Oil Sands Extraction Techniques

Oil Sands Extraction Techniques Oil sands are deposits of crude oil, which are much heavier than other crude oil and are made from water, sand, clay and mineral-rich bitumen. The oil sands in Alberta, Canada as one of the largest in the world is in peace River, Cold Lake and Athabasca. The total area covered by these deposits 54,400 square miles and contain about 1.6 trillion barrels of bitumen - which are 174 billion barrels of proven reserves and may be using state of the art. The vast deposits of hydrocarbons Alberta Oil Sands creates more challenging problems for scientists and engineers, who are efficient and economical for the tar-like bitumen. Coal mines and in situ, are common methods used to extract bitumen from oil sands, and are below. Extraction of oil sand is a mine opencast mining technique that can be done in the mineable bitumen deposits are located near the surface of the earth. This process begins with the selection of trees, drainage and storage overhead, and then removing this top layer of soil mineral body. Oil sands are moved by heavy equipment such as trucks and hydraulic shovels to a special cleaning, if the substances are mixed with hot water and sodium hydroxide to the bitumen from the sand, minerals and water. Oil Sands mines in operation in the vicinity of field upgrades, that the conversion of bitumen to a form of synthetic crude oil. For in-situ oil sands, which is too low to sustain mining operations, in economic terms, in any form, of an in-situ or in place of system recovery is needed to ensure the bitumen. This method is used in approximately 80 percent of the roads, bitumen is finally back. Due to the fact that the bitumen does not flow under normal conditions because of their heavy viscous nature, several in-situ technologies have been developed that allow more movement and flow. In situ oil sands is comparable to that of conventional oil - the production - where the oil is once again through wells. Two of the most common methods used for in-situ, are listed below. Steam cycle simulation for the oil sands before starting to pump high-pressure steam is used in the petroleum - Sand training for several weeks. The heat softens the oil sands and the water helps with the breaking of the bitumen from the sand. The pressure that has been created, with cracks formed in the proposal that the production of bitumen to be removed. After a section of oil sands saturated vapor were removed, and that is allowed to work for several weeks, the bath of steam and moisture. The bitumen flow more freely, which can be pumped, which is also on the surface, and if the rate of production begins to decrease, the steam cycle of the simulation process is repeated. Steam assisted gravity drainage - This technology requires the drilling of horizontal wells into two parallel, pumped through steam up and the creation of a chamber at high temperature which is used to heat and loosen the thick bitumen. The bitumen is heated and then pumped to the surface, the second and horizontal. This is one of the most popular and inexpensive methods.