July-August 2009

l’actualité chimique canadienne canadian chemical news ACCN

Digging Into

Oil Sands

July/August|Juillet/aoÛt • 2009 • Vol. 61, No./n o 7

Unearthing the Industry's Challenges

A Publication of the Chemical Institute of Canada and Constituent Societies / Une publication de l’institut de chimie du canada et ses sociétés constituantes

Contents

July/august|juillet/aoÛt • 2009 • Vol. 61, No./n o 7

22 Feature

28

36

22

Departments 4

Guest Column Chroniqueur invité

By David Collyer

Canada’s Oil Sands: Facing the Challenges

By Travis Davies

Articles

16

Addressing the Challenges of Oil Sands Development Through Better Public Policy not Public Relations

By Simon Dyer

6

News Nouvelles

12

Industrial Briefs

26

Cleaner Energy for a Global Market: Canadian Efforts in Oil Sands Upgrading Research and Development

By Jagannathan Govindhakannan, Gino DiLabio and Edward Little

14

Chemfusion

38

Recognition reconnaissance

42

Events Événements

By Joe Schwarcz, MCIC

36

Exploring the Oil Sands Story

By Gord Winkel

www.accn.ca

ACCN

Guest Column Chroniqueur invité

Executive Director/Directeur général Roland Andersson, MCIC Editor/Rédactrice en chef Terri Pavelic Staff Writer/rédacteur Chris Rogers Maria Cootauco

Oil Sands: A Question of Balance

By David Collyer

C

anada’s oil sands provide a secure energy supply in a world of geopolitical uncertainty.

There are challenges in developing the oil sands, to be sure, but continuous progress has been achieved through investment in research and technology, and confidence in the people leading innovation on the industry’s frontlines.

The oil and gas exploration and production industry spends more on environmental protection­ than any other industry in Canada. Continuous improvement is one pillar of a Triple-E­ foundation for responsible development: Environment, Energy and Economy. Even in the current economic downturn, the oil sands industry will spend an estimated $10 billion on oil sands development this year. Energy security has emerged as a key issue in an evolving North American energy policy framework. Industry also recognizes that public expectations for environmental­performance are increasing, for both current and future projects. This is not a case of “either/or.” In our view, the Triple-E framework ensures that all of these expectations­ can be balanced and addressed, in large measure through the application of new ideas and technology.­ The oil sands are not unlike other large-scale national projects with national benefits, projects­such as the construction of the Saint Lawrence Seaway, or the National Railroad. Major projects­warrant broad discussion of all of the issues and opportunities, and we welcome both scrutiny­and greater public awareness of its stake in the outcome. Most Canadians think the right balance is achievable, and they understand the role resource development plays in the strength of our nation’s economy in the form of jobs, taxes and royalties that ultimately support health care, education and other social programs. The oil sands industry currently supports tens of thousands of jobs, many of which are outside Alberta, and in 2007 contributed an estimated­$27 billion to government revenues in the form of royalty payments, land payments and income taxes.

Most Canadians believe that environmental and economic issues are not, and should not, be mutually exclusive, and we agree: if resource development is a fundamental part of our nation’s economic future then we must also find ways to continue to raise the bar on environmental performance­to ensure its full potential is realized.

These are not just lofty goals: since 1990 there has been a 38 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) intensity from the oil sands. A further 12 percent reduction in GHG emissions is required of oil sands operations in compliance with existing Alberta legislation, and the federal government is developing a national policy framework for regulation of GHG emissions, with consideration for emerging U.S. policies.

If the industry’s supporters and critics have one thing in common, it is a sense of urgency and a desire to apply technology in order for Canada to weather the current economic storm and emerge stronger and better positioned for the future. It is our responsibility as an industry to commit, to communicate and to act. It can be done and it is being done. Some of industry’s­most important contributions to the dialogue are the specific innovations discussed in the feature article on oil sands in this edition of L’Actualité chimique canadienne/Canadian Chemical News (ACCN).

Whatever your views, oil sands development is a project of national importance, warranting a dialogue of diverse opinions, based on forward-thinking, facts and sound science. I urge readers of ACCN and all Canadians to participate in the conversation at www.canadasoilsands.ca. ACCN David Collyer is the president of the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers.

4 L’Actualité chimique canadienne

Juillet/aoÛt 2009

Contributing writers/collaborateurs David Collyer Edward Little Gino DiLabio Gord Winkel Jagannathan Goviandhakannan Joe Schwarcz Simon Dyer Travis Davies Graphic Designer/Infographiste Krista Leroux Alexandra Mitchell Communications manager/ Directrice des communications Lucie Frigon Marketing Manager/ Directrice du marketing Bernadette Dacey Awards and Local Sections Manager/ Directrice des prix et des sections locales Gale Thirlwall Editorial Board/Conseil de rédaction Joe Schwarcz, MCIC, chair/président Cathleen Crudden, MCIC John Margeson, MCIC Milena Sejnoha, MCIC Bernard West, MCIC Editorial Office/ Bureau de la rédaction 130, rue Slater Street, Suite/bureau 550 Ottawa, ON K1P 6E2 613-232-6252 • Fax/Téléc. 613-232-5862 editorial@accn.ca • www.accn.ca Advertising/Publicité advertising@accn.ca Subscription Rates/Tarifs d’abonnement Non CIC members/Non-membres de l’ICC : in/au Canada CAN$60; outside/à l’extérieur du Canada US$60. Single copy/Un exemplaire CAN$10 or US$10.

L’Actualité chimique canadienne/Canadian Chemical News (ACCN) is published 10 times a year by the Chemical Institute of Canada / est publié 10 fois par année par l’Institut de chimie du Canada. www.cheminst.ca.

Recommended by the Chemical Institute of Canada, the Canadian Society for Chemistry, the Canadian Society for Chemical Engineering, and the Canadian Society for Chemical Technology.

Views expressed do not necessarily represent the official position of the Institute or of the societies that recommend the magazine.

Recommandé par l’Institut de chimie du Canada, la Société canadienne de chimie, la Société canadienne de génie chimique et la Société canadienne de technologie chimique.

Les opinions exprimées ne reflètent pas nécessairement la position officielle de l’Institut ou des sociétés qui soutiennent le magazine.

Change of Address/ Changement d’adresse circulation@cheminst.ca Printed in Canada by Gilmore Printing Services Inc. and postage paid in Ottawa, ON./ Imprimé au Canada par Gilmore Printing Services Inc. et port payé à Ottawa, ON. Publications Mail Agreement Number/ No de convention de la Poste-publications : 40021620. (USPS# 0007-718) Indexed in the Canadian Business Index and available on-line in the Canadian Business and Current Affairs database. / Répertorié dans la Canadian Business Index et accessible en ligne dans la banque de données Canadian Business and Current Affairs.

ISSN 0823-5228



Continuing Education for Chemical Professionals

NEW

Process improvement course

T

he Chemical Institute of Canada

2009 Schedule September 21–23 Toronto, ON

Registration fees

$795 CIC members $995 non-members $100 student members For more information about the course and locations, and to access the registration form, visit:

www.cheminst.ca/ profdev

(CIC) and the Canadian Society for Chemistry (CSC) are

presenting a three-day course designed to enhance the knowledge and working experience of chemists, chemical

1

• Introduction • Implementing a Kaizen Program • Using 5S • Developing Project Charters • Identifying Customer Requirements

engineers and chemical technologists.

• Measuring Baseline Performance

This course is designed for anyone

• Identifying Project Y

looking for ways to improve laboratory

• Basic Statistics

operations and improve efficiency.

• Calculating Sigma

The participants will learn how to implement a Kaizen Improvement Program and will apply analytical tools through a relevant case study.

 Day

2

• Mapping the Process • SIPOC • Detail Process Map • Value Stream Maps • Analyzing for Root Causes

Instructor Denise Nacev, a certified Black Belt and Adult Educator, has 10 years experience in the design and implementation of Continuous Improvement Programs using Lean, Six Sigma and Kaizen. Nacev is an



Day

• Cause and Effect Diagrams • Pareto Charts • Regression Analysis

 Day

3

• Improving the Process • Implementation Plans • Piloting the Solution

independent consultant working with

• Stakeholder Analysis

companies in various industries,

• Developing the Control Plan

including a laboratory environment,

• Cost Benefit Analysis

to improve efficiencies and profitability.

• Closing Projects

Canadian Society for Chemistry

News Nouvelles

MDS Nordion Urges Government of Canada to Address Medical Isotope Supply Shortage

Ontario Students to Benefit from New Vaccine Parents will be able to choose to vaccinate their children against four strains of invasive­ meningococcal disease (IMD) beginning in September.

The Ontario government will supply the vaccine, Menactra, for use in the voluntary school-based immunization program for Grade seven students.

Menactra provides protection against four strains of IMD (A, C, W-135 and Y) and will replace the current vaccine which guards only against the C strain. One-yearold­ children­ who are immunized against IMD will continue to receive the previous

6 L’Actualité chimique canadienne

vaccine because Menactra is only approved for use in Canada in children two years of age and older.

IMD is most common in young children and youth and can lead to serious infections­ of the blood, lining of the brain and the spinal cord. It can cause permanent disability including deafness, neurological damage and loss of limbs.

“This new vaccine will ensure that children­ in the province receive the best possible protection against this deadly disease,” says David Williams, Ontario’s acting chief medical officer of health.

Menactra has been available in Ontario since 2007 to people with high-risk medical conditions and for close contacts of a case of IMD.

Juillet/aoÛt 2009

Health Canada

MDS Nordion, a provider of medical isotopes and radiopharmaceuticals is recommending that the Government of Canada and Atomic Energy of Canada Limited consult with international­ experts to activate the MAPLE project to address the current shortage of medical isotopes created by the shutdown of the National Research Universal (NRU) reactor at Chalk River, ON, in order to avoid similar disruptions in the future.

