Oil Is A Critical Piece Of Our Energy Infrastructure

The oil production in Canada has several significant issues that depict the destruction nature of the industry. These issues can be categorized as environmental, political, economic, and social. The environmental issues lead the pack; in that the environmental destruction associated with the industry is extensive. The environmental problems are climatic, land, water and air related (Best & Hoberg, 2015). Under climatic effect, studies indicate that the development of the tar sides has resulted to three times more greenhouse gases (GHGs) than in production of conventional oil. These environmental issues are caused by the composition of the tar sands. Unlike the convention oil, tar sands are a mixture of bitumen and sand. The process of separating the two results triples GHGs emissions when compared to conventional oil production (Koring, 2013).

Massive cleanup efforts were initiated within a few weeks of the spill and they continued at reduced levels for the next three years. Approximately 14% of the spilled oil was recovered by cleanup crews (Newsweek, p.50). As a result of these efforts and natural weathering, little oil from the spill remained in the affected area by 1992. However, according to the National Oceanic and Atmosphere Administration some oil residues are still found under the ocean surface in areas sheltered from wind and waves. Yet, these residues are highly weathered and the toxicity is reduced to levels tolerable by organisms in the water (7). Nonetheless, the magnitude and timing of the Exxon Valdez oil spill raised immediate concerns about possible effects on marine fish and wildlife and prospects that these effects might be long lasting.

The production of tar sands oil produces emissions that are three to four times higher than conventional oil. This is in part due to the large amount of energy required in the extraction and refining of the oil. Large quantities of heat, water, and chemicals are used to separate bitumen from sand, silt, and

Alberta is a province that is rich and abundant in natural resources such as oil sands. What are oil sands? Oil reserves play a very important role in the Canadian economy. Oil sands from areas such as Alberta have been described as “Canadians greatest buried energy treasure” by popular magazines such as Time magazine. Oil sands are a naturally existing mixture of sand, clay and other materials such as water and bitumen. Some materials in oil sands including bitumen are highly viscous that they need to be treated and refined before they can be used by industrial sites in order to produce fuels such as gasoline. Oil sands can be refined to make oil. There are approximately 170.4 billion barrels of oil that can be used in the Northern part of Alberta. Approximately 80% of the oil sands can be recovered through the In-situ production. 20% of the 80% is oil that can be recovered and purified by mining. Bitumen, a highly viscous material in oil sands is found by mining 90% of the time. While oil sands have a positive effect on us, it has a very negative effect on the environment. Oil sands have a very negative effect on aquatic ecosystems all around the world. Oil sands use up a lot of the water and energy. At present, two to five barrels of natural and recycled water are needed for every barrel of oil produced for mining. Oil sand project affect the natural aquatic ecosystems. Some of the negative effects oil sands have on aquatic ecosystems are that sometimes oil sands

Global diminishing energy resources and climate change are a growing issue. Every year there are more than 250 pipeline spills which contain hazardous liquid including tar sands. Tar sands are the leading cause of Canada’s global greenhouse emissions. TransCanada corp. is planning to repurpose a 40 year old pipeline, called Energy East, that runs from Saskatchewan to Ontario and attach a new pipeline that runs through Quebec to Saint John, New Brunswick. The problem with this idea is that the original pipeline they plan to repurpose is made in a way that would not be used today as the material that the pipe is made of is too thin which could result in spill. Oil spills are incredibly difficult to clean up because a diluted bitumen known as

During use, new oil picks up toxic chemicals, carcinogenic hydrocarbons, and heavy metals which harm the environment and public health when used oil is disposed of improperly. One pint of oil can produce a slick covering approximately one acre of water. Used oil in waterways threatens fish, waterfowl, insects and aquatic life. In salt water, oil kills the microscopic plankton and algae that form the base of the marine food web. Very small amounts of oil spilled in the habitat of fish and shellfish can contaminate their flavor. Used oil seeps through landfills and soils to contaminate groundwater supplies. One quart of oil can foul the taste and purity of 250,000 gallons of water. Used oil applied to roads as a dust suppressant causes water

The story of bioremediation and its recent development as an oil spill response technology provides an interesting example of how a new environmental technology comes into being. Based on the U.S. experience (highly influenced by the Exxon Valdez oil spill), the history of bioremediation in spill response can be divided into three development periods (after Hoff, 1993): the ‘courtship’ period until 1989, the ‘honeymoon’ period from 1989 until 1991, and the ‘establishment’ period since 1992.

