In some areas, particularly in the united states, bitumen is often called asphalt, though that name is almost universally used for the roadpaving material made from a mixture of. Tar sands is a colloquialism for what are technically described as bituminous sands, and commonly known as oil sands or in venezuela, extra heavy oil. A brief overview of the geology of heavy oil, bitumen and oil. Sand and rock material which contains crude bitumen a heavy, viscous form of crude oil. According to log data, it is estimated that average porosity of oil sands is 35. Energy iq what are some of albertas non renewable energy. Buoyancy of oil sands bitumen raises spill concerns the. Canadas oil sands reserve is the third largest oil resource basin in the world, after the persian gulf and venezuela.
Tables of data on composition, yield, and behaviour of oilsands bitumen and heavy. A brief overview of the geology of heavy oil, bitumen and oil sand deposits m. Evaluation of bitumen fractional composition depending on the. The oil was burned to evaporate brine and produce salt.
Previous research showed that the interfacial tension of bitumenwater system was dependent on the composition of the bitumen mehrotra et al. A clear understanding of the interactions of the solvent with components in the oil sands matrix, and an appropriate design of a solvent is required. A refill kit is available and contains only consumable component items. Bitumens, asphalts, and tar sands, volume 7 developments in petroleum science. Determining whether spilled oil sands crude will float is a key question for. Feb 19, 20 but its supply of conventional oil is shrinking, and oil sands extraction has been growing fast in the past decade, from about 700,000 barrels per day in 2000 to 1. Review of the composition and toxicity of oil sands. The most widely used technique is waterbased lotions separation method, which means that the surfactant or the alkali solution is used and mixed with the oil sands, and oil sands separation is. Electrokinetic consolidation of oil sands tailings. Commonly quoted statistics indicate that albertas oil sand deposits contain approximately 1. The composition of oil sands oil sands albertas energy.
Being flammable, coal tar is sometime used for heating or to fire boilers. The origin of organic matter and the evolution of life systems on earth 2. This hydro carbonic oil is high viscosity oil having a boiling. Bitumen, dense, highly viscous, petroleumbased hydrocarbon that is found in deposits such as oil sands and pitch lakes natural bitumen or is obtained as a residue of the distillation of crude oil refined bitumen. Drilling in search of a basement reservoir of oil is the initial focus of development in albertas oil sands.
Most of the bitumen and heavyoil 70% is hosted within three countries in the western hemisphere venezuela, canada and the u. A huge amount of research work has been conducted to understand the mechanisms of how these factors can affect the extraction. Some oil sands leaseholders requested that all current and future associated gas production from affected oil sands deposits be curtailed. Though the focus is on bitumen from albertas oilsandsthe largest resource in the worldthe science applies to upgrading of heavy oil. The tar sands or oil sands are a mixture of sand, bitumen a black, asphaltlike oil, mineralrich clays and water. The recovery of oil from oilsand slurries in a laboratory.
Energy world energy needs canadas energy mix transportation markets facts oil what are the oil sands. Islam, shriful, thickening of mature fine oil sands tailings 2014. The large pools of wastewater, sand, salt and hydrocarbons that are left over when oil is extracted from bitumen can last for decades before enough. However, the bitumen content can be as high as 20% in some areas. Tar sands oil or diluted bitumen does not meet the definition as outlined in texas and federal statutory codes, which define crude oil as. An experimental and numerical study yu guo the university of western ontario supervisor dr. Physical and mechanical characteristics of natural bitumen nb are established by standard methods. Coal, oil shale, natural bitumen, heavy oil and peat coal geology and geochemistry 40 kechang xie, shanxi key laboratory of coal science and technology, taiyuan university of technology, china 1. A brief overview of the geology of heavy oil, bitumen and. The exact composition of albertas oil sands can vary greatly, even within the same geological formation. In some areas, particularly in the united states, bitumen is often called. Canadas oil sands are located almost exclusively in northern alberta in three deposits that lie in the mcmurray formation, a layer of shale, sandstone and oil sand. For those opposed to albertas oil sands development for environmental reasons, tailings ponds are a defining geographic feature of the province, and an ugly black eye on the industry.
The early cretaceous mcmurray formation is an example of fluvial to estuarine sedimentation. Oil sand is a naturally occurring mixture of sand, clay or other minerals, water, and bitumen. Buoyancy of oil sands bitumen raises spill concerns. Oil sands are a mixture of sand, water, clay and bitumen found in several locations around the globe, with the largest reserve located in alberta, canada. Natural bitumen tar sands and heavy oil in addition to conventional petroleum, there are two other materials that offer some relief to the potential shortfalls in the supply of liquid fuels and other products.