“The current NRU shutdown—and the shutdown of November 2007—illustrates the fragility and unpredictability of the global medical-isotope supply system, and highlights­ the requirement for new research reactor capacity to deliver a reliable long-term supply of medical isotopes,” said Steve West, president­of MDS Nordion.

“The solution to the global medical isotope crisis is in Canada. The infrastructure­ is in place­, and with the assistance of an international­ consortium of nuclear experts, the MAPLE facilities could be producing medical isotopes to the benefit of patients worldwide.”

Presently, there are no domestic or international­ sources of supply to offset the shortage that MDS Nordion says has caused disruptions to patient care.

MDS Nordion has requested that the government­ direct AECL to honour its commitment­ to replace the NRU by bringing the MAPLE facilities into service.

MDS Nordion

ACCN Send the latest

news to editorial@accn.ca

News Nouvelles

UCB Pharma Canada Inc. Offers Scholarships to Students Living with Rheumatoid Arthritis Sixteen students living with rheumatoid arthritis will be getting a $5,000 boost from UCB Pharma Canada Inc. aimed at easing the financial burden of the disease. The UCBeyond­ scholarship program will award eight one-time scholarships of up to $5,000 to people diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis and eight one-time scholarships of up to $5,000 to students diagnosed with Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis. The winners must demonstrate academic ambition­ and use their scholarship toward postsecondary education.

“Receiving the UCBeyond Rheumatoid Arthritis Scholarship has allowed me to focus on my education without thinking about the cost,” says Jessica Leyte, recipient of a 2008 UCBeyond Scholarship.

“This is a valuable program for students like me who are faced with a chronic illness and the physical, academic and financial challenges­that come with it.”

To date, UCB has awarded more than $245,000 for the allocation of almost 50 scholarships­.

UCB Pharma Canada

More Couples to Gain Access to Fertility Treatment at the MUHC When it comes to merging technology with cultural and religious standards, couples attending the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC) will have one less thing weighing on their minds.

“We have the technology to help most couples conceive, but to make this technology accessible to all culture, we must deliver it within the context of their traditions and values,” says Hananel Holzer, a fertility expert at the MUHC. “Many cultural or religious groups allow couples to use In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) if

certain conditions are respected and followed.

It is our job to make that happen.

For example, some Muslim patients require that only female doctors perform the IVF procedure­.

“We have also been asked to say prayers at the moment of fertilization, which we are happy to do,” Holzer adds.

The McGill Reproductive Centre is also working closely with the Jewish Community­ Council of Montreal to develop the Observation­ Program to allow members of the Jewish community access to state-of-theart fertility treatments without compromising their religious and cultural standards.

“In Judaism, the Halacha requires that certain conditions are met with respect to many aspects of life,” says Holzer.

“Special observers were trained to understand religious laws as they relate to assisted reproduction… Special freezing tanks for the eggs and incubators to house the embryos were also purchased by the Jewish community.”

Holzer’s work has been praised by the McGill Reproductive Centre’s director, Dean Lin Tan, who opines that “this program is a wonderful example of collaboration between the MUHC and our community for the benefit of patients. By respecting religious laws and adapting to cultural sensitivities we have allowed more people to experience the joys of parenthood.”

McGill University Health Centre

Students Unveil Green Vehicle Designs Seventeen teams from universities across North America showcased innovative clean car technologies last month in Toronto, with the Minister of Natural Resources Lisa Raitt and Minister of Transport and Infrastructure John Baird crowning a team of engineering students from Ohio State University as the winners of the first phase of EcoCAR: The NeXt Challenge­ competition.

“Our government is proud to support Canada’s best and brightest students as they do their part to contribute to the cleaner and more efficient vehicles of tomorrow,” said Minister Raitt. “The achievements recognized today in new, green vehicle technology are a key component to creating new jobs and economic opportunities while addressing today’s environmental challenges.”

Three Canadian teams from the University­ of Victoria, the University of Waterloo and the University of Ontario Institute of Technology­ participated in the competition, with the University of Victoria placing second in the competition.

The Government of Canada contributed $500,000 to the EcoCAR: The Next Challenge­, which was also sponsored by the U.S. Department­of Energy and General Motors.

Natural Resources Canada

july/august 2009 Canadian Chemical News 7

News Nouvelles

Medicago Awarded Funding from Quebec’s Consortium for Drug Discovery

Canadians Reminded to Protect Themselves Against HINI Influenza Virus With the World Health Organization declaring the H1N1 Influenza virus a full-scale pandemic, the Canadian Consumer Specialty Products Association (CCSPA) is reminding Canadians to stay vigilant and take the proper precautions to avoid being infected by the virus.

“It has been 41 years since we have been faced with such a pandemic and it is critical that everyone take the proper preventative measures to help protect themselves and their families,” says Shannon Coombs, president of CCSPA. “Flu viruses are spread through coughing, sneezing, or touching a contaminated surface. Frequent hand washing and using antimicrobial­products, such as disinfectants­, to clean surfaces and objects handled by

8 L’Actualité chimique canadienne

people with influenza are important steps that prevent the spread of dangerous germs.”

CCSPA advises Canadians to take the following precautions to stay healthy: • Wash your hands often.

• Clean and disinfect surface areas frequently­.

• Use disinfectants or sanitizers properly by following label directions to kill germs on commonly touched surfaces such as telephones, keyboards, doorknobs, and countertops.

• Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue­ when coughing or sneezing, or cough and sneeze into your arm or sleeve, to avoid contaminating­ commonly touched surfaces­.

• Limit close contact with others who have a cold or the flu.

• Avoid contact with others when you have a cold or the flu. When possible, stay home from work or school and keep your germs to yourself.

Juillet/aoÛt 2009

Canadian Consumer Specialty Products Association

Medicago Inc., a biotechnology company specializing in developing vaccines based on proprietary manufacturing technologies­, a n n o u n c e s t h a t i t h a s b e e n awa rd e d $11.77 million in funding by Quebec’s Consortium­for Drug Discovery (CQDM).

“We are pleased to have been selected by CQDM for this funding which launches the next phase in the development of our viruslike­ particles (VLPs) vaccine technology and will ultimately allow us to expand our product pipeline,” says Andy Sheldon, president­ and CEO of Medicago.

“VLPs represent one of the most promising approaches for the production of vaccines.

There is a need for new cost-effective­ technological­ solutions to speed-up and streamline the development of CLP vaccines from early research to clinical testing.”

Medicago will use the funding to develop VLPExpress, a high throughput platform that will accelerate the company’s discovery and development of new vaccines by rapidly expressing, purifying and testing candidate­ VLPs. Medicago’s VLPExpress platform will identify­ the best VLP-based antigen presentation­for a disease-causing agent within 10 weeks. Each antigen will be screened for their potential to provide protection.­ Medicago Inc.

ACCN

Recherchés

articles en français! editorial@accn.ca



Continuing Education for Chemical Professionals

Laboratory Safety course 2009 Schedule August 24–25

T

he Chemical Institute of Canada

(CIC) and the Canadian Society for Chemical Technology (CSCT) are

the knowledge and working experience of

• Safety Policies, Training and Audits

chemical technologists and chemists. All course

• Hazard Classification Systems

participants receive the CIC’s Laboratory Health

• WHMIS, NIOSH, and beyond

and Safety Guidelines, 4th edition. This course is

• Hazardous Materials

intended for those whose responsibilities include

• Flammable and Combustible Materials

improving the operational safety of chemical

September 21–22

audits of laboratories and chemical plants. During

plants or research facilities, conducting safety the course, participants are provided with an integrated overview of current best practices in laboratory safety.

$550 CIC members $750 non-members $75 student members

• Toxic Materials • Reactive Materials • Insidious Hazards • Compressed Gases • Cryogenic Liquids • Radiation

2

• Physical Hazards

Instructor Eric Mead, FCIC, a former instructor with the chemical technology program at SIAST, has taught and practised laboratory workplace

For more information about the course and locations, and to access the registration form, visit:

safety for more than 30 years. A former chair

www.cheminst.ca/ profdev



• Corrosive Chemicals

 Day

Edmonton, AB Registration fees

• Introduction • Occupational Health and Safety Legislation

Montréal, QC

October 5–6

1

presenting a two—day course designed to enhance

laboratories, managing laboratories, chemical

Toronto, ON

 Day

of the Chemical Institute of Canada, Mead has been commended for his work on behalf of the chemical industry.

• Fire • Glassware • Electrical Hazards • Machinery • Storage • Chemical Storage • Chemical Inventory • Storage Methods for Specific Hazard Classifications • Chemical Spills and Waste Disposal • Spill Containment and Cleanup

“The chemical field and profession are

• Spill Control Kits

built on a foundation­of trust with society­.

• Properties of Wastes

An integral part of that trust is the safe

• Large Chemical Spills

operation­of facilities­including­laboratories­,

• Hazard Assessment and Control

whether industrial­, academic­or government.

• Identification and Control

The education­of engineers­, scientists and

• Eye and Face Protection

technologists­must reflect that level of trust.

• Head, Feet and Body Protection

We all share in the responsibility­for safe

• Hearing and Breathing Protection

and ethical research­, chemical processing

• Fume Hoods and HVAC

and analysis.­" —Eric Mead

• Machinery

Canadian Society for Chemical Technology

News Nouvelles

Canadian Biofuel Pioneers Make StrawBased­Cellulosic Ethanol Blend Available to the Public

Kidney Disease Patients Prevented from Receiving Therapy Due to Restrictive Public Coverage

Royal Dutch Shell and Canada's Iogen Corporation have launched the world's first cellulose ethanol blend fuel at an Ottawa Shell service station.

Regular gasoline purchased at the Shell service station will contain 10 percent cellulosic ethanol produced at Iogen's demonstration plant. Iogen's cellulose ethanol process uses agricultural residues such as straw to reduce harmful greenhouse gas emissions­ up to 90 percent compared to gasoline.­ “This is a milestone achievement for advance biofuels,” said Gordon Quaiattini, president of the Canadian Renewable Fuels Association. “It is another example of Canada developing a vibrant and diverse advanced biofuels industry.”

