Carbon Renewables

[Aman A.K.A. Ahamburger]

I would just like to point out to all the environmentalist that might be out there, that we're on it. Stop supporting OPEC already!!! WE don't need the jobs up here, and you need to stop supporting OPEC down there! JMO. Have a good one.

Didn't know where to post this. So I thought I would just share it like this.

Discovery may aid oilsands cleanup
www.thestarphoenix.com/business/Discovery+oilsands+cleanup/5845286/story.html

A novel filtration material developed at the University of Saskatchewan as part of a PhD thesis may offer a green solution to contaminated oilsands process water.

Mohamed Hamid Mohamed's PhD thesis research placed among the top 12 national finalists honoured by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) at the 2011 Innovation Challenge Awards in Ottawa.

The awards honour graduate students who have demonstrated an entrepreneurial spirit by identifying ways in which their research thesis results can be developed into products and processes to benefit Canadians.

Mohamed is investigating ways to remove corrosive acids from oilsands process water. His project, the only finalist project not already at the commercialization stage, was deemed by the judges to show great potential.

Crude oil contains naphthenic acids which lead to corrosion problems in oil refineries, so the oil must be washed and the waste water cannot be reused.

"During oilsands production, the industry uses a lot of water to wash the crude oil. As a result, naphthenic acids are introduced into the water," says Mohamed, now an NSERC Visiting Fellow with both the U of S and Environment Canada.

The contaminated water is collected and stored in large tailing ponds, unable to be safely returned to the environment.

Working at Environment Canada's Hydrology Research Centre in collaboration with the U of S chemistry department, Mohamed is using materials science to help decontaminate oilsands process water.

"This work represents a major contribution to oilsands research," says assistant chemistry professor Lee Wilson, who is Mohammed's co-supervisor.

Once the federal government determines standards for cleaning and returning the water to the environment, oil producers will be looking for an efficient, cost-effective and environmentally friendly method of purifying the water used to wash crude oil, he says.

Mohamed found that molecules of a naturally occurring sugar, cyclodextrin, can be linked together to create a polymer that extracts naphthenic acids from water.

Other methods being researched have limitations related to their cost and effectiveness. Also, some methods break down the naphthenic acids into unknown compounds, which may lead to further toxicity problems.

By contrast, Mohamed's method captures the naphthenic acids, removing them from the water. In addition, cyclodextrin is an environmentally friendly solution to a serious environmental concern.

The cyclodextrin-based polymers function like other types of water filtration system, such as charcoal filters, but the polymers display remarkable binding behaviour.

While inexpensive charcoal has been used for hundreds of years to clean water, studies have shown that once the pollutant is trapped, it leaches from the charcoal.

"Our material shows high binding, which solves the problem of leaching," Mohamed says. "It is also easy to reuse our materials."

The problem Mohamed had to overcome is that cyclodextrin is soluble in water. He made it insoluble by polymerizing the coneshaped molecules, which are then modified to target naphthenic acids in a process Mohamed likens to tuning a dial on a radio to find the right station.

He was inspired to pursue this research by its potential to help people in his home country, Kenya, where water purification is a serious concern. He believes he will be able to bring the Saskatchewan research back to Kenya where it will provide other water purification solutions.

"This research can be used to purify any contaminant that is in water," Mohamed says. "You just have to tune the material to target a particular impurity."

His next step is to continue his research to find a more efficient material. The long-term goal is to develop the project for large-scale operations in the field once reclamation of oilsands process water gets underway.

Lisa Buchanan is a graduate student intern in the U of S Office of Research Communications.

[Deleted]

Ahamburger--I honestly have not heard one single legitimate reason why this Keystone pipeline should not be built.

[AgeOfEnlightenmentSCP]

I can't think of a legitimate reason, but I can think of a reason: the re-election of Barack Hussein Obama.

[weltschmerz]

Interestingly, the Canadians are also face stiff opposition to the other pipeline, planned to cross western Canada to the Pacific. PM Harper may have to over rule a ney vote in Parliament to get it to move forward, and polls show a majority of Canadians oppose it.
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Canadians don't take kindly to the government steamrolling over their wishes.

