Oil sands

Bituminous sands, colloquially known as oil sands or tar sands, are a type of unconventional petroleum deposit. The sands contain naturally occurring mixtures of sand, clay, water, and a dense and extremely viscous form of petroleum technically referred to as bitumen (or colloquially "tar" due to its similar appearance, odour, and colour). Oil sands are found in large amounts in many countries throughout the world, but are found in extremely large quantities in Canada and Venezuela.

 

 

Oil sands reserves have only recently been considered to be part of the world's oil reserves, as higher oil prices and new technology enable them to be profitably extracted and upgraded to usable products. They are often referred to as unconventional oil or crude bitumen, in order to distinguish the bitumen extracted from oil sands from the free-flowing hydrocarbon mixtures known as crude oil traditionally produced from oil wells.

 

Making liquid fuels from oil sands requires energy for steam injection and refining. This process generates two to four times the amount of greenhouse gases per barrel of final product as the production of conventional oil. If combustion of the final products is included, the so-called "Well to Wheels" approach, oil sands extraction, upgrade and use emits 10 to 45% more greenhouse gases than conventional crude.

 

There are two ways for oil sands winning, open pit mines and in-situ

At the open pit mine, the minerals are separated from the oil by using special techniques.

At in-situ, the sediments are heated and the oil components get les viscosity and are pumped to the surface.

Innovation Concepts has designed a reactor for open pit mining and is the solution for the current environmental, financial and production problems.

We have two different kind of solutions:

-                    Oil sand tailings

-                    Oil sand production

 

 

Oil Sand tailings
The tree main problems with the oil sand tailings can be solved in one process: the patented VTR technology by Innovation Concepts.

 

By wet air oxidation in a special Vertical Tube Reactor of the MFT ( Mature Fine Tailing) parts the MFT convert to TTT ( Thermal Treaded Tailing):

-                    the bitumen parts in the MFT are used for a energy source for the process,

-                    The settle time is reduced till weeks

-                    The metals are oxidized, the leaching is reduced

 

The relieved water can be re-used in the separation process

This proven technique can be up scaled till 1000 m3 a hour.

 

    

 

 

 

Oil sand production

In one process, the main tree steps takes place:

1. separation of the oil and minerals-water

2. decreasing the viscosity of the oil

3. destroying the organic components in the residues ( minerals and water)

 

Most of the disadvantage of using tar sand as fluid energy will disappear:

- Cheaper then conventional techniques

- Significant cleaner residues

- 50 % less CO2 emission

- 50 % less water use

- No external energy source needed, simultaneously steam is produced and electricity can be produced.

 

Our technique is cheaper and cleaner !

 

Applications

- oils sands, tar sands, bituminous sands

- Oil shale

- Heavy oils

- With oils polluted soils

- Etc.

 

Patent

As our patent is pending, we don't publish detailed information, unless a NDA is signed.

 

 

Our goal is to do more research, together with organizations and companies who really want a clean tar sand / oil shale sector and not to develop a clean technique for a monopoly position.

 

By using our technique. Its possible to have significant benefits within a 2 years period.

 

For more information,

Please contact us : info@innovationconcepts.eu