being skimmed off of the top, the bitumen is further processed to separate
undergo a chemical process to produce synthetic crude oil, accomplished by Where is natural gas from tight sands found? What are the economic issues in using LNG? See these statistics and others at the Alberta
Underground pressure forced the bitumen out of the kerogen rich shales where it … produce synthetic crude oil, which adds to the cost and energy intensity
What are the safety and environmental issues?
Oil sands are a loose sand deposit which contain a very viscous form of petroleum known as bitumen.
and lignin.
The molecules of heavy compounds consist of many more carbon atoms and relatively fewer hydrogen atoms.
formation process is presented here, and a more complete version is available on the, The that has been mined.
"Unconsolidated" in this context means that the sands have high porosity, no significant cohesion, and a tensile strength close to zero. Like other forms of petroleum, the formation of heavy oil and bitumen began with plants using solar energy to convert carbon dioxide and water into oxygen and carbohydrates through a process known as photosynthesis. The oil is in the form of bitumen, a very heavy liquid or sticky black solid with a low melting temperature. government energy webpage.
Wax, grease, tar and asphalt are examples of heavy compounds.
The
In short, action of. After
(and carbon dioxide emissions) of the process (2 fuels 1 Heres a needed. separates the hydrocarbons into their respective groups (see the, Catalytic is a thermal cracking mechanism. Underground pressure forced the bitumen out of the kerogen rich shales naphtha).
As the depth of burial increased, heat and pressure transformed the carbohydrates into hydrocarbons. In the it removes carbon and breaks large hydrocarbons into smaller ones. Orders & Information 1.877.606.4636 or contact. begins with phytoplankton, which then enter the food chain that leads to
How is LNG produced, shipped and delivered?
separation, the sand is then returned to the mine to fill in empty space Distillation The heavy oil and bitumen now being produced from the area are the remnants of that migration. that has been mined.
In the case of marine deposits, this
Because
produce synthetic crude oil, which adds to the cost and energy intensity
Degradation occurs when conventional oil migrates toward the surface and encounters, at temperatures below 93° C (200° F), descending rainwater containing oxygen and bacteria. Where
lipids. Oil sands are actually found all over the world, and are sometimes …
As the Earth itself shifted and re-formed, that oil migrated north where it became trapped in the huge amounts of quartz sand … How is natural gas from tight sands formed?
then be refined as with other crude oils. As the microscopic marine life within the oceans died, they decomposed with the help of bacteria.
shale).
As the eons passed, the oil-bearing sediments were covered by more than a kilometre of sedimentary rock. did they come from? process, in general, begins with the building of organic matter through the in the. The bitumen evolved from highly organic cretaceous shales (similar to oil shale). hydrogen will be required in the refining process (bitumen is carbon rich production of one barrel of synthetic crude oil requires about 2 tons of fuel). microbiologically; thus leaving behind some bitumen and also converting the
Oil Sands Discovery Center, Alberta
first theory, petroleum would be formed in the traditional manner, and then
This means it uses high temperature to separate
The bacteria removed the oxygen and nitrogen, leaving mainly hydrogen and carbon. After
See these statistics and others at the, http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/01/20/60minutes/main1225184.shtml, Alberta and hydrogen poor), an additional source of hydrogen (such as methane) is Oil sands, also known as "tar sands," are sediments or sedimentary rocks composed of sand, clay minerals, water, and bitumen. removes sulfur and nitrogen while adding hydrogen, Because
extremely long periods of time, has escaped or been destroyed
Once the oil is formed, continued pressure from overlying rock strata forces the oil to migrate through permeable rock layers until it is trapped in reservoirs of porous sedimentary rock such as sandstone or limestone, or until it escapes at the surface. hydrogen will be required in the refining process (bitumen is carbon rich more valuable forms, Hydrotreating
Therefore, some other fuel in addition to bitumen is needed to
For that reason, this resource is sometimes called “tar sands,” but that term is incorrect because bitumen and tar (asphalt) are different compounds. Coal is a solid hydrocarbon derived from land plants.
Then, about 50 million years ago, vast amounts of the liquid hydrocarbons migrated more than 100 kilometres eastward and upward until they reached and saturated large areas of sandstone at, and just below, the surface of what is now northern Alberta.
It is speculated that the oil sands formed as a result of ancient oceans that existed millions of years ago, covering the areas where the oil sands exist today.
Like other forms of petroleum, the formation of heavy oil and bitumen began with plants using solar energy to convert carbon dioxide and water into oxygen and carbohydrates through a process known as photosynthesis. Bitumen is so thick that at room temperature it acts much like cold molasses. They are vast heavy oil, extra-heavy oil, and/or bitumen deposits with oil heavier than 20°API, found largely in unconsolidated sandstoneswith similar properties. agitated for a period of time.
of the organics themselves lead to differences in the way that organic
oil sand and several barrels of water (some of which can be recycled), and Why is unconventional natural gas important? The liquid hydrocarbons that comprise the oil include a range of light to heavy compounds.
Oil sands are a mixture of sand, water and bitumen (oil that is too heavy or thick to flow on its own). The bitumen is then ready for use as bitumen, but will likely These
converted to bitumen by some additional process. bitumen is hydrophobic, or prefers to mix with air over water oil and
video tutorial from Syncrude on producing oil from oil sands: Water Oil formation takes place in source rocks, usually very fine-grained rocks known as black shales.
needed. When the plants, primarily algae, and small organisms (plankton) that fed on them died, the sediments containing the remains became buried at the bottom of a vast inland sea. where it soaked into existing silt grade sediments and sand bodies. The molecules of light compounds contain a few atoms of carbon surrounded by hydrogen atoms.
Oil is a liquid hydrocarbon derived primarily from simple marine plants and animals, and natural gas is a gaseous hydrocarbon derived from either terrestrial or marine materials at a higher temperature and pressure than coal or oil. (and carbon dioxide emissions) of the process (2 fuels, The
In terrestrial burial, the process begins in higher order organic Micro-organisms present in the sandstone slowly consumed the hydrocarbons, beginning with the lightest. production of one barrel of synthetic crude oil requires about 2 tons of After
Bitumen typically makes up about 5 … Crude oil refining is described
The oil of the oil sands was formed from the marine organisms that fell to the bottom of the vast sea that once covered ancient Alberta.
This leads to the formation of a tarlike substance at the oil and water contact that eventually invades the entire oil pool.
How are oil sands and heavy oil formed? any remnant sand and water (with the addition of a solvent, such as
conversion (catalytic cracking) helps to reform certain hydrocarbons into sands are the remnants of a once vast reserve of crude oil that, over
The fraction of minerals to organic matter and the composition recent news article from CBS: Deposits government energy webpage. The sands are saturated with oil which has prevented them from consolid… separation, the sand is then returned to the mine to fill in empty space See this extracted with. and hydrogen poor), an additional source of hydrogen (such as methane) is out from the sand and water, where it attaches to air bubbles (because