The 2008–09 British Columbia pipeline bombings were a series of bombs that targeted gas pipelines owned by EnCana near the towns of Dawson Creek and Tomslake, British Columbia. The first blast occurred on October 12, 2008 and the second overnight between October 15 and October 16. The third was discovered on October 31 and a fourth was reported on January 5, 2009.[1] The attacks brought to question the safety of the energy installations in Canada.[2]

[weltschmerz]

The pipeline is to run right through Spirit Bear country. They are sacred, and exist only in this one place. Not acceptable.



No, it's not a polar bear. It's a Spirit Bear, aka Ghost Bear.

[Deleted]

"The Republicans backed Obama in the corner on this on purpose."

Well, Obama had already effectively said no. But I don't get the 60-day time limit. They should have given 3 or 4 months so he couldn't use "not enough time" as an excuse.

[weltschmerz]

But the Ghost Bear anf the oil can't co-exist?
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About as well as a brown pelican and BP, I suppose......

[Deleted]

Dem--Weltz's comment is in regards to the proposed wester export route, not the Keystone line to supply the US. But I'm sure they could co-exist.

[Deleted]

"I didn't see that he said no?"

Him initially postponing his decision is no different than TransCanada now re-applying next year.
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"About as well as a brown pelican and BP, I suppose......"

I know Canadians are weird, but I think they put the oil inside the pipe just like we do. So unless the bear can dig down 4 ft and tear through 0.25-0.5" of steel, the bear will probably be ok.

[weltschmerz]

I know Canadians are weird, but I think they put the oil inside the pipe just like we do. So unless the bear can dig down 4 ft and tear through 0.25-0.5" of steel, the bear will probably be ok.
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You don't look at the big picture, do you?

[Deleted]

"You don't look at the big picture, do you?"

Looking at the big picture is the only thing I know how to do.

[weltschmerz]

Unlike other pipelines Enbridge has built, the route for the proposed Northern Gateway Pipeline crosses the rugged, mountainous terrain of the Northern Rockies and the Coast Mountains of British Columbia.

The pipeline would crosses some 1,000 streams and rivers, including sensitive salmon spawning habitat in the upper Fraser, Skeena, and Kitimat watersheds. Five important salmon rivers that would be impacted are the Stuart River, Morice River, Copper River, Kitimat River and Salmon River.

» To learn more about the impact of oil pipelines on wild salmon, read ““Pipelines and Salmon in northern British Columbia”:http://bc.pembina.org/pub/1894” by the Pembina Institute


Spirit bears live on salmon. Your big picture is nowhere near big enough.

[Deleted]

"Spirit bears live on salmon. Your big picture is nowhere near big enough."

New pipelines put old pipelines out of business. Leaks generally happen in old pipelines. Bigger picture.

No pipeline means oil in trucks and railcars. Pipelines are much safer. Bigger picture.

[Deleted]

Hey, Welts ;D

This is B from MSN. I saw ur name and just wanted to say hey...I hope u've been good..

[weltschmerz]

Canadian pipeline builder Enbridge reported a leak from one of its pipelines on the day public hearings began into the company’s planned Northern Gateway pipeline.

U.S. pipeline regulators told Enbridge about the possible leak. A subsequent helicopter over-flight discovered a metre-wide patch of bubbles over the company’s Stingray pipeline, which can carry 560-million cubic feet a day of natural gas from offshore wells in the Gulf of Mexico. The bubbles were found about 100 kilometres from the Louisiana coast.
Enbridge declined to describe how it could be safe to continue operating a pipeline that may be leaking.

The possible leak comes at a difficult time for the company, which has sought to reassure first nations and environmental groups that it is a safe operator amid an uproar over the potential for spills from its Northern Gateway pipeline.
Enbridge also had oil spill from a pipe in Illinois, which appeared to be related to shoddy construction work by another company, as well as from a different pipe in the Northwest Territories.