He added that biofuels create new markets for agriculture producers, revitalize rural communities, reduce harmful green house gases and offer consumers a new choice at the pump.

“Canada, and rural Canada in particular, is uniquely positioned to grow and prosper from the further development of these fuels,” concluded Quaiattini.

Albertans living with chronic kidney disease (CKD) on dialysis are not receiving the same access to alternate therapy choices available­ to patients in all other provinces and territories­in Canada. Alberta is the only province where Renagel, an effect Albtive and safe therapy to control phosphorous levels in dialysis patients, is not publicly reimbursed, therefore limiting the specialists’ access to it.

“A clear divide in the equality of treatment­ availability for patients in Alberta is unmistakably­ evident,” says Nairne Scott- Douglas, medical director of the Southern Alberta Renal Program.

“As nephrologists, all that we ask is to have access to all therapy options in our armamentarium­ and then let us use our training and expertise to prescribe the best solution­ for each individual patient appropriate­clinica­l situtions.”­ A nation-wide study of dialysis patients suggest that Albertans are receiving, on average, twice the amount of daily calcium recommended­by Health Canada while some are taking in up to four times the suggested

dosage. Health Canada recommends 1,000 to 1,200 mg per day, up to a maximum of 1,500 mg as the adequate intake level for calcium supplements­in healthy adult Canadians.

People with impaired kidney function cannot excrete excess minerals from their bodies, resulting in calcium accumulation in the body, making the individuals at risk of vascular calcification­, hypercalcemia and calcium deposits.

“It’s a double-edged sword,” says Carroll Thorowsky, a caregiver based in Edmonton.

Thorowsky’s husband lost his right leg after suffering from calcified tissue in his body after two years of taking high doses of calcium.

“We know it’s imperative to control phosphorous­ in order to avoid future heart disease,” Thorowsky says.

“But by managing the disease one way, we are causing damage in another. What is truly upsetting is that there are therapies available that may have avoided this incident, but we unfortunately never knew they were an option.”

Genzyme Canada

NEW This award replaces the previous Environmental Improvement­Award.

The new award was established by the CIC Environment­ Division in 2009.

Recognizes individuals for distinguished contributions to the field of environmental chemistry or environmental chemical engineering, while working in Canada.



Chemical Institute of Canada

10 L’Actualité chimique canadienne

Juillet/aoÛt 2009

Deadline for application for the 2010 award

October 1, 2009

For details about the award and information on how to nominate, visit www.cheminst.ca/awards or e-mail

awards@cheminst.ca.

Industrial Briefs

News Nouvelles

New Andropause Screening Panel Released A new test panel called Androtest has been released by Opmedic Group, a healthcare-related services company based in Quebec.

The Androtest is a complete screening profile used to diagnose and manage andropause­, an age-related condition that affects men over 45 years of age due to a decline in testosterone­ levels.

The panel, developed through Opmedic’s PROCREA Cliniques Division, includes an extended panel of biochemical markers and a detailed follow-up report that will help physicians diagnose­a patient’s andropause.

While a decrease in sex drive is often the main reason for a medical consultation by men, recent studies show that hormonal imbalances caused by andropause increase a man’s risk of coronary­artery disease, depression, lack of energy and mental acuity, a decrease in bone mass and an increase in abdominal­ fat.

Other symptoms associated with andropause­ include one or more of the following: • Hot flashes and excessive sweating without­ physical­ activity;­ • Loss of muscle and bone mass and strength; • Lack of energy with diminished physical activity; • Joint and muscle pain; • Abdominal obesity; • Sadness, irritability, and overall lack of interest; • Depression; • Sleep problems; • Decline in mental acuity, concentration and short term memory;­ • Loss of sex drive, leading to a decrease in performance­ and sexual activities; Opmedic Group

Ottawa Hospital Research Institute Selected for $10 Million Grant A $10 million grant from the Ontario Institute­for Cancer Research (OICR) will enable the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute­fund research and development for new therapeutics­for cancer patients, including the development of oncolytic viral therapy products­.

The research will come from the lab of John Bell, chief collaborator for oncolytic viral therapy at Jennerx Inc., a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company.

“This collaboration has been a great example of academia and industry working together to translate biological research into cutting edge therapies quickly and effectively­,” said John Bell, senior scientist­ at the Ottawa hospital Research Institute and professor of medicine at the University of Ottawa.

The grant will provide $10 million of funding over four years.

Jennerex

12 L’Actualité chimique canadienne

Juillet/aoÛt 2009

Cymat Technologies Ltd. announces the appointment of Jim Johnson as its new vice president of operation and Kevin Smith as its new vice-president of business development­. Greg Skvortsoff, the company’ product manager defence, will continue to lead Cymat’s marketing and technical effort for blast mitigation and business development­for automotive products.

MaRS Innovation announces the appointment of Raphael (Rafi) Hofstein as president­and CEO by the board of directors. Hofstein was previously the president and CEO of Hadasit Ltd., a technology tranfer company of the Hadassah Medical Organization in Jerusalem since 1999.

“In my experience, science is the single most important ingredient for success in this business,” Hofstein says. “Toronto is already known as one of the strongest science cities in the world, and it continues to grow. Leading MaRS Innovation is a wonderful opportunity to do something remarkable.”

The Canadian Medical Association’s (CMA) board of directors announce the appointment of Paul-Emile Cloutier as secretary general and chief executive officer of the association. Cloutier joined the CMA as assistant secretary general for advocacy­, communications and public affairs in 2002. He holds masters degrees in both administration­ and political science from the University­ of Ottawa where he was also a lecturer in political science. Cloutier has over 25 years of experience in public administration­and policy development. He has worked in several governmental departments­, including Intergovernmental­ Affairs at the Ontario government and the Federal Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development, International­Relations and International­Development (Foreign Affairs), and the Federal Department of Immigration.

BioSyntech Inc. announces the resignation of Nick Losey as a member of the board. The resignation is subsequent to Losey’s resignation from Highland Capital Management­. Under the terms of an underwriting agreement, Highland Capital Management has the right to nominate one member to the board of the company. No replacement has been appointed at this time. BioSyntech Inc. has also given notice to its debentureholders that it exercised its right to make the interest payment of $745,000 due on June 30, 2009 by issuing common shares.

The number of common shares issued on the date will be equal to the amount of the interests, divided by 95 percent of the volume weighted average trading price per common share for the five trading days immediately preceding.

Intrinsyc Software International Inc. announces the appointment of Tracy Rees as president and chief executive officer effective immediately. Rees has served as interim CEO since November 2008 after joining the company in 2007 as acting general manager for APAC. He was instrumental in closing the majority of Intrinsyc’s design wins over the past two years.

McVicar Industries Inc. has obtained Chinese government approval on McVicar’s withdrawal from a joint ventue with Sino Lion (USA) Ltd. as previously announced on October 2, 2008. McVicar’s 27 percent equity interest in Sino Lion Nanjing Ltd. was sold for US$850,000 to a holding company controlled by one of the directors of Sino Lion (USA) Ltd. The withdrawal has no material impact on the other chemical businesses McVicar currently owns or controls.

Climate Change Central announces the appointment of Patricia McCunn Miller­­ as interim president and CEO of the Alberta-based climate change organization. McCunn- M iller currently serves on the organization’s board of directors and was executive­vice president, corporate responsibility and general counsel for Synenco Energy Inc.

july/august 2009 Canadian Chemical News  13

Chemfusion Joe Schwarcz, MCIC

Jane Haldimand Marcet A Popular Science­Writer

J

ane Haldimand Marcet. A lady after my own heart! Although not a scientist, her contribution to science was huge. I suppose we could call her an inventor. Her invention? Popular science writing!

In the early years of the nineteenth century, privileged Londoners flocked to the theatrical public lectures on science given at the Royal Institution by the likes of the brilliant chemist Sir Humphry Davy, but it was through Jane Marcet’s Conversations on Chemistry that the masses had their first exposure to science.

Jane Haldimand, daughter of a wealthy Swiss banker, grew up in London, educated by the best tutors. After her mother’s death, young Jane took over the role of acting as hostess at her father’s frequent dinner parties for the city’s intellectual elite, which often included a smattering of scientists. But Jane’s interest in science really mushroomed when she married Alexander Marcet, a physician who had become interested in the chemical analysis of kidney stones.

14 L’Actualité chimique canadienne

The Marcets frequently attended Davy’s entertaining demonstrations on chemistry, but Jane often found the science confusing.

Luckily, her husband was very adept at clarifying­ the concepts for her, and Jane became convinced that this conversational­ style of teaching was highly effective.

Somewhat­ curiously she concluded that this was especially so for the female sex, “whose education is seldom calculated to prepare their minds for abstract ideas, or scientific­ language.”

Maybe, Jane thought, a book written in a question and answer format, rather than the traditional dry, didactic style, would engage women who had habitually shied away from science. And so in 1806 Conversations­ on Chemistry, the first book aimed at popularizing­ the subject, was born. Its success was phenomenal­, and not only among the “fair sex.” Conversations introduced the public to the excitement of chemistry, cruising through at least sixteen editions in England and an equal number in America.

The book was based on a series of conversations­ between a teacher, Mrs. B, and her two inquisitive teenage students, Emily and Caroline. “To confess the truth, Mrs.B.,” Caroline begins, “I am not disposed to form a very favourable idea of chemistry, nor do I expect to derive much entertainment­ from it.” Probably a reflection of Jane’s own initial skirmishes­ with the subject. Before long, however, Caroline begins to sing a different tune, as Mrs. B., through a series of experiments­ and ingenious examples­, introduces­ the girls to the fundamental principles­and applications of chemistry.

They watch in amazement as an iron knife immersed in a copper sulphate solution­ becomes coated with copper, they sniff the “fetid” gas (hydrogen sulphide) produced when sulphur is ignited in the presence of hydrogen, and are astounded by the brilliant glow of burning phosphorus. But Marcet’s real talent lay in connecting the experiments to everyday life. The glowing phosphorus, for example, was related to matches, and the smell of hydrogen sulphide to Harrowgate, a spa popular for the supposed therapeutic properties­of its sulphurous waters.

