Low-impact Raw Materials Extraction From Oil Sands

摘要

Researchers from Siemens Corporate Technology are working on a new, much more environmentally friendly process for extracting bitumen from oil sands.rnThey want to use induction to heat oil-bearing sands and so release the valuable raw material. Canada is the main location of oil sand deposits, with around 178 billion barrels of heavy oils. About three percent of these resources have been exploited since the 1960s. Increasing oil prices for the foreseeable future, however, are now making extraction economically attractive.rnExtracting oil from sands requires large quantities of water and energy. The in-situ method involves the oil company pumping steam into the reservoir at high pressures and a temperature of up to 300 degrees Celsius for a number of weeks. The result - mixture of water and bitumen - flows into a drainage line. After extraction, the viscous mass is separated from the water and processed into synthetic crude oil.