Used for the proper function of the website
Used for monitoring website traffic and interactions
Cookie Settings
Cookies and similar technologies are used on this website for proper function of the website, for tracking performance analytics and for marketing purposes. We and some of our third-party providers may use cookie data for various purposes. Please review the cookie settings below and choose your preference.
Strictly Necessary: Used for the proper function of the website
Performance/Analytics: Used for monitoring website traffic and interactions
Researchers at the University of Calgary are developing ultra-dispersed (UD) nanocatalysts for the in situ upgrading of heavy oil and bitumen from deep reservoirs. One of the challenges of such an approach is the placement of the catalyst deep into the heavy oil plume by transporting a catalyst suspension through the sand medium.
Based on visual interpretation of high-resolution (30 m) satellite images, a new study in the journal Global Change Biology: Bioenergy determined that industrial plantations covered over 3.1 When peat swamps are drained for agriculture, the peat begins to decompose, and is an enormous source of carbon emissions. —Miettinen et al.
Well-to-wheel (WTW) greenhouse gas emissions for in situ SAGD and surface mining pathways generated employing GHOST/TIAX/ GHGenius combination and comparison with SAGD, mining and conventional crude oil literature pathways (all results are on a HHV basis). 74% of WTW emissions in our oilsands pathways. Click to enlarge.
Researchers at the University of Alberta (Canada) have quantified the transformation of the boreal landscape by open-pit oilsands mining in Alberta, Canada to evaluate its effect on carbon storage and sequestration. Oilsands mining and reclamation cause massive loss of peatland and stored carbon. —Rooney et al.
In the US, producing one gallon of ethanol from switchgrass consumes approximately the same net amount of water as does producing a gallon of gasoline from conventional crude or oilsandsoil, according to a study by Argonne National Laboratory researchers presented at the 238 th national meeting of the American Chemical Society last week.
Bitumen production from the Canadian oilsands provides a point of reference that could be used to observe and better manage the land and water impacts of a rapid transition to unconventional fuels, suggests Dr. Sarah Jordaan of the Energy Technology Innovation Policy Research Group, Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Harvard University.
Full-fuel-cycle GHG emissions estimates for reformulated gasoline pathways by LCA study. Nominal value of 70 g CO 2 /MJ for combustion emissions is applied evenly across all studies. He found that the variation in oilsands GHG estimates is due to a variety of causes. 85%); water (5?10%); Credit: ACS, Brandt 2012.
Both scientific research and industrial experience have found that bitumen-derived crude oil (i.e., crude from the oilsands) is no more corrosive in transmission pipelines than other crudes, according to Natural Resources Canada (NRC). In the absence of water, the crude oil is noncorrosive. —ASTM G205.
A study by a team from the State Key Laboratory of Heavy Oil Processing, China University of Petroleum found that fluid thermal processing of. il sands is a feasible process for the production of an upgraded bitumen-derived liquid from Inner Mongolian oilsand. Oilsands exploration in Xing’an region.
Results from a new modeling assessment of contamination in the Athabasca OilSands Region (AOSR) suggest that officially reported emissions of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in that region have been greatly underestimated. Accounting for evaporative emissions (e.g., Average emissions densities from Shen et al.
Canadian Natural Resources (CNRL), an independent crude oil and natural gas producer, is applying a technique at its Horizon oilsands plant that uses CO 2 to change the water chemistry of the tailings, resulting in accelerated settling and greatly reduced water use.
The Utah Water Quality Board, in a 9-2 vote this week, agreed with the August 2012 recommendations of an administrative law judge (ALJ) upholding a permit-by-rule issued by the Division of Water Quality (DWQ) for the proposed PR Spring an oilsands mine on state land in eastern Utah. Source: USOS, DWQ. Click to enlarge.
A team from the University of Plymouth (UK) and Environment Canada has identified, for the first time, individual soluble naphthenic acids (NA) in the process water resulting from the oilsands industry in Canada. Frank (2011) Diamonds in the Rough: Identification of Individual Naphthenic Acids in OilSands Process Water.