At the same time, Enbridge’s competitor TransCanada Corp. has had leaks and spills from pumping stations along its newly installed Keystone pipeline. TransCanada has said the leaks were teething problems as it brought a complex system into operation. But Mike Klink, a civil engineer who worked as a contract inspector for the company, has pointed to potentially much more serious problems. In the Journal Star newspaper in Lincoln, Nebraska, he alleged use of “cheap foreign steel that cracked when workers tried to weld it, foundations for pump stations that you would never consider using in your own home, [and] fudged safety tests.”
TransCanada has denied those allegations. Still, its problems with Keystone – which, like the proposed Gateway, is a new pipe, using the latest technology – have made critics question whether modern pipelines really are safer.
www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/enbridge-reports-leak-from-us-pipeline-as-northern-gateway-hearings-begin/article2298173/

Well, lookee here.......new pipeline. What can possibly go wrong?

[weltschmerz]

Jan 19, 2012 22:20:57 GMT -5 @reine said:

Hey, Welts ;D

This is B from MSN. I saw ur name and just wanted to say hey...I hope u've been good..

Hello, B. I've been great, thanks. You?

[Jaguar]

Jan 19, 2012 22:20:57 GMT -5 @reine said:

Hey, Welts ;D

This is B from MSN. I saw ur name and just wanted to say hey...I hope u've been good..

Hi Ya B

[Deleted]

Jan 19, 2012 22:27:30 GMT -5 weltschmerz said:

Jan 19, 2012 22:20:57 GMT -5 @reine said:

Hey, Welts ;D

This is B from MSN. I saw ur name and just wanted to say hey...I hope u've been good..

Hello, B. I've been great, thanks. You?

I'm good. Same old thing really. Thanks..

[Deleted]

Sugi???

LOL

Hey, I'm sorry. I wasn't even reading. I kinda zoned in on Welts.
How are you? I haven't seen u on the other board the last few times I've been there. Are u still there?

[Deleted]

"Well, lookee here.......new pipeline. What can possibly go wrong?"

Woo hoo. You have an example of 550bbls worth of spills that caused exactly zero environmental damage. How 'bout we go back and forth, I'll give an example of a recent spill from an old pipeline and you'll give an example of one from a new pipeline. Let's see who comes up with the largest number of barrels spilled and most environmental damage. Deal?

If the comments about the foundations and steel were true, the pipeline wouldn't be running and people would probably be in jail.

[Jaguar]

Jan 19, 2012 22:42:17 GMT -5 @reine said:

Sugi???

LOL

Hey, I'm sorry. I wasn't even reading. I kinda zoned in on Welts.
How are you? I haven't seen u on the other board the last few times I've been there. Are u still there?

Namaste B, how are you doing ? I'm on here and Iceys Board.

[weltschmerz]

Woo hoo. You have an example of 550bbls worth of spills that caused exactly zero environmental damage. How 'bout we go back and forth, I'll give an example of a recent spill from an old pipeline and you'll give an example of one from a new pipeline. Let's see who comes up with the largest number of barrels spilled and most environmental damage. Deal?
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Oh, for God's sake. It's not a contest. The investor vs the environmentalist! Get your tickets now!
You do what you have to do, and I'll do what I have to do.

[Aman A.K.A. Ahamburger]

Jan 19, 2012 8:33:26 GMT -5 @investorbob said:

Ahamburger--I honestly have not heard one single legitimate reason why this Keystone pipeline should not be built.

Me either, because this is the BIG picture.



We DO operate in some kind of balance, and we are getting better. That IS the point of this thread weltz, nothing is perfect! Think about the first post, an OIL FILTER made from sugar(natural) and polymers(man made). It's called balance.

Another BIG picture item, this could also be used to clean up oil spills, as it can be altered to clean up ANY contaminate. This young man wants to return home to Kenya to help with drinking water there. Damn business, giving us the opportunity to better peoples lives...

Your comments prove what I am saying weltz, that the smart business minded Canadians still love the environment. Its just part of being Canadian, however, we are looking at ways of solving the issues that we have instead of looking for all the problems. Which leads into the next big picture item.

IDK where you are in Canada, but it has been -40 for almost 5 days here and I can tell you this, BIG picture, I'm glad my babies are safe and warm in their bed.