Although Marcet had no training in chemistry­, her treatment of the subject is remarkably lucid in the context of the times.

Lavoisier had already published his treatise on the elements but Dalton’s atomic theory had

Juillet/aoÛt 2009

not yet become mainstream­. Marcet’s terms, such as “elemental bodies,” “constituent­parts” and “elastic fluids” (gases) sound odd today, but she did use them very effectively to explain the phenomena she explored with her two curious students.

Marcet had an imaginative way of introducing­concepts.

“This ring I wear on my finger owes its brilliancy to a small piece of carbon,” Mrs. B. exclaims, as she begins a discussion of this element.

“Surely you are jesting, I thought your ring was diamond!” Caroline exclaims with surprise. “It is so, but diamond is nothing more than carbon in a crystallized state,” comes the retort.

“That is astonishing!” bubbles Emily. “Is it possible to see two things apparently more different than diamond or charcoal?”

Caroline then chimes in with: “it is indeed curious to think we adorn ourselves with jewels of charcoal!”

And so begins a journey into the chemistry of carbon.

How do we know that the diamond is made of carbon, the girls wonder? A rather dramatic experiment follows in which both a piece of diamond and a piece of charcoal are burned in a stream of oxygen, each yielding carbon dioxide gas, implying that they are both made of carbon. Clever. But the experiments don’t stop there. Naturally carbonated water from spring sources was a very popular beverage at the time, and Mrs. B. goes on to show how carbon dioxide can be dissolved in water to mimic the commercial product.

“Here, my dear, is an instance in which, by a chemical process, we can exactly copy the operations of nature,” she said.

Conversations in Chemistry turned out to be extremely influential. Michael Faraday, arguably­the greatest scientist of the nineteenth­ century, read Marcet’s book while working as a printer’s apprentice and was inspired by it to pursue science. But perhaps Marcet’s greatest contribution was in introducing a writing style that appealed to the public and made it possible for people to appreciate the importance­ of being scientifically literate. ACCN Joe Schwarcz, MCIC, is the director of McGill University’s Office for Science and Society. He hosts the Dr. Joe Show on Montréal’s radio station CJAD and Toronto’s CFRB. The broadcast is available at www.CJAD.com.

ARticle: Environmental Management

Addressing the Challenges of Oil Sands Development Through Better Public Policy not Public Relations

By Simon Dyer

O

il sands development is of national interest and has attracted­ significant international media attention. It is a clear example­ of the increasing environmental costs associated­ with unconventional­ oil production that emphasizes the urgent need to plan for the transition to a sustainable energy future. Given this overarching­ goal, what is required to ensure that current­ oil sands development­ proceeds responsibly? How can we limit its environmental­ impacts and optimizes its benefits to Canadians while making sure we meet our international obligations to reduce greenhouse­ gas pollution?­ The manner in which the oil sands are developed includes issues of federal jurisdiction, such as greenhouse gas pollution, transboundary issues (acid rain and water quality and quantity), fisheries and impacts to species at risk. Despite this jurisdiction, oil sands development has largely proceeded with weak or limited involvement from the federal

16 L’Actualité chimique canadienne

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government. Oil sands development has expanded rapidly over the past decade with limited progress by the Government of Alberta in establishing­ environmental management systems to protect the regional environment.

Opposition to oil sands mismanagement continues to grow. In May 2009, the Northwest Territories Association of Communities­, an umbrella group that represents all 33 communities in the Northwest­ Territories, passed a resolution calling for a moratorium on oil sands expansions until a transboundary water agreement between Alberta and the Northwest­ Territories has been completed. In 2008 three separate­ First Nations in northern Alberta filed legal challenges­ opposing oil sands development. All Treaty 6, 7 and 8 First Nations in Alberta have also called for a temporary halt to oil sands development­ until unresolved­ concerns are addressed. Further support for a moratorium­on expansions­has been voiced by the Alberta Federation­

The petroleum industry has generally shown that it is unwilling to make changes voluntarily, but it has also shown an immense capacity for innovation when improvements are mandated.

of Labour and the ecumenical­group KAIROS. Independent­polling shows that Albertans­and Canadians­are concerned about the pace and scale of oil sands development and the weak environmental­ rules under which oil sands development is proceeding.

The petroleum industry has generally shown that it is unwilling to make changes voluntarily but it has also shown an immense capacity for innovation when improvements are mandated. The technological innovations­ needed to rehabilitate­the reputation­of the oil sands and address some of the most serious problems must be driven by regulations­ to limit greenhouse gas pollution­, halt water withdrawals during low-flow periods and prohibit liquid tailings creation. Given that environmental management in Alberta has failed to keep pace with oil sands development­, it is essential that new oil sands approvals be temporarily halted to give time to effectively implement the required policy solutions.

The Pembina Institute is a non-partisan, national sustainable energy think tank that has researched environmental impacts of Canada’s oil sands for over a decade. Its mission is to advance sustainable energy

solutions­ through innovative research, education­, consulting and advocacy. To that end, the Pembina Institute­ has identified some of the most pressing challenges­ facing oil sands development and has proposed policy solutions.

Climate Change The oil sands are the fastest growing source of new greenhouse gas pollution in Canada.

Production of synthetic crude oil from the oil sands creates significantly more greenhouse­gas pollution than conventional oil production­. Although there is quite a wide variation, producing a barrel of oil from the oil sands is generally more than three times as greenhouse­ gas intensive as Canadian conventional oil production.

Canada is considered a laggard in dealing with greenhouse gas pollution, and we still do not have regulations in place to drive greenhouse­ gas reductions consistent with what the scientific consensus says are required. We urgently need regulations that require greenhouse gas reductions across all sectors of the economy and place an adequate price on this pollution.

Water Oil sands mines are large consumers of freshwater from the Athabasca River. It takes two to four barrels of freshwater to extract and upgrade a single barrel of bitumen. Under the current federal-provincial­water management­ framework for the Athabasca River, there is no provision for oil sands water withdrawals to be halted to protect fish habitat. The water management framework­has a “traffic light” system to identify green, yellow and red zone flows, but red does not mean “stop” for water withdrawals­. This framework demonstrates­ that maintaining­ water for the oil sands industry has precedence­ over protecting fisheries­and habitat.

Without an ecological base flow (EBF) to halt water withdrawals during low-flow periods, we risk irreversible damage to the Athabasca watershed­. A cost-effective option that could protect the Athabasca River is to require off-stream­water storage facilities for use during low-flow periods. Increasing the recycle rate of water used—and water that currently ends up in tailings lakes—would also reduce the reliance on freshwater from the Athabasca River. july/august 2009 Canadian Chemical News 17

ARticle: Environmental Management

Although industry and government claim that reclamation will restore lands to their natural state, the evidence suggests otherwise. In over 40 years of oil sands development only 0.2 percent of the disturbed mineable area has been certified as reclaimed.

Tailings Waste Tailings are the liquid waste product created by bitumen extraction in oil sands mines.

Many observers consider them to be one of the biggest liabilities facing the oil sands industry. Tailings lakes now cover 130 km2—an area the size of Vancouver—and are growing rapidly. Tailings contain sand, silt, clay, water and a host of toxic compounds, including residual bitumen, naphthenic acids, phenolic compounds, ammonia-ammonium­and metals.

Tailings­lakes seep their contents, but exactly what is seeping, how much is seeping and what ecosystem components are affected is uncertain­. The environmental impact assessments­ submitted by operators­ contain several references to seepage contamination­, and seepage is supposedly addressed by equipping ponds with technology­to intercept seepage, but there is a lack of transparency­ about actual seepage rates and the effectiveness­ of this technology.­ Current mining technologies generate a net volume of 1.5 barrels of mature fine liquid tailings for every barrel of bitumen processed.

Alternative extraction technologies­are under investigation, but companies will not readily adopt technologies that shift more of the cost to the present day and have not been proven

18 L’Actualité chimique canadienne

commercially unless regulations require them to do so. For this reason, it is essential that government prohibit granting new approvals for projects that propose to continue to create liquid tailings.

Land-Use Planning The Government of Alberta has leased approximately 80,000 km 2 of land—an area the size of New Brunswick—for oil sands developmen­t . The leases are granted without any assessment of surface impacts or consultation­with First Nations communities­.

A recent report from Environment Canada notes that all the threatened woodland­caribou herds in northern Alberta are on the way to extirpation, largely because of the cumulative­ footprint of industrial­development (including in situ oil sands development) within their ranges. Land-use­­ planning is essential to identify which areas will be permanently conserved, and cumulative­limits to oil sands development must be set. This requirement is consistent with recommendations­ made by the multi-stakeholder­­­group set up by the governments­ of Canada and Alberta to improve oil sands management. The recommendations­ were to permanently protect 20 to 40 percent of northeastern­

Juillet/aoÛt 2009

Alberta from industrial development­ and to tightly constrain the total oil sands footprint.

The Government­of Alberta has not yet implemented these recommendations.­

Reclamation Although industry and government­claim that reclamation will restore lands to their natural state, the evidence suggests otherwise. In over 40 years of oil sands development­only 0.2 per cent of the disturbed mineable area has been certified­ as reclaimed. There are no binding reclamation­ timelines and it has not yet been demonstrated­ that tailings can be successfully reclaimed. There is a lack of transparency­around reclamation­performance and growing concerns that the modest security­ deposits companies pay to the government are inadequate to ensure that Canadians will be protected from having to pay for costly environmental­liabilities in the future.

Facing the Challenge with Public Policy not Public Relations The Pembina Institute is committed to meaningful discussions on how to improve environmental­management in the oil sands, but we are concerned that government­



Canadian Society for Chemical Engineering

Nominations are now open for

The Canadian Society for Chemical Engineering

2010AWARDS Act now!

Do you know an outstanding person who deserves to be recognized?

The Bantrel Award in Design and Industrial Practice is presented to a Canadian citizen or a resident of Canada for innovative design or production activities accomplished in Canada.