A study by researchers in Canada and the US shows that oilsands development is a greater source of polycyclic aromatic compound (PAC) contamination to the Athabasca River and its tributaries than previously realized. Bitumen production in the Alberta oilsands has increased rapidly, rising from 482,000 to 1.3
Researchers from Tianjin University and the National Engineering Research Centre for Distillation Technology, Tianjin, China, report on the use of an ionic liquid (IL) with low viscosity to enhance bitumen recovery from oilsands by solvent extraction while reducing adverse impacts in the ACS journal Energy & Fuels.
the developer of a process for harvesting algae and cleaning up oil & gas water, announced that its second original equipment manufacturer’s (OEM) agreement will target oil service companies in the Canadian oilsands market. LH was an early private investor in Athabasca Oil Corporation. OriginOil, Inc.,
A comprehensive environmental field study to gather information on air contaminants in the Wood Buffalo region in northeast Alberta, Canada (home to major oilsands projects) will occur from 12 August to mid-September 2013. Earlier post.). Earlier post.).
The report provides nine different Tailings Technology Deployment (TDD) Roadmaps to accelerate the implementation of oilsands tailings solutions in Alberta. Water capped end pit lake. Improvement to Water-Based Extraction. sand and clay. sand and clay. Click to enlarge. Earlier post.). Earlier post.).
Transmitting oilsands production. Synthetic crude is produced by upgrading bitumen and is a blend of naphtha, distillate and gas oil range materials produced by hydrotreating the naphtha, distillate and gas oil generated in a delayed coking unit.). —“Dibit Corrosivity”.
An open access article on their study was published online in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Contrary to claims made by industry and government in the popular press, the oilsands industry substantially increases loadings of toxic PPE [priority pollutants] to the AR and its tributaries via air and water pathways.
Proposed anaerobic hydrocarbon biodegradation pathways in oilsands tailings. The researchers now report that higher molecular weight n -alkanes (C 14 , C 16 , and C 18 ) are also degraded under methanogenic conditions in oilsands tailings, albeit after a lengthy lag (180 days) before the onset of methanogenesis.
Growth of production of Canadian oilsands. The Canadian oilsands are now poised to become the number one source of US crude oil imports in 2010, according to new research from the IHS CERA Canadian OilSands Dialogue. The Role of Canadian OilSands in US Oil Supply”.
to construct and operate a 300,000 barrel-per-day oilsands upgrader in the Alberta Industrial Heartland area of Strathcona County. In the decision, the ERCB makes five recommendations to government related to air quality, water quality, and human health studies. within six months of project commencement.
Researchers at Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) and The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) have determined that biochar, a substance produced from plant matter, is a safe, effective and inexpensive method to treat flowback water following hydraulic fracturing, or fracking. —Maoqi Feng, SwRI.
A University of Utah engineer has developed an inexpensive new method to remove oil sheen by repeatedly pressurizing and depressurizing ozone gas, creating microscopic bubbles that attack the oil so it can be removed by sand filters. Water from mining of oilsands and oil shale.
A team at the University of Calgary (Canada) has compared the energy intensities and lifecycle GHG emissions of unconventional oils (oilsands and oil shale) alongside shale gas, coal, lignite, wood and conventional oil and gas. This is not the same as crude oil occurring naturally in shales, as in the Bakken.
The US Department of Energy’s National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) has released a technical report on the results of a limited field study that monitored a hydraulic fracturing operation in Greene County, PA for upward fracture growth out of the target zone and upward gas and fluid migration.
Diluted bitumen has no greater likelihood of accidental pipeline release than other crude oils, according to a new report from the National Research Council (NRC). The NRC committee was not asked to address whether the consequences of a diluted bitumen release differ from those of other crude oils. Earlier post.).
Water consumption intensity of ethanol from corn grain and crop residue and the avoided/displaced water use credits assigned to coproducts: DGS and electricity. In their paper, Mishra and Yeh analyze the lifecycle water requirement consumption and withdrawal requirements of ethanol produced from corn and from crop residue.