In the world we are living in today, with a growing population of approximately 7 billion, demands on fossil fuels are now greater than ever. Although innovative research on green energy sources have flourished during the past years, fossil fuels remain the dominant source of energy in the world. Methods of extraction and storage for crude oils can become detrimental to the environment if not properly handled. Starting from marine spills, to leakage of underground storage tanks, these anthropogenic activities intoxicate soil and water bodies impacting both terrestrial and aquatic life. However, through a natural process called bioremediation, microbes are able to degrade toxic pollutants and even result in the complete restoration of contaminated sites. This paper will focus mainly on bioremediation of oil-contaminated soils.

Canada has become one of the leading producers of crude oil in the world. This is a direct result of improved extraction methods from the Alberta tar sands in the late 1980’s. It is said that the tar sands represent the largest reserve of oil in the world, covering over 140,000 square kilometers. The tar sands are vast areas of soil containing bitumen that is a semi-solid hydrocarbon product. Once extracted from the ground, the bitumen can be refined in order to produce crude oil. To further refine the oil and produce commercial products, the oil must be transported from northern Alberta to places around the world. The three major ways to transport crude oil are shipping, pipeline and rail. Each of these modes of transportation can create

Wastewater in the oil and gas industry is a challenging issue. Oil and gas processes such as hydraulic fracturing consume too much water that translate into wastewater and has to be properly treated. This paper reviews the main contaminants of concern and their concentrations. It also provides a guideline of the target treatment for each contaminant in order to reuse in the same industrial field and a justification for each criteria. Suggested treatment methods and operations to reach the target treatment are presented as well, with a focus on the Walnut Shell Filter as a leading technology in the treatment of wastewater in the oil industry. The WSF was found to be the best method to treat petroleum hydrocarbons, and a centralized on-site treatment facility was the best strategy to resolve the issue of managing wastewater in remote oil and gas locations.

L. and Marqués, S. (2005). Evidence for in situ crude oil biodegradation after the Prestige oil spill. Environmental Microbiology. 7(6): 773–779.

The aim of this report is to hypothetically evaluate how oil and gas production can affect our environment. The purpose is to recognize the issues such as pollution, water infection and soil deterioration caused by the extraction of precious fluids for both onshore and offshore production. Then identify its negative effect on the health, economy, and environment change of the planet earth.

Oil is the lifeblood of the world. Everything that is created by human hands can be related back to it in some way. In an age where there is a dwindling supply of oil it is becoming increasingly important to use every last bit of it to its full potential. After crude oil is removed from the ground it goes through a process called fractionation which separates the hydrocarbons found in oil based on their size. When fractionation is completed the separated hydrocarbons can be manipulated to form more useful hydrocarbons. The three major types of manipulation are decomposition, unification, and alteration. As a future chemical engineer I hope to make the world a better place by manipulating substances into more useful products. The changes made to the hydrocarbons in oil by these processes allow for humans to use every last bit of oil to its full potential.

Another definition of sludge - A dense, slushy, liquid-to-semifluid product that accumulates as an end result of an

The pioneer in development and application of tar sands technology is unquestionably Great Canadian Oil Sand LTD (GCOS). Which was primarily own by an American company. In 1964 GCOS began construction, in 1968 they began commercial production. – operated at a huge loss with “Even, so GCOS operated at a loss for 8 years... [They gained a] profit of $25 million the last 2 years, the company still has an operating deficit of 54 million. The companies need to worry constantly about replacing buckets, cleaning machinery and those are costly material. Imperial oil was controlling the section with the first deep tar sands that was exploited at Cold lake, where reserves estimated at about 160 billion barrels. Lots of companies like, BP Canada Ltd., Hudson’s Bay oil and Gas Ltd. and AOSTRA are studying a combustion method employing steam injection and in situ combustion 6 requiring the oil the companies were able to choose from two major was of extracting oil. Mining of bitumen involves the open-face mining of oil sands ore. Ore is transported to a central processing plant, where the bitumen is separated from the sand and subsequently upgraded to synthetic crude oil. Mining can only be effective for bitumen deposits located sufficiently close to the surface. In situ bitumen extraction refers to the extraction of bitumen directly from the ground. As the bitumen does not flow naturally at the reservoir temperature, the viscosity of the bitumen must first be lowered to allow the bitumen