The activities may have resulted in a significant achievement in product or process design, small or large company innovation, or multidisciplinary designdirected research or production. The achievement will relate to the practice of chemical engineering and/or industrial chemistry whether in research and development, process implementation, entrepreneurialism, innovation, production or some combination of these.

It may be via a well-known, long-standing reputation for translating chemical engineering principles into design and industrial practice and, through this, contribute to the profession as a whole.

Sponsored by Bantrel.

Award: A plaque and a cash prize.

The D. G. Fisher Award is presented to an individual who has made substantial contributions to the field of systems and control engineering.

The award is given in recognition of significant contributions in any, or all, of the areas of theory, practice, and education. Sponsored by the department of chemical and materials engineering, University of Alberta, Suncor Energy Foundation, and Shell Canada Limited.

Award: A framed scroll, a cash prize and travel expenses.

The Process Safety Management Award is presented as a mark of recognition to a person who has made an outstanding contribution in Canada to the Process Safety Management (PSM) Division of the Canadian Society for Chemical Engineering recognizing excellence in the leadership and dedication of individuals who have led Canada in the field of process safety and loss management (PSLM).

Sponsored by AON Reed Stenhouse Inc. Award: A framed scroll and a cash prize.

The R. S. Jane Memorial Award is presented to an individual who has made new significant contributions to chemical engineering or industrial chemistry in Canada. Sponsored by the Canadian Society for Chemical Engineering.

Award: A framed scroll, a cash prize and registration fee to the CSChE Conference.

The Syncrude Canada Innovation Award is presented to a resident of Canada who has made a distinguished contribution to the field of chemical engineering while working in Canada.

Nominees for this award shall not have reached the age of 40 years by January of the year in which the nomination becomes effective. Sponsored by Syncrude Canada Ltd. Award: A framed scroll and a cash prize.

Deadline

The deadline for all CSChE awards is December 1, 2009 for the 2010 selection.

Nomination Procedure Submit your nominations to: Awards Canadian Society for Chemical Engineering 130 Slater Street, Suite 550 Ottawa, ON K1P 6E2 Tel.: 613-232-6252, ext. 223 Fax: 613-232-5862 awards@cheminst.ca

Nomination forms and the full Terms of Reference for these awards are available at www.chemeng.ca/awards

july/august 2009 Canadian Chemical News 19

ARticle: Environmental Management

and industry communications do not always accurately­ portray the impacts and unresolved­ challenges associated with oil sands development­. Despite some per-barrel improvements­ in impacts, the cumulative impacts of oil sands development continue to worsen. The absence of policies that set acceptable­cumulative­impact limits is a key missing element to oil sands environmental management. It is critical that we move past public relations rhetoric and “clear the air” regarding the growing impacts of oil

20 L’Actualité chimique canadienne

sands development, such as greenhouse gas emissions­ and the production of liquid tailings­waste. Downplaying­the impacts is an impediment­to the improved management and clean up that is required.

Oil sands development has been mismanaged­ to date, and this mismanagement­is tarnishing Canada’s international reputation­, deteriorating­ the environment and creating liabilities for future generations. Both the federal and Alberta governments must play a much more active role to ensure that cumulative­

Juillet/aoÛt 2009

limits and environmental­ rules to protect the environment­ are in place before further oil sands expansions­ proceed. ACCN Simon Dyer is the Oil Sands Program director at the Pembina Institute. He is a registered professional biologist and has worked on landuse issues in western Canada since 1999. Over 20 Pembina Institute publications concerning oil sands environmental impacts and management are available for free download at www. oilsandswatch.org.

hangin C a r o f s e g n Challe

g World

Gala dinner will feature a private performance by Cirque du Soleil.

8th World Congress of Chemical Engineering

Incorporating the 59th Canadian Chemical Engineering Conference and the XXIV interamerican congress of chemical engineering

MontrÊal, QuEbec, Canada • August 23-27,

www.wcce8.org

2009

ARticle: Sustainable Development

Canada’s Oil Sands Facing the Challenges

22 L’Actualité chimique canadienne

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By Travis Davies

A

lthough it’s easily taken for granted, we all need energy. We hit the alarm clock, turn on the lights, run a shower, start the coffee maker, hop in a car, bus or train—hundreds of seemingly insignificant­ actions each and every day that all have one thing in common—the need for energy.

Even as the sources of energy expand and diversify, global demand for energy will continue to rise sharply as emerging nations strive to achieve the standards of living enjoyed and expected in the developed world. The supplies needed to meet that demand will become increasingly difficult and expensive to find and deliver.

Energy derived from hydrocarbons, including oil and gas, will continue to play the leading role in the overall energy supply mix for several decades.

While alterative sources of energy constitute a growing and important portion of the energy mix, the International Energy Agency projections suggest that fossil fuels and other hydrocarbons (such as coal) will supply 84 percent of the overall increase in energy demand between 2005 and 2030. The

combined consumption from China and India will account for nearly half of that total. Oil imports for both countries will increase fourfold in the next 20 years, surpassing current combined imports from Japan and the United States.

Finding Reliable, Sustainable Supply to Meet Demand Finding the additional supply to meet that demand is increasingly difficult. Companies­ now have to look at more remote and difficult­ locations to ensure supply and are turning more to unconventional sources to fill the gap.

Many of the world’s current producing oilfields are maturing to the point of production­ decline. In addition, almost 80 percent of the world’s current reserves are held by state-owned national oil companies.

These countries develop their own resources to meet their own needs first. Many have mixed records of doing business with foreign investors­. Of the existing 20 percent of the world’s current reserves open to private sector investment, approximately half are located in Canada’s oil sands.

In Canada’s oil sands and around the world, the challenge is not simply to develop enough energy to meet our own needs; many new sources of energy bring new environmental­ challenges.

Our industry addresses these challenges through investment­ in, and development­ of, new innovations and technologies­ that reduce environmental impacts and ensure sustainability­.

The development of Canada’s oil sands has been a story of continuous technology and scientific innovation. In the early years, it focused on developing technologies to unlock oil from the sands. Next came the challenge of making extraction economically viable enough to attract billions of dollars in investment­. Today, the greatest challenge facing oil sands development is making it more efficient and sustainable. Again, the challenge rests with professionals working to tackle tough issues with good science and innovative engineering. Much progress­ has already been made. Over the next several pages you will see some of the ways innovation­and technology have already had a positive impact on sustainable development practices and the reduction of the industry’s footprint on air, land and water.

Air and Climate Change The challenge we all face is how to reduce greenhouse gas emissions while demand for energy—and the amount of energy the world is consuming—is growing.

Canadians expect the oil sands industry to do its part to help fight climate change. As an industry, we account for five percent of Canada’s­total emissions and Canada accounts for two percent of total global emissions­.

currents to heat the bitumen are like plug-andplay electric cars, and those using a mix of solvents and steam are somewhere in between the two; like a hybrid car.

“Most things are a spectrum” says Schmidt.

“From cold solvents, which use no steam to SAGD or thermal which use pure steam, my expectation is the more optimal design may be somewhere in between.”

Laricina has conducted a series of very promising tests with solvents in its

In Canada’s oil sands and around the world, the challenge is not simply to develop enough energy to meet our own needs: many new sources of energy bring new environmental challenges.

Though oil sands represent a small fraction in the greater context, it’s still a big number and industry understands it must improve its performance.

Climate change is a global issue that requires global solutions. Everyone needs to play a role. The world has to find ways to both produce and consume oil and gas more efficiently because consuming fossil fuels accounts for 80 percent of the emissions created from fossil fuels and makes up a large part of worldwide emissions.

We firmly believe that new, innovative technologies­ will help produce more oil and gas to meet growing demand, while also reducing GHG emissions. There are a variety of technologies that we’re researching and working with now to make this happen.

Solvents In Situ Production: the Hybrid Car of the Oil Sands Oil sands operators are exploring the use of solvents with steam-assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) to help loosen and extract bitumen.

Laricina Energy CEO Glen Schmidt likens the technology to a hybrid car.

Laricina is one of several oil sands companies­ that are exploring the use of solvents with steam-assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) to help loosen and extract the bitumen.

Conventional SAGD—using natural gas to create steam—is like a car that burns gasoline.

Oil sands operators that are using electrical

Grosmont­ Formation at Saleski, southwest­ of Fort McMurray. There are an estimated­ 318 billion barrels of bitumen about 300 metres underground­ in the carbonate rock—not traditional­ sands—in Alberta’s Grosmont­ deposit.

“The overall capacity and quality of the bitumen reservoirs within the carbonates are clearly world class,” says Schmidt. “There’s an opportunity to use another tool beyond steam because of their greater ability for oil to flow or drain.”

Using solvents instead of steam could mean reducing the operating steam-to-oil ratios by 30 percent, with the accompanying reduction in GHG emissions. Laricina is also looking at using a non-condensable gas along with the solvents to see whether steam can be cut out completely, thereby dramatically reducing capital costs and the carbon footprint at the same time.

“Costs and environmental impacts tend to go together in our industry,” says Neil Edmunds, Laricina’s vice president of Enhanced Oil Recovery, and adjunct associate­ professor in the Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering at University of Calgary’s Schulich School of Engineering.

Laricina has recently conducted a second field test of solvent injection into the Grosmont­carbonates and its work simulating and modeling solvent-steam combinations is continuing. The company expects commercial­ production at Saleski could begin in 2013 july/august 2009 Canadian Chemical News 23

ARticle: Sustainable Development and advance steadily for 10 to 15 years; with improved recovery techniques, lower operating­costs and fewer carbon emissions.

At its Germain project in the Grand Rapids Formation, Laricina is using solvent-SAGD in a demonstration project of 5,000 barrel of bitumen per day to further validate the solvent process.

SAGD operators, Long Lake uses one quarter the amount of natural gas per barrel of oil produced.