Physicochemical, interfacial and hydrodynamic conditions were found to play a major role in the liberation and aeration of oil which ultimately affects the oil flotation 8. Most of the bitumen and heavy oil 70% is hosted within three countries in the western. Oil sand can be upgraded into synthetic crude oil and other petroleum products alberta energy. Oil sands are either loose sands or partially consolidated sandstone containing a naturally occurring mixture of sand, clay, and water, soaked with a dense and extremely viscous form of petroleum technically referred to as bitumen natural bitumen deposits are reported in many. It contains large deposits of bitumen of viscosities reaching to more than a million centipoise. Dec 09, 20 i will detail the cost of oil sands production via the different methods these companies utilize, as well as the energy return on energy invested eroei of extracting the bitumen. Oil sands, crude bitumen, or more technically bituminous sands, are a type of unconventional petroleum deposit. Horizon oil sands is an oil sands mining and upgrading project in bitumount, alberta, canada. The location of oil sands oil sands albertas energy heritage. A new solvent to extract bitumen from oil sands onepetro. Bitumen is a kind of crude oil found in natural oil sands depositsits the heaviest crude oil used today.
Jul 4 oil sands geology and the properties of bitumen. Oil sands mining uses up almost as much energy as it. Browse the amazon editors picks for the best books of 2019, featuring our. Oil sands geology and the properties of bitumen oil. The sands are naturally occurring mixtures of sand or clay, water and an extremely dense and viscous form of petroleum. Bitumen can be extracted using two methods, depending on how deep the deposits are below the surface. Incidental release of bitumen during oil shale grinding and impacts on oil shale beneficiation 385 possible changes on particle surfaces after grinding to different degrees of fineness. Oil sands bitumen estimations reality search and discovery. In general, unconventional forms of oil including oil sands mining are becoming important in global energy supply due to decreasing reserves of conventional oil. Oil sand is composed of quartz sand that is completely enveloped within bitumen, which is the heaviest form of petroleum.
Operating temperature was determined to be one of the key process variables that play a vital role as the controlling parameter in oil sands processing. Although the lighter conventional crudes are often waterflooded to enhance recovery, this method is essentially ineffective for heavy crudes between 20 and. Heavy oil and tar sand, crude oils below 20 on the american petroleum institute api gravity scale that require mining or thermal recovery. By the tenth century, extensive bamboo pipelines connected oil wells with salt springs. In 2010, more than 800,000 gallons of tar sands oil was spilled into the kalamazoo river in michigan, resulting in immediate negative health impacts for nearby residents, sunken oil, and an. The effect of temperature on the overall recovery of oil in oil sands processing have been extensively studied over the years. Oil sands, tar sands, crude bitumen, or more technically bituminous sands, are a type of. With oil sands ambitions on a collision course with climate change, exxon still stepping on the gas by nicholas kusnetz, lisa song, neela banerjee its not just dakota access. Bitumens, asphalts, and tar sands, volume 7 developments in petroleum science unknown, author on.
The most commonly known unconventional oilsoil sands, heavy oil, and bitumenare found primarily in the western united states, canada, and venezuela. In this awardwinning book, a canadian bestseller, journalist andrew nikiforuk exposes the disastrous environmental, social, and political costs of the tar sands. Each grain of sand is surrounded by a film of water that is in turn covered by the heavy bitumen oil. The international energy agency has warned that expanding canadian production hinges on transportation capacity. National assessment of oil and gas fact sheet natural bitumen.
Oil sands, tar sands, or extra heavy oil is a type of bitumen deposit. A typical ink formulation is spread pigment in the phenolic resins. Oil sands mining uses up almost as much energy as it produces. A typical oil sands deposit contains about 10% bitumen, 5% water and 85% solids. Each category is dominated by a single extraordinary accumulation.
One of the visits we made on the trip was to canadian natural resources cnrl horizon oil sands project. Oilsands short course web page university of alberta. The bitumen liberation and recovery of oil sands have been well known affected, to some extent, by the bitumen physical properties, especially the surface properties, such as the interfacial tensions. Initial examination of the horizon project began in 2004. Oil sands are sometimes referred to as tar sands or bituminous sands. These a heavy oil, found in various reservoirs, and b bitumen, found in tarsand deposits. The oil sands, also known as tar sands, contain a mixture of sand, water and oily bitumen. We can mention to making ink as color among natural bitumen applications. These ponds are massive earth structures, initially constructed from overburden hauled from the mine site. Evaluation of bitumen fractional composition depending on. Other terms for such accumulations include oil sand, oilimpregnated sand, asphaltic sand, rock asphalt, bituminous rock, and bitumenbearing rock. Lithographic ink is made of 10% pigments, 10% resins and a balance of ahydrophobic solvent such as hydrocarbon oil. The project includes a surface oil sands mining and bitumen extraction plant, complemented by onsite bitumen upgrading with associated infrastructure. Oil sands, tar sands, crude bitumen, or more technically bituminous sands, are a type of unconventional petroleum deposit.