[weltschmerz]

Think about the first post, an OIL FILTER made from sugar(natural) and polymers(man made). It's called balance.
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That's great, but it's just a PhD thesis at the moment. We'll see where it goes. For now, the Tar Sands are the biggest, most toxic, filthiest mess on the planet.


IDK where you are in Canada
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All you had to do was glance to the left.
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[Aman A.K.A. Ahamburger]

It's a mess I'll give you that. But Nigeria is far worse. Same with SA. I'm sure that, oh ya that's right, there is that whole pollution thing in China too.

Is Canada a big polluter? It's all a matter of perspective
www.montrealgazette.com/business/business-observer/Canada+polluter+matter+perspective/5912029/story.html

Yet, Saudi Arabia, responsible for over 11 per cent of global oil production versus Canada’s 4.3 per cent, generates only 1.45 per cent of all CO2 emissions

Meanwhile, we here in NA have some of the Cleanest rivers, lakes, and parks anywhere in the world. We practice CONSERVation more and more all the time.

So what I don't get, is why the Ultra left spends money sabotaging and protesting and lying, when they should be putting that money and effort into....

Land Reclamation
www.albertatechfutures.ca/RDSupport/IntegratedLandscapeManagement/LandReclamation.aspx

www.capp.ca/getdoc.aspx?DocID=135721

www.capp.ca/environmentCommunity/land/Pages/TailingsPonds.aspx#0D807yNvGzFs

www.capp.ca/energySupply/innovationStories/Land/Pages/OSTC.aspx#rIHTVgdz1KTu

The tailings pond: a thing of the past?
www2.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/calgarybusiness/story.html?id=5bf4aea7-2663-47a8-b779-071c862de28f&p=1

Oil sands players join forces on tailings cleanup
www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/industry-news/energy-and-resources/oil-sands-players-join-forces-on-tailings-cleanup/article1827425/

I'm glad that you are enjoying all those nice thing that these terrible business have innovated over the years with oil products, in your home in Montreal. By that, I mean staying alive right now.

[weltschmerz]

I'm staying alive thanks to Hydro, not oil. Is it perect? No, of course not, but it beats oil and coal.

[Deleted]

"Oh, for God's sake. It's not a contest."

Of course it's not. Because you're cheryy-picking facts to support your biased, preconceived notions. Barrels spilled vs barrels pumped has declined by a factor of 3x in the US in recent years (in large part to more regulations). And that has happened even as the definition of how big a spill must be in order to be reportable has been made much more strict.

Look at the map Ahamburger posted. Do you see any pipelines already in Nebraska? Have any of them destroyed the acquifer? They haven't. Partly because it's virtually impossible for them to. Perhaps a major spill (the kind that doesn't happen anymore) could contaminate a small area, but it would get cleaned up long before it could do any widespread damage. Even if oil reached the aquifer (which is already highly unlikely), it's going to sit in one spot, not spread all over.

The planet already co-exists with hundreds of thousands of miles (possibly over a million miles) of hazardous liquid pipelines, including some of the most environmentally sensitive areas in the world. What would make you think a few thousand more miles would be the tippping point?

[Deleted]

Jan 20, 2012 3:53:48 GMT -5 weltschmerz said:

I'm staying alive thanks to Hydro, not oil. Is it perect? No, of course not, but it beats oil and coal.

So you reduce carbon emissions into the atmosphere by using hydro electric dams instead of coal and oil, but you also reduce carbon removal from the atmosphere by flooding large areas of plant supporting dry land ? Where is the gain ?

[Savoir Faire-Demogague in NJ]

Deleted due to defamatory comments to another poster.

deminmaine- Moderator

[weltschmerz]

Jan 20, 2012 8:32:21 GMT -5 @jma23 said:

Jan 20, 2012 3:53:48 GMT -5 weltschmerz said:

I'm staying alive thanks to Hydro, not oil. Is it perect? No, of course not, but it beats oil and coal.

So you reduce carbon emissions into the atmosphere by using hydro electric dams instead of coal and oil, but you also reduce carbon removal from the atmosphere by flooding large areas of plant supporting dry land ? Where is the gain ?

Beats blowing off mountain tops, again and again and again.