While there’s no reduction in emissions using synthetic gas, the project is one step ahead when it comes to carbon capture and sequestration technologies. Long Lake’s unique gasification process will allow it to

Nexen collaborated­ with Alberta Pacific Forest Industries­(APFI) to clear and harvest the trees in the area so the two companies in different industries could share their environmental­footprint.

With the OrCrude system at Long Lake, Nexen and Opti are able to create a barrel of high quality, sweet synthetic crude for about ten dollars less a barrel than other operators.

Water Use: Reducing Impacts

Turning Waste into Fuel Nexen and OPTI Canada’s Long Lake project uses innovation to create premium synthetic crude oil, with a unique ability to capture significant volumes of CO2.

The project, southeast of Fort McMurray, is the fourth major integrated oil sands project in Canada. In traditional SAGD production, steam is injected into an upper horizontal well which heats and loosens the bitumen so it can drain into a lower well and be pumped to the surface. The bitumen is then diluted and sent to a refinery for upgrading into lighter oil products.

But at Long Lake, the bitumen is upgraded to a premium synthetic crude oil on site with a proprietary OrCrude™ unit, a gasifier and a hydrocracker.

As part of the gasification process, asphaltene­ residue from the bitumen (that’s usually waste) is converted into a synthetic gas to run the SAGD and the upgrading operations­, significantly­ reducing the amount of natural gas that’s required. In fact, compared to most other traditional­

capture a pure-stream of CO2 , which in turn will make it much simpler and cost-effective to sequester the CO2 underground.

The plant at Long Lake was designed to ensure emissions are below regulatory limits and very little surface water is used in the operations. Nexen and Opti are pursuing technologies­and strategies to reach a goal of using zero surface water and further reducing the amount of water required.

Construction of Long Lake began in 2004 and the project produced its first synthetic

Water is an important part of oil and gas production, and as Canada’s oil and gas industry grows, so does the demand on water resources. In oil sands production, water is used in the following ways: • In oil sands mining, we use heated water to separate the sticky bitumen from sand.

Mining operations also create tailings ponds.

• In oil sands in situ operations, we generate steam to heat the bitumen underground allowing­ it to flow to the surface.

Even though the industry consistently uses significantly less water than allocated by governments, production does have an impact on water resources, though significant progress­ has been made in reducing use of fresh water through alternative sources and innovative practices.

The industry is a leader in developing recycling­ techniques and reusing water. Oil sands projects continually recycle about 90 percent of the water they use. It takes an average of two to three barrels of water to produce one barrel of bitumen from a mine, and almost all the water involved in that process is reused recycled.

Across the entire industry, and especially as it applies to in situ production, we also focus on using brackish water (deep groundwater

Oil sands development represents the land use impact a city the size of Edmonton would have on an area equivalent to British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, and Quebec combined. oil in January 2009. Nexen chose the Long Lake site because it had already been used for industrial activity, therefore greatly reducing the land disturbance. Further,

that is not suitable for drinking or agriculture) as an alternative to fresh water.

Devon Canada Corporation's Jackfish project is one oil sands project that uses only Continued on pg. 32…

24 L’Actualité chimique canadienne

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july/august 2009 Canadian Chemical News  25

ARticle: Bitumen Production

CanmetENERGY technologist assembles the resin separator in the solvent deasphalting (SDA) unit, under construction.

CLEANER ENERGY FOR A GLOBAL MARKET Canadian Efforts in Oil Sands Upgrading Research and Development

By Jagannathan Govindhakannan, Gino DiLabio and Edward Little

H

ydrocarbon-based energy has been estimated to account for 88 percent of the primary global energy consumption in 2007.

Forecast­ reductions in primary energy supplies are mainly due to the peaking and decline of global conventional crude oil production­ over the next few years. For example, production from the Western Canadian­ Sedimentary Basin peaked in 1998; 23 other countries have peaked since 1996 and of those, 17 peaked since 2002. Of total global production­ in 2007, 65 percent was derived from countries past their peak oil production­. Depending on the forecasting scenario, the Alberta oil sands will delay the peak in Canadian oil production by an estimated­ 5 to 20 years, and contribute between 2.6 percent and 4.8 percent of the

26 L’Actualité chimique canadienne

Juillet/aoÛt 2009

world’s energy supply to meet future demands. Total bitumen production­ in Alberta is expected to increase from about 1.5 million barrels­per day (bpd) in 2008 to about 4.3 million bpd in 2020 and, in some scenarios, is projected to reach 5 to 6 million bpd by 2030. This perceived longer-term opportunity, which was, until mid-2008, reinforced by the rapid run-up in crude oil prices, drove a dramatic acceleration in realized and planned investment in expansion of bitumen production.

New forecasts in January 2009, however, call for bitumen production­to reach only 2 to 2.3 million bpd by 2020, i.e. half of what had been previously projected. The new forecast represents a realitycheck­ for the industry and is reflective of the increased uncertainty

regarding overall oil market demand and price uncertainties such as the following: • Economic performance of traditional large-scale capital-intensive processing facilities; • Issues surrounding local and regional environmental sustainability associated with development, including greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and the usage of land, ecosystems, and water; • Reformulation of finished fuel products requiring more intensive processing of bitumen-derived feedstocks.

Despite current economic issues, Alberta’s­ oil sand reserves represent a world-scale energy resource that will play an increasingly­ vital role in meeting future Canadian and global energy demands. At a time when governments are spending billions to stimulate economic activity, the continued expansion and environmental viability of oil sands operations­ are strategically important for Alberta’s and Canada’s present and future economies and energy security.

Background on oil sands upgrading Government research and development­in oil sands exists to provide solutions and knowledge for addressing critical environmental­ issues while also ensuring their viability as a valuable resource for Canada. With the aforementioned projected increase in oil sands production, several environmental­ challenges­ concerning land, air, water, and energy conservation­will need to be addressed to ensure that the development occurs in an environmentally­ sustainable manner.

This article describes some of the research initiatives­that address issues pertinent to the upgrading and refining of bitumen feedstocks.

What is petroleum refining?

Raw (unprocessed) petroleum resources contain varying amounts of hydrocarbon molecules­with very high molecular weights (i.e. residue containing higher-boiling compounds) and impurities such as sulfur, nitrogen, nickel and vanadium. Due to these characteristics, neither the conventional nor unconventional petroleum resources are directly useful to industry or as transportation­ fuels. In order to remove the impurities and

Light Gases Diluent

7 Distillates

1 Bitumen Feed

Sulfur

Distillates 2 Atmospheric Residue

5 Vacuum Residue

3

Distillates

Synthetic Crude Oil (SCO)

Coke

6

Hydrogen

4

Distillates Hydrogen Pitch

A typical upgrading process for Canadian bitumen: (1) Atmospheric distillation; (2) Vacuum distillation; (3) Coking­; (4) Hydroconversion; (5) Hydrotreating; (6) Hydrogen production; (7) Sulfur recovery. convert the higher-boiling material into useful fractions, petroleum must undergo a refining process to produce fuels, lubricants­ and solvents, as well as materials such as plastics, elastomers, and fibres for general use. With the gradual depletion of the world’s conventional­crude oil resources, and increasing prices for that commodity that we have recently experienced­first-hand at retail fuel pumps, there is an ever-increasing need to process heavier feed stocks (e.g. heavy oils and bitumen) in order to help fill the widening gap between global energy supply and demand.

crude oil supplies, the bitumen cannot be processed as such in these facilities­because of its higher viscosity and higher residue and impurity content. The key objective­ of an upgrading process is to convert the bitumen into a feedstock called synthetic crude oil (SCO), which can then be further processed in existing refineries to produce useful products.

Upgrading bitumen A simplified schematic of a typical bitumen upgrading process is shown in Figure 1. A diluent is added to the bitumen to facilitate­

Despite current economic issues, Alberta’s oil sand reserves represent a world-scale energy resource that will play an increasingly vital role in meeting future Canadian and global energy demands.

Why upgrade bitumen feedstocks?

Unlike the conventional crude oil, the bitumen extracted from the oil sands needs to undergo an additional processing step before being subjected to the usual refining process. As the majority of the existing petroleum­refineries­ are engineered to refine the conventional­

its transport through pipelines from the production­ site to an upgrading plant. The bitumen feedstock is distilled to remove the diluent and lower-boiling compounds from the “atmospheric” residue that boils above ~343°C. The atmospheric residue is further distilled in a vacuum distillation unit to separate the lower-boiling­ fractions from july/august 2009 Canadian Chemical News 27

ARticle: Bitumen Production

the “vacuum” residue, which boils above ~524°C. As the vacuum residue cannot be easily processed further by means of physical separation processes such as distillation, it is subjected to chemical reactions in coking and/or hydroconversion reactors.

In a coking reactor, high-temperature and low-pressure conditions are used to facilitate­ the conversion of high-molecular­- weight compounds into useful fuel fractions. These reactors reject a certain amount of carbon as solid coke. Hydroconversion­ processes use lower temperatures, higher pressures, hydrogen gas, and catalyst for vacuum residue processing. The various oil fractions derived from the distillation and reaction processes undergo further hydrogen addition, as well as sulfur and nitrogen removal, before being combined to form an SCO product. Synthetic crudes contain very little sulfur, nitrogen, and vacuum residue.

and important phenomenon of the Earth’s e c o sys t e m . C a r b o n d i ox i d e, t h e m o s t prevalent­ of all GHGs, arises from both natural and anthropogenic sources. Increases in emissions of CO2 are considered by many scientists to be a contributing factor to the phenomenon of global warming and adverse climate changes.

The two highest GHG emitting provinces­ in Canada are Alberta and Ontario. The difference­ between these two provinces is in how the GHGs are emitted: Ontario’s emissions­ are primarily associated with power generation, industry, and the burning of transportation fuels, whereas in Alberta the primary sources are large final emitters (LFE) such as power generation, industrial activities, and the petroleum industry, which includes oil sands operations. New upgrading facilities that are expected to come on stream

Research and development towards a cleaner oil sands resource

Reducing energy consumption

Although the steps involved in an upgrading process closely resemble those in conventional­petroleum refining, the chemical and physical characteristics of bitumen pose additional processability challenges.