Method of recovery of oil and bitumen from oilsands and. The largest extraheavy oil accumulation is the venezuelan orinoco heavy oil belt, which contains 90 percent of the worlds extraheavy oil when measured on an inplace basis. Composition of bitumen chemical and physical composition. Oil sands are either loose sands or partially consolidated sandstone containing a naturally occurring mixture of sand, clay, and. Similarly, canada has about 61 tcf of established reserves lower cost supplies as. As a result, the economic benefits of oil sands development reach across canada and around the globe. From the introduction the high demand for quality petroleum products necessitates ongoing innovation in the science and engineering underlying oilsands extraction and upgrading. Bitumens, asphalts, and tar sands, volume 7 developments in. Properties of modified bitumen obtained from natural. Tailings ponds or tailings storage facilities play a critical role in storing solids from mined oil sands and managing water flows. The composition of oil sands oil sands albertas energy heritage. The most commonly known unconventional oils oil sands, heavy oil, and bitumen are found primarily in the western united states, canada, and venezuela. National assessment of oil and gas fact sheet natural. Pdf the comparison of bitumens from oil sands with.
Canadas oil sands are developed by the private sector, with major investments from companies based in canada, the united states, europe, and asia. Fundamentals of nonaqueous extraction of oilsands natural. In 2005, the united states used about 21 million barrels of oil per day 25% of world total, compared with worldwide demand of about 84 million, according to the united states energy information administration. Alberta, canadas oil sands have been in the news a lot, and were even featured on a 60 minutes episode. Coal tar is a brown or dark black liquid of high viscosity, which smells of naphthalene and aromatic hydrocarbons. For the determination of organic part natural bitumen of oil sands the extraction methods was used in soxhlet apparatus by solvent. Find out more about canadas oil resources and canadas oil production.
Hot water processing is introduced to extract bitumen from oil sands. The largest extraheavy oil accumulation is the venezuelan orinoco heavyoil belt, which contains 90 percent of the worlds extraheavy oil when measured on an inplace basis. Similarly, canada has about 61 tcf of established reserves lower cost supplies as opposed to higher costs gas resources, which total 630 tcf. The sands must be mined and processed info, in order to extract the oil and make it useful and transportable by pipeline. The concentration of bitumen by weight varies from 1 to 18% average 12%. Tables of data on composition, yield, and behaviour of oilsands bitumen and heavy oil fractions are extensive. Oil sands are found primarily in the athabasca region of northern alberta, canada, and in areas. Can bitumen be extracted by heating oil sands insitu. In grain size analysis, the sample is well sorted with a diameter of about 0.
Using actual oil sands from the athabasca oil sand deposits in alberta, students will examine the nature and characteristics of oil sand and then formulate and test methods of bitumen extraction. To that end, the institute for oil sands innovation iosi at the university of alberta proposed the project fundamentals of nonaqueous extraction of oilsands for ecoeii funding. This is a continuationinpart of a copending patent application by the same inventors, ser. In the paper physical and chemical properties of natural bitumen of oil sands were investigated. Banerjees expertise is in the area of heavy oil and bitumen characterization, processing, and upgrading to synthetic crude. Evaluation of bitumen fractional composition depending on the crude oil type and production technology conference paper pdf available january 2014 with 2,054 reads how we measure reads. The exact composition of albertas oil sands can vary greatly, even within. Unlike conventional oil resources, unconventional oil resources have been known to exist only for the last few decades and are available in limited areas of the world. Ftir spectra were obtained using a perkin elmer, spectrum 2000 model spectrometer between 4000 and 400 cm1 at 2 cm1 resolution using kbr pellet technique. Shang the university of western ontario graduate program in civil and environmental engineering a thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree in doctor of philosophy. Viscosity, surface tension, and interfacial tension of bitumen all play an important role in the bitumen release from tar sands. Heavy oil and tar sand bitumen 5 petroleum recovery, the earliest known wells were drilled in china in 347 bc to depths of 800feet 240 m and were drilled using bits attached to bamboo poles. The main underlying mechanisms involved in the flotation process for oil sands are oil liberation, oil bubble attachment and oil aeration. Previous research showed that the interfacial tension of bitumen water system was dependent on the composition of the bitumen mehrotra et al.
Bitumens, asphalts, and tar sands, volume 7 developments. The fraction of minerals to organic matter and the composition of the organics. The emphasis throughout is to link the fundamentals of the molecules through to the economic drivers for the industry, because this combination determines the technology used for processing. Dirty oil and the future of a continent, revised and. For the canadian oil sands, debate continues over the industrys environmental impacts and capacity for export. The cost of production and energy return of oil sands. Heavy oil and natural bitumen are present worldwide table 1.
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