The Effects of Production of Oil from Tar Sands on the Environment - Term Paper Example

Tar Sands The demand for fuel (oil and petroleum) increases as technology develops. Almost everything needs fuel to work: cars need gasoline to move, machines need fuel to function. All processes require the use of fuel, either directly or indirectly. Unfortunately, the earth doesn’t have an unlimited supply of fuel. Fuel is limited and non-renewable; in a couple more years, the oil levels on earth will reach a point of no return, and if this happens, people and industries will suffer. With this knowledge, more and more companies are looking at alternatives that they can use once the oil reserves are used up. People are also turning to renewable energy sources in order to brace themselves in the event that the earth produces its last few drops of oil. What are Tar Sands? One of the largest consumers of petroleum, the United States leads the way in looking for alternative sources of fuel. Aside from looking for alternative sources, the US is also looking for ways to decrease its dependence on imported fuel. It has started looking into nearby territories for alternative sources of fuel, and luckily, Canada provides fuel for the country. Canada is home to the Athabasca Oil Sands, one of the largest reservoirs of oil sands, or “tar sands” which are naturally occurring mixture of sand, clay, water and bitumen, a crude form of petroleum that is thick and highly viscous. Due to its viscosity, tar sands do not flow freely, unlike crude oil that can be found in oil wells. Tar sands got its name due to its resemblance with tar, a thick black residue. Tar sands, however, are more difficult to change into fuel and it requires more energy and resources in order to be of use. It is also said that the processing of tar sands produce four times more greenhouse gases than the processing of conventional oil from oil wells. It takes a lot to produce oil; companies have to dig, drill and extract oil from oil wells before these can be processed into a form that can be used. The price of petroleum should give a hint on how tedious it is to produce oil. Tar sands, unlike conventional oil, are viscous and thick, making it very difficult to extract them. These need to be injected with water and solvents to make them less viscous and easier to harvest. Tar sands undergo different processes before it can be used as synthetic oil. First, clay, sand and water are removed from the mixture, leaving behind bitumen, which would then be processed. After extracting bitumen from the mixture, it would then be processed using lighter hydrocarbons in order to separate the oil from other components. This would make the bitumen less viscous, and thus, it can flow through the oil pipelines to reach the processing plants that would change it to synthetic oil. The process of transforming tar sand to synthetic oil requires a lot of energy, while at the same time, it releases carbon monoxide and other greenhouse gases. At present, oil is not produced from tar sands on a significant commercial level in the United States; in fact, only Canada has a large-scale commercial tar sands industry, though a small amount of oil from tar sands is produced commercially in Venezuela. The Canadian tar sands industry , centered in Alberta, produces more than one million barrels of synthetic oil on a daily basis. Tar sands represent 40% of Canada’s oil production. About 20% of U.S. crude oil and products come from Canada, and a substantial portion of this amount comes from tar sands. The recent increase in the prices of crude oil pushes the American and the Canadian governments to seriously consider tar sands as alternative sources of crude oil. Production of Oil from Tar Sands Tar sands deposits near the surface can be recovered by open pit mining techniques. Recent discoveries in the technology of tar sand mining enabled huge amounts of deposits to be extracted at lesser costs. These technologies can help make the extraction of tar sand deposits easier and more efficient. After mining, the tar sands are transported to an extraction plant, where the deposits are flushed with hot water to separate the bitumen from clay, sand, water and other minerals. Hot water is added to the sand, and the resulting fluid is piped to the extraction plant where it is agitated. The combination of hot water and agitation releases bitumen from the oil sand, and causes tiny air bubbles to attach to the bitumen droplets, that float to the top of the separation vessel, where the bitumen can be skimmed off. Further processing removes residual water and solids. The bitumen is then transported and eventually upgraded into synthetic crude oil. It is said that it takes two tons of tar sand deposits to produce one barrel of crude oil. The process of extracting oil from tar sands is considerably more tedious than extraction oil from oil wells in the Middle East and other parts of the world. Effect on the Environment Like all petroleum production, oil sands operations can have an adverse effect on the environment. Oil sands projects can potentially affect the land, when the