To meet these challenges, much scientific research is being done in the areas of bitumen conversion­ chemistry, refinery process adaptations, and integration of current and future technologies­. Technological­advances will be necessary to ensure that Canada’s bitumen resources remain as a competitive market choice in a world with changing environmental­concerns and regulations and evolving fuel requirements­. Currently, the significant challenges­ facing the upgrading industry are: (1) reducing GHG emissions; (2) reducing energy consumption; (3) reducing natural gas use/requirements; and (4) improving the quality of SCO. The following sections of the article discuss how researchers endeavor to provide practical made-inCanada solutions to these challenges.

Reducing GHG emissions GHGs trap radiant heat within the Earth’s atmosphere. The GHG effect is a natural

28 L’Actualité chimique canadienne

for Nanotechnology (NINT), are aimed at developing cost-effective CO2 capture technologies­ that are affordable to oil sands processors and other industries.

Adsorption processes that utilize highsurface-area solid adsorbents­ are less energy intensive than other methods of capturing CO2. However, achieving desirable­ adsorption­ and diffusion selectivity in solid adsorbents­is a challenging research problem.

Researchers at CanmetENERGY­ and NINT are planning­ to use quantum chemical simulations and experimental­ methods to develop a fundamental­understanding­of CO2 adsorption­by investigating­the effect of pore geometries, cations, and functional groups on the CO2 adsorption/desorption capacities­ and selectivities­ of various materials.­ The knowledge­ base derived from the research will help in the design and synthesis of nanoporous materials tailored towards CO2 adsorption.

Scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) image of a catalyst surface. Bright spots indicate functionalized palladium particles about 2 nm in size.

in 2012 or later, may have targets based on the use of carbon capture and storage (CCS) or other technologies, in order to drastically reduce GHG emissions.

The responsible utilization of the vast oil sands resources warrants the capture and sequestration of CO2 for sustainable­ development­. By far, the most significant­ cost in reducing CO2 emissions­ arises from the capture component. Current CO2 capture technologies available­ to the industry are expensive and energy intensive­. Newly planned research activities­ at CanmetENERGY,­ in collaboration­ with scientists­ from various government laboratories­ and academic institutions in North America such as the National Institute­

Juillet/aoÛt 2009

Many research opportunities exist in the development of more energy-efficient­ processes for bitumen upgrading. Thermodynamically­, higher temperatures ­ are preferred for cracking reactions and lower temperatures are required for hydrogenation­ reactions.

High operating temperatures in reactors can be reduced through the use of novel catalysts.

These catalysts can speed up the splitting of carbon-carbon­bonds and also add hydrogen to the unsaturated species produced from the cracking reactions. For instance, researchers at CanmetENERGY successfully developed a novel residue upgrading process called CANMET Hydrocracking, which is currently at the commercialization stage. It is a flexible and cost-effective process for high conversion (~90 percent) of heavy residues into lighter products. An inexpensive additive used in this process acts as a mild hydrogenating agent and prevents coke-forming reactions. The process offers several advantages over traditional carbon rejection methods such as delayed coking, that leave an environmental footprint in the form of coke stockpiles.

Research has also focused on the development­ of a family of advanced bi-functional­ nanoporous materials that can be used as catalysts in cracking and hydrogenation­ reactions. Noble metals such

as platinum and palladium have high activity for conversion­ of aromatic compounds.

However, they are easily poisoned by sulfur and nitrogen compounds present in bitumenderived­ feedstocks. The encapsulation­ of metal particles in nano-sized pores of the catalytic material limits the access of hydrogen to the particles­and excludes bulky sulfur and nitrogen compounds (catalyst­ poisons). Adsorbed hydrogen molecules­ dissociate­ on active noble metal sites to form atomic species that diffuse back as spillover­ hydrogen to enhance hydrogenation activity. This concept has been demonstrated successfully­in laboratory-scale experiments­ using model compounds and further research is under way to synthesize sulfur and nitrogen-tolerant­­catalysts for realworld­ feedstocks.­ Surface imaging techniques such as scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission­ electron microscopy (TEM), available­ at CanmetENERGY and NINT, generate information­ about catalytic material­ on the nanometer length scale.

The availability­ of such tools has a major impact on the fundamental understanding and development­ of catalysts for oil sands applications­. Figure 2 shows an SEM micrograph­of a catalyst surface.

Significant progress has also been made toward demonstrating a new coking technology­ aimed at increasing liquid yields and improving product quality while lowering the energy intensity involved in upgrading bitumen and residue fractions.

CanmetENERGY­ has custom-built pilot plant facilities that are used to carry out experiments studying the effects of operating variables such as pressure, temperature, and residence­time on yields and quality of coking products­. Research efforts are also focused on studying the environmental aspects of gas emissions­during the unplanned shutdowns of coking units.

Corrosion and fouling problems are very costly to the upgrading and refining industry.

Fouling during bitumen processing results in plugging of reactors, transportation­difficulties­, and increased resistance to heat transfer.

Research at CanmetENERGY has shown that corrosion behavior can be correlated­ with physical and chemical properties­of feedstocks.

Exploratory studies conducted in this area have led to the design and development of a vacuum

(a)

(b)

Transition-state structures identified using quantum chemical simulations of ring opening of cyclohexane on a cluster model of a representative catalyst surface: (a) protonation; (b) ring opening.

autoclave­ corrosion testing unit. The results of this research are being used to design new upgrading units and revamp existing refineries­ to process bitumen feedstocks.

Reducing natural gas use/requirement The processing of Canadian bitumen is highly dependent on natural gas (NG) as a fuel for the generation of heat, power, and hydrogen; the latter is an important ingredient­in hydrogenation processes in upgrading and refining.

Given the expected expansion of the oil sands, and the fact that conventional­ resources of NG in North America are declining, the current trajectory is not sustainable­. Alternative energy technologies­include combustion and gasification of either coal or internally generated fuels such as unconverted pitch or solvent-extracted bottoms commonly known as asphaltenes.

Recent developments in understanding the behavior of asphaltene molecules in heavy residues, including results derived from quantum chemical simulations at NINT, are creating an enormous interest in developing solvent extraction processes to provide highquality feedstocks for the production of transportation fuels. Solvent deasphalting (SDA) processes use light hydrocarbons

such as propane, butanes, and pentanes, or a mixture of these to produce deasphalted oil (DAO) that contains lower levels of metals, sulfur, nitrogen, and carbon residue than the bitumen. The heavier asphaltene stream from the SDA process can be gasified to produce syngas, a mixture of carbon monoxide and hydrogen. Asphaltene gasification with appropriate­ carbon capture facilities can generate heat and hydrogen required for the upgrading process while curtailing GHG emissions­. A pilot-scale solvent deasphalting plant (cf. Figure 3) is being built at ENERGY for testing potential solvents and generating data for process development, design, and scale-up.

Improving the quality of SCO The refining industry in the U.S. is a potentia­l market for bitumen-derived feedstocks­.

However, the hydrocracking facilities­in the U.S. that are capable of processing vacuum gas oil (VGO) fractions­ account for only 20 vol% of the total conversion­ capacity. In contrast, the fluid catalytic cracking units (FCCU) that make up the remaining 80 vol% of conversion capacity can only process a feedstock in which Canadian­VGO content is limited to ~25 percent. How to fit bitumenderived gas oils into the existing FCC units is july/august 2009 Canadian Chemical News 29

ARticle: Bitumen Production

C CMembership

a major research theme at CanmetENERGY. The limitation arises due to the presence of ring compounds (aromatics and naphthenes), the concentrations of which do not change considerably during the upgrading process.

Hydrogenating all of the aromatics present in bitumen will not solve this problem because the resulting naphthenes are still not suitable­ for the FCC process. A possible solution­ to this difficulty is to first hydrogenate­ the aromatic compounds and then selectively­ break carbon-carbon bonds on the naphthenic­ rings to produce more of the paraffinic compounds. Developing suitable catalyst systems for selective ring opening of naphthenes­is very challenging because the reaction conditions that are appropriate for ring opening will not only open the rings but also crack the resulting paraffinic fragments.

Scientific research being conducted at CanmetENERGY and NINT is examining the ring opening problem from a fundamental­ perspective. To develop an effective catalyst­ for ring opening, it is very important­ to understand­ how ring opening reactions­ occur at a molecular level. Quantum chemical­ simulations­ are used to elucidate the reaction mechanisms, identify the ratedetermining­­ steps, and calculate energy requirements. Simulation studies reveal that an isomerization­ reaction precedes the ring opening reaction and a naphthenic reactant must detach from the surface of the catalyst for the ring opening to occur before attaching itself to the catalyst surface. Figure 4 shows reaction intermediates obtained from the simulations, which are involved in the ring opening of the cyclohexane molecule on a cluster model of a catalyst surface.

Modeling and simulation tools including computational fluid dynamics techniques­ are also employed to investigate distillate­ hydrotreating/hydrocracking reactor performance.­ Vapor-liquid equilibrium studies, carried out in pilot plant experiments­, help us understand the effect of phase behavior on the kinetics of sulfur and nitrogen removal from distillate streams.

Plant-wide simulations performed under steady-state conditions assist in identifying optimal operating conditions to improve the product quality and the efficiency of the upgrading process.

Summary and outlook G ove r n ment laboratories are working t o g e t h e r t o re s o l ve i m p o r t a n t i s s u e s and develop technologies for petroleum upgrading and refining. The scope of these efforts is illustrated­by the range of research activities­in this area, from quantum chemical­ simulations­ of small and large model systems, to nanoscale imaging of catalyst materials­, to building pilot plants for testing new upgrading processes. The diversity of this activity reflects the fact that no single activity or discipline will provide solutions to problems­in upgrading. Rather, developments­ will involve a detailed understanding­ of electronic­, molecular, and material structure­/ properties and how these properties fit in with large-scale processes. This is critical to finding a pathway towards responsible­ and sustainable utilization of Canadian bitumen resources.

