Adoption Of Ceramic Membrane Technology In Albertas SAGD Operations
Abstract
Oil sands operations are seen to have a negative impact to the environment by producing a large quantity of green house gas emissions as well as being a large consumer of water during the extraction process. As of right now, natural gas prices are too low to consider using carbon capture storage technologies to generate heat and electricity in SAGD operations which has led to the government of Alberta missing its target of reducing their green house gas emissions (CBC, 2013). The alternative is to improve the existing methods and technologies that decrease the water consumption as well as green house gas emissions. COSIA, in partnership with numerous oil and gas companies, are currently working on using ceramic membranes in their SAGD operations. What this new technology means is that it reduces the overall environmental impact by decreasing their total overall water consumption, improving efficiencies, energy expended on steam generation, and reducing their green house gas emissions, while still being able to use the same methods for oil extraction in Alberta’s oil sands. Ceramic membrane technology would allow the water recycling process to remove a number of steps as well as reducing the cost of de-oiling systems, filters, and lime softening (COSIA, 2013) However one of the main barriers that needs to be overcome is the cost to implement this technology means stopping production at a SAGD facility for a period of time which could effect the price of oil (COSIA, 2013).
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Citation
Inkster, J. (2013). Adoption Of Ceramic Membrane Technology In Albertas Sagd Operations (Unpublished report). University of Calgary, Calgary, AB.