How are oil sands processed?
Steam is injected into the oil sands deposit, reducing the viscosity of the bitumen. A mixture of mostly bitumen and water is pumped to the surface, where the water is recovered and recycled. The deposit is mined and trucked to a main processing plant. Hot water is added to the oil sands, producing a pumpable slurry.
What is oil sands extraction?
Tar sands (also known as oil sands) are a mixture of mostly sand, clay, water, and a thick, molasses-like substance called bitumen. Common extraction methods include surface mining—where the extraction site is excavated—and “in-situ” mining, where steam is used to liquefy bitumen deep underground.
What type of mining is utilized in the Alberta oil sands?
Surface mining
Surface mining is used to recover oil sands deposits less than 75 metres below the surface, while in-situ technologies are used to recover deeper deposits. The electric and hydraulic shovels used have a capacity of 45 m3 and trucks can carry up to 400 tonnes of ore.
What is meant by oil sands?
The oil sands (or tar sands as they are sometimes inaccurately referred to), are a mixture of sand, water, clay and a type of oil called bitumen. Oil sands are a mixture of sand, water and bitumen (oil that is too heavy or thick to flow on its own).
Why are oil sands bad?
Tar sands oil — even the name sounds bad. And it is bad. In fact, oil from tar sands is one of the most destructive, carbon-intensive and toxic fuels on the planet. Producing it releases three times as much greenhouse gas pollution as conventional crude oil does.
What are the different ways of extracting and processing oil recovered from the oil sands?
This kind of oil extraction uses horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing.
- Surface Mining. Oil recovery in the oil sands uses two main methods: mining or in situ, depending on how deep the oil sands deposits are.
- Steam-assisted Gravity Drainage (SAGD)
- Cyclic Steam Stimulation (CSS)
How much does it cost to extract oil from tar sands?
Oil sands producers have slashed operating costs by a third since 2014, but building a new thermal project – in which steam is pumped as deep as one kilometer (1094 yards)underground to liquefy tar-like bitumen and bring it to the surface – requires U.S. crude benchmark at around $60 a barrel to break even, analysts …
Are oil sands expensive?
High cost and low value Oil sands are among the world’s most expensive hydrocarbon resources, and the heavy, sulfur-rich crude fetches a lower price than the “light sweet” crude that sets the benchmark for the value of oil. (See real-time prices.)
Are oil sands toxic?
Large enough to be seen from space, tailings ponds in Alberta’s oil sands region are some of the biggest human-made structures on Earth. They contain a toxic slurry of heavy metals and hydrocarbons from the bitumen separation process.
What is the main replacement for oil?
The main alternatives to oil and gas energy include nuclear power, solar power, ethanol, and wind power.
How is surface mining used in the oil sands?
Although open-pit oil sands mines have a lot in common with traditional hard-rock mines (such as gold or copper), oil sands operators have some unique challenges due to the softness of the deposit. Learn more about surface mining techniques used in the oil sands. Surface mining is defined as the extraction of ore from an open pit or burrow.
How is bitumen extracted from the oil sands?
There are two ways to extract bitumen from the oil sands: either mine the entire deposit and gravity separate the bitumen, or extract the bitumen in-place (or in-situ) using steam without disturbing the land. The technique used depends on the depth of the deposit.
Which is the best method to extract oil from the oil sands?
Currently, 80% of oil sands reserves are accessible via in-situ techniques. Steam Assisted Gravity Drainage (SAGD) is currently the most widely used in-situ recovery method. This method requires the drilling of two horizontal wells, one slightly higher than the other, through the oil sands deposit.
What are the steps in the production of aluminium?
1 BAUXITE MINING. The aluminium production process starts with the mining of bauxites, an aluminium rich mineral in in the form of aluminium hydroxide. 2 ALUMINA PRODUCTION. Bauxite is crushed, dried and ground in special mills where it is mixed with a small amount of water. 3 REDUCTION PROCESS. 4 PRIMARY ALUMINIUM 5 ALUMINIUM ALLOYS.