Methane hydrate—natural gas trapped in an ice-like cage of water molecules—occurs in both terrestrial and marine environments. Post-cruise analyses will determine the in situ concentrations, the physical properties, the lithology, and the thermodynamic state of methane hydrate bearing sand reservoirs.
Comparison of the percent differential for WTW (well-to-wheel) GHGs from gasoline produced from WCSB oilsands using different production processes relative to gasoline produced from reference crudes. The NETL study serves as a key input for analyses conducted by EPA and DOE. Source: FEIS, Appendix V. Click to enlarge.
Researchers at the Universities of Calgary and Alberta are collaborating on a project for the microbial remediation of oilsands tailings—the waste byproducts of oilsands surface mining that are collected in large manufactured settling basins called tailing ponds. —Golby et al. m below the surface.
Gerrit Voordouw at the University of Calgary, will sample and explore the biological processes at work in oil wells, oilssands, tailings ponds, and coal beds. The second phase of the BP/Synthetic Genomics program will be a series of field pilot studies of the most promising bioconversion approaches. million (US$22.2
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has submitted its draft study plan on hydraulic fracturing for review to the agency’s Science Advisory Board (SAB), a group of independent scientists. The process creates fractures in formations such as shale rock, allowing natural gas or oil to escape into the well and be recovered.
Alberta Innovates has teamed up with Natural Resources (NRCan) and industry partners to take three clean oilsands technologies to commercial demonstration. This announcement is a result of NRCan’s Oil and Gas Clean Tech Program. Cenovus Energy will test an oilsands extraction technology using a solvent-driven process.
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will conduct a comprehensive research study to investigate the potential adverse impact that hydraulic fracturing may have on water quality and public health. million for this peer-reviewed study for FY10 and requesting funding for FY11 in the president’s budget proposal.
Results of a Rice University laboratory study suggests that using foam may maximize enhanced oil recovery (EOR). Oil resides in formations of rock and sand in small cracks and crevices that have proved devilishly difficult to tap. Foam dislodged all but 25.1%
A study by a team at the US Naval Research Laboratory found that strong surface waves and currents generated by major hurricanes can produce extreme forces at the seabed that scour the seafloor and cause massive underwater mudslides. Major oil leaks from damaged pipelines could have irreversible impacts to the ocean environment.
World oil production capacity to 2020 (crude oil and NGLs, excluding biofuels). Oil production capacity is surging in the United States and several other countries at such a fast pace that global oil output capacity could grow by nearly 20% from the current 93 million barrels per day to 110.6 Source: Maugeri 2012.
Gasoline section shows results for fuel derived from both conventional oil and oilsands. The study found that shale gas (SG) well completion and workover emissions are a much more significant factor as compared to a conventional natural gas (NG) pathway. Expansion bars show the components of fuel production.
Oil flow rates, though limited by testing equipment constraints, exceeded 13,000 barrels of oil per day. Malo development is located approximately 280 miles (450 km) south of New Orleans, Louisiana, in 7,000 feet (2,134 m) of water. Malo PS003 well in the prolific Lower Tertiary trend in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico. billion.
For dewatering the company has agreements in place with two technology providers and, through inVentures, has access to an organic sieve technology for removing water from the algae oil. In parallel, scientists are also working to develop technology to effectively extract the oil. We’re asking plants to do what they do best.
Based on the interim results of a new study, MIT researchers are warning smaller nations to proceed with caution in pursuing the development of their natural gas resources. The researchers expect to finish the larger report in August 2014; the study is sponsored by The Cyprus Research Promotion Foundation. Paltsev et al.
EO28), were identified in hydraulic fracturing flowback and produced water using a new application of the Kendrick mass defect and liquid chromatography/ quadrupole-time-of-flight mass spectrometry. Surfactants reduce the surface tension between water and oil, allowing for more oil to be extracted from porous rock underground.
We organize all of the trending information in your field so you don't have to. Join 5,000+ users and stay up to date on the latest articles your peers are reading.
You know about us, now we want to get to know you!
Let's personalize your content
Let's get even more personalized
We recognize your account from another site in our network, please click 'Send Email' below to continue with verifying your account and setting a password.
358 
Let's personalize your content