New Process Could Make Canadian Oil Cheaper, Cleaner

[rayofreason]

Source: MIT Technology Review

New technology for extracting oil from oil sands could more than double the amount of oil that can be extracted from these abundant deposits. It could also reduce greenhouse-gas emissions from the process by up to 85 percent. The technology was developed by N-Solv, an Alberta-based consortium that recently received $10 million from the Canadian government to develop the technology.

Read more: http://www.technologyreview.com/energy/38204/?p1=A1

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Excellent news. Buy Canadian, not Saudi, oil. Put money in the hands of people who use it for education and healthcare, not spreading Wahhabism.

[applegrove]

1. I think it takes something like two barrels of oil to cook the tar sands and get out 3 barrels

of oil. So there is lots and lots of more room for improvement. I'm sure the tar sands are still dirty, dirty, dirty oil.

[groundloop]

2. New Process Provides Safe, Pollution Free Energy

There's this thing called the SUN ....

[SKKY]

17. +11000

...as in degrees Fahrenheit. That would be the temperature of the sun.

[pam4water]

3. Article is a good reminder that all the Colleges, Universities and Institutes in the USA are in the

pocket of one corporation or another.

[TheWraith]

10. *Sigh* Cynicism is no substitute for actual intellectual curiosity. nt

[Dappleganger]

16. Koch brothers' breeding ground.

At least this is true at FSU here in FL.

[Downwinder]

4. Does not say anything about cutting river pollution. n/t

[Javaman]

14. Of course not,

that area is massive superfund site.

[glinda]

5. bs

[Altoid_Cyclist]

6. IMHO, this is more industry psych-ops.

The process is so bad that even a reduction like they're claiming is still unacceptable.

This is a horrible energy "solution".

[left on green only]

11. So True, So True

Up at Fort McMurray, the oil sands mining operation has polluted the Athabasca River almost beyond recognition. And the land just north of there at the site of the mine could easily be hell on Earth. All done in the name of greed, with absolutely no regard for the flora and fauna of one of the most beautiful places on this Earth. Yes, just another reason why I have come to disown my own species. And now they want to build a pipeline to get the stuff even more quickly to the American markets, such is their greed driven lust for profit. This is just what our planet needs! :sarcasm:

[George1984]

12. While I don't disagree with cleaning up the tar sands

You and I both know the light switch will not be flicked to use strictly solar, wind or even tidal power, so what should we do? Continue to be reliant on the middle east? If you only knew what they do to produce oil. Or how much flaring they do daily. Or the amount of waste pumped into the seas and oceans. How about China or the great environmentalists in Russia? Unfortunately we have become dependant on fossil fuels, but as a continent we can become self reliant. I am pretty sure the computer you use was made with plastic, or the plastic parts on your bicycles, or the tires for them. Point being, we currently need it. And for the immediate future we will continue to need it.

The major problem with the tar sands is the fresh water used and the tailing ponds. And let's be honest, there never was anything up north of Fort McMurray. It was forest and they have been logging it for years, so it was far from pristine land.

My point is, we have come a long way in the past even 20 years, and these schools do actually make leaps and bounds forward in technology, but use the money from the oil companies. Is that a hand in their pocket, I guess you could look at it that way, but if they can figure out how to remove double the amount of oil, and help level off the price of gas, or even lower it, I am sure you wouldn't be complaining. These advances help everyone, not just the big oil cos. What happens when they figure out how to use the high salinity brine water instead of fresh water? That also does wonders for the environment and the people, but are they still lackeys for the big machine? You can look at it either way, but in the end, as North Americans we use 20% of the daily oil used, and have roughly 5% of the population, so I would much rather we get the oil from here, keep the jobs here ad not support the middle east.

[Altoid_Cyclist]

15. We have the same type of destruction happening in PA thanks to the

Marcellus Shale development.

I was just looking at some of the maps of the tar sands region and was stunned to see just how much land, water, animal and plant life is being destroyed.

Have to agree, (sadly) that it must be hell on earth. It was a beautiful planet a long time ago.

[jwirr]

7. Define cleaner - when we burn it or for the water when they process it? nt

[caraher]

8. We really need to find new energy sources

and not get better at extracting fossil fuels.

Burning through the tar sand oil just exacerbates the climate change problem.

[TheWraith]

9. Press releases are cheap, and rarely pan out.

Every week you can hear about some revolutionary new thing: new oil extraction, new battery, new solar panel, new cancer drug. Most of them never amount to anything, because of the gap between what is possible in a lab, and what is PRACTICAL in the real world.

[Paulie]

13. Still have to do something with all the sulfur

Take a peek at these pics: http://folc.ca/sulphur_storage/sulphur_blocks.htm

[NickB79]

18. Their process involves injecting solvents into the ground to soften up the tar deposits

Sounds like the "clean" fracking process to get out natural gas we were told was all sunshine and rainbows, before it started causing people's tap water to light on fire.