bitumen is initially mined and with large deposits of toxic chemicals; the water during the separation process and through the drainage of rivers; and the air due to the release of carbon dioxide and other emissions. The extraction of tar sands require cutting down trees and clearing forests, making the site free from the “overburden” – topsoil, clay, gravel, etc. – that can be found on top of the tar sand deposits. Huge amounts of tar sands are required to produce a barrel of crude oil, and the process of extracting tar sands destroys the land around the site. It works just like mining, but worse. And with the demand for oil continuing to rise, it is not impossible that developers would start looking for more tar sand deposits, and in the process, cut more trees and clear more forests. The Wood Buffalo Environmental Association (WBEA) is an independent organization that checks the quality of air in the Wood Buffalo area. The WBEA have been monitoring the oil sands region and their data show improved or no change in long term air quality for the five key air quality pollutants — carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, ozone, fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and sulfur dioxide — used to calculate the Air Quality Index. Air monitoring has shown significant increase in hydrogen sulfide (H2S) both in the Fort McMurray area and near the oil sands upgraders. Hydrogen sulfide is the chemical compound with the formula H2S. This colorless, toxic and flammable gas is responsible for the foul odor of rotten eggs. Hydrogen sulfide gas occurs naturally in crude petroleum, natural gas, volcanic gases and hot springs. It also can result from bacterial breakdown of organic matter and be produced by human and animal wastes. In 2007, the Alberta government issued an Environmental Protection Order to Suncor Energy Inc. The order comes in response to numerous occasions when ground level concentration (GLC) for H2S exceeded acceptable standards. Environmental Protection Orders are issued under the authority of Alberta’s Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act. Alberta Environment can issue Environmental Protection Orders to remedy environmental problems where there has been a release of a substance that has caused or may cause an adverse effect to the environment. The “upgrading” of tar sands deposits to crude oil require huge amounts of water. This waste water usually ends up in tailing ponds, with only a small percentage of it being recycled. This poses a huge threat to the water forms around the tar sand deposits, especially to the Athabasca River, one of the longest rivers in Canada. Along with land, air and water pollution, environmental organizations have been attacking the developers of the tar sand deposits due to its effect on climate change. The government of Alberta, in response to these claims, has developed ways to lessen the tar sands’ effect on the climate and environment. Since 2008, the government has regulated its greenhouse gas emissions, being the only territory in North America to do so. Source: Government of Alberta’s website (http://oilsands.alberta.ca/climatechange.html) What Can be Done? With the ongoing debate on tar sands, and with the increasing demand for fuel, what can be done to ensure that the needs of the people are satisfied? Some solutions that have already been implemented in Canada are emission regulation and carbon capture. In the process of emission regulation, the government of Alberta imposes strict compliance and requires regular testing to ensure that large emitters do not emit too much greenhouse gases. On the other hand, carbon capture and storage is made possible by separating carbon dioxide from other gases before these are released to the air. The carbon dioxide is then compressed and turned into liquid, making it easier to store. However, as the demand for fuel continues to grow, these solutions can only do so much as to alleviate the negative effects of unconventional oil production. The consumers can do their part by lessening their demand for fuel. It has been a trend for some people to “go green”: lessening the use of plastic and paper, using organic products and lessening the use of automobiles. However, it would still take a long time before people can lessen their demand for fuel, to point that can affect the fuel production industry. Until that happens, the least that the people can do, especially those who are directly affected by the production of tar sands, is to watch the oil producing companies closely, and make sure that they are doing their part for the environment. Cizek, Petr. "Scouring Scum and Tar from the Bottom of the Pit." Canadian Dimension 40.4 (2006): 26.  Cizek, Petr. "SHUT DOWN THE TAR SANDS." Canadian Dimension 43.1 (2009): 20.  "Stop the tar sands trade talks." New Internationalist 440 (2011): 59.  "Stop The Tar Sands!." Greenpeace Update (2009): 6.  Vincent-Havelka, J. "Tar sands disgrace." New Internationalist 435 (2010): 2. Woynillowicz, Dan. "TAR SANDS FEVER!." World Watch 20.5 (2007): 8.  Schindler, David. 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