CanmetENERGY, through its National Centre for Upgrading Technology and the

associated research collaborations and networks with other scientific organizations­ such as NINT, provides independent research and technical services to consulting and engineering­ companies, heavy-oil producers, refineries, and governments around the world. The expertise developed from fundamental­ and applied research is an important component in maintaining Canada’s­prosperity and energy security.

References 1. Figure 2.6 of Canada’s CO2 Capture and Storage Technology Roadmap, www.co2trm.gc.ca 2. BP Statistical Review of World Energy, 2008; www.bp.com 3. Canada’s Energy Future, National Energy Board, 2007; www.neb.gc.ca 4. Will ‘green’ Obama smile on oil sands, Edmonton Journal, January 22, 2009 5. Figure 2.6 of Canada’s CO2 Capture and Storage Technology Roadmap, www. co2trm. gc. ca ACCN Jagannathan Govindhakannan has been a research scientist at the National Centre for Upgrading Technology (NCUT) since 2004. Gino DiLabio joined the National Institute for Nanotechnology in 2003 as a research scientist. Edward Little became the director of NCUT in 2008.

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30 L’Actualité chimique canadienne

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

Canadian Society for Chemical Technology

Nominations are now open for

The Canadian­Society for Chemical Technology

2010AWARDAct now!

Do you know an outstanding person who deserves to be recognized?

The Norman and Marion Bright Memorial Award is awarded to an individual who has made an outstanding contribution in Canada to the furtherance of chemical technology. The person so honoured may be either a chemical sciences technologist, or a person from outside the field who has made a significant and noteworthy contribution to it advancement.

Award: A medal and a cash prize.

Deadline

The deadline for this CSCT award is December 1, 2009 for the 2010 selection.

Nomination forms and the full Terms of Reference for this award is available at www.chem-tech.ca/awards.

ACCN 2009

September Ethics in Science and Engineering­October Waste Management­and Recycling­ November­/December­ Chemical Burden on the Body

Submit your ideas to

editorial@accn.ca.

july/august 2009 Canadian Chemical News 31

ARticle: Sustainable Development Continued from pg.24… brackish water to create the steam needed to separate oil from sand.

Using Undrinkable Saline Water in SAGD The Canadian oil sands industry is committed to responsible water use. One of the ways we have made significant progress in reducing our use of fresh water is by turning to alternative­ sources.

Back in 2001, when Devon Energy started the planning process to not use any fresh water in its Jackfish in situ production process, it was a pretty radical notion. But the company persisted, and when Jackfish began production­in 2007, Devon became the first oil sands operator­to use 100 percent saline water to create steam in its steam-assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) operations.

“SAGD uses steam to heat and mobilize­the bitumen, allowing it to flow to the surface,” says Devon Canada president, Chris Seasons.

“And, we’re always looking for ways to

conserve water. At Jackfish, our engineers tapped a deep reservoir of saline, non-potable fresh groundwater for the steaming process.”

There were upfront financial costs attached to using saline water. First, engineers had to find suitable saline water, drilling and testing water quality a few times before finding a saline aquifer more than 200 metres below ground. Not only is this water unsuitable for drinking, it’s also unsuitable for livestock or irrigation purposes.

To accommodate the use of the saline water, the design at Jackfish incorporated special provisions for coolers, chemical batching and make up water systems where fresh water would conventionally be used.

Devon says the additional costs were worth it. “Our use of saline water was an intentional decision we made to reduce our environmental­ impact,” says Seasons.

Jackfish circulates over 20,000 cubic metres of saline water each day with over 95 percent of that recycled and reused in the steaming operations.

Oil Sands Development: A Brief Overview As a precursor to explaining how oil sands development is continually­ evolving and changing to meet expectations for sustainable development,­we need to understand the fundamentals of producing oil from sand in Northern Canada.

Canada’s energy future lies in the oil sands. Canada possesses approximately 179 billion barrels of oil that can be recovered with today’s technology. Of that number, 173 billion are located in the oil sands. This reserve size is second in the world only to Saudi Arabia.

Oil sands are a mixture of sand, water, clay and bitumen. Bitumen is oil that is too heavy or thick to flow or be pumped without being diluted or heated—at 11 degrees Celsius bitumen is as hard as a hockey puck.

Canada’s oil sands are found in three deposits—the Athabasca, Peace River and Cold Lake areas in Alberta and part of Saskatchewan.

The greatest quantity is found in the Athabasca deposit.

There are two different methods of producing oil from the oil sands: open-pit mining and in situ, which simply means producing in place. Bitumen that is close to the surface is mined. Bitumen that occurs deep within the ground is produced using in situ techniques, essentially specialized conventional oil wells.

Open-pit mining is similar to many traditional mining operations­—large shovels scoop the oil sand into trucks that then take it to crushers where the large clumps of earth are broken down.

32 L’Actualité chimique canadienne

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Devon is also planning to use saline water a few kilometers west at Jackfish 2, another in situ operation which is expected to start producing in 2011.

Meanwhile, the company actively collaborates­with peers, regulators, and other multi-stakeholder groups on best practices regarding water. Devon is also participating in a variety of research studies and industry initiatives­ on water management; all in an effort to reduce the use of fresh water in the oil sands.

In all SAGD operations, a small percentage of water is always lost in the reservoir but the rest of it—usually at least 90 percent—comes back up with the bitumen, water that oil sands operators are required to reuse.

Recycling Water with Zero Liquid Discharge at Mackay River More than 90 per cent of the injection steam required to run Petro-Canada's MacKay River in situ facility is recycled continuously.

This mixture is then thinned out with water and transported to a plant, where the bitumen is separated from the other components and upgraded to create synthetic oil. Just 20 percent of the oil sands are recoverable through open-pit mining.

The remaining 80 percent are recoverable through in situ technology­. The majority of in situ operations use steam-assisted gravity drainage, or SAGD. This method involves pumping steam underground through a horizontal well to liquefy the bitumen that is then pumped to the surface through a second well.

Petro-Canada’s facility is demonstrating the only fully-functional Zero Liquid Discharge (ZLD) system in the oil sands industry. ZLD has a number of benefits, such as recycling more than 90 per cent of the facility’s water.

Like most in situ operators, Petro-Canada uses Steam Assisted Gravity Drainage (SAGD) to extract bitumen. Steam is injected in a well underground to heat the bitumen, which flows into a second producer well and then up to the surface.

But that’s not all that comes up. In addition­to bitumen, water with a high saline content also enters the producer well as does condensed steam from the injection well.

Most in situ operators dispose of some saline water by pumping it into a disposal well underground­. However, Petro-Canada doesn’t have a suitable disposal well nearby.

So instead, the company devised ZLD, which treats the water to remove salts and recycles it to produce more injection steam. This way, more than 90 percent of the injection steam required to run MacKay River is recycled continuously and Petro-Canada has to draw very little water from underground aquifers.

Combining the ZLD system with MacKay River’s low “steam-to-oil ratio” (that is: less

water is required for steaming than at other projects), means that for every barrel of heavy oil produced, Petro-Canada uses about one- sixth of a barrel of new subsurface water.

The system also makes a difference to the bottom line. Expanding ZLD capacity at MacKay River has helped Petro-Canada reach new production records (barrels per day).

And, the company saves significant costs that would have been spent on third-party wastewater­disposal.

Petro-Canada’s goal in its oil sands operations­—current and planned—is to use as little fresh water as possible in bitumen separation, generation of steam and cooling, and as process water during upgrading.

The company is also committed to returning the water to the ecosystems at levels that meet or exceed regulatory standards.

Land Use and Reclamation There’s no question, from drilling one in situ well to mining, oil sands activity does change the landscape.

While there is some misunderstanding around scope of land impact from oil sands development, it is critical that industry employ

the same innovation in reclamation practices and in reducing land use that it does in other areas of environmental mitigation.

You may be familiar with reports in the media that refer to oil sands development­ impacting an area the size of Florida. While the oil sands do underlay an area approximately­ that size, mining is only amenable to developing­20 percent of the reserve, and that development only occurs over 2.5 percent of the total reserve surface area. Currently, oil sands development impacts 550 square kilometers­, or .01 percent of Canada’s boreal forest. To put that in context, oil sands development­represents the land use impact a city the size of Edmonton would have on an area equivalent to British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, and Quebec combined.

The first way we tackle this challenge is to minimize the area of land we use when we start development. We do this by avoiding sensitive habitats, using narrow seismic lines, optimizing the area we need for well sites and working with other users to share roads and pipelines.

When a site has been fully developed, the land is returned to a sustainable landscape (reclaimed). For oil sands mines, planning to july/august 2009 Canadian Chemical News 33

ARticle: Sustainable Development restore areas is done before the first shovel of earth is moved. Once an area is no longer needed for mining activities, we contour it for drainage, replace topsoil and plant vegetation­, trees and shrubs. We then assess the soil and vegetation on an ongoing basis to ensure we’re achieving the goals of the original plan.

Currently at Horizon, purchased waste carbon dioxide (CO2) is being injected into the tailings slurry lines before the tailings­enter the pond, where it reacts to form carbonic acid.

This reaction changes the PH of the tailings mixtures and allows the fine clays, silts and sand to settle quickly and leave clearer water

“Even as the sources of energy expand and diversify, global demand for energy will continue to rise sharply as emerging nations strive to achieve the standards of living enjoyed and expected in the developed world. ” The first area to be officially certified as fully reclaimed by the Government of Alberta was in early 2008. Currently, 65 square kilometers of land are under active reclamation.

Tailings ponds are also an important part of the oil sands reclamation process. Companies are applying much effort to reducing the size of tailings ponds as well as finding ways to eliminate liquid tailings all together. The first tailings pond to be reclaimed will be Suncor’s Pond 1, which will be ready for surface planting in 2010.

Shrinking the Tailings Pond Canadian Natural Resources Limited is using new methods resulting in less space for fluid tailings, accelerating the process of reclamation­ and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Canadian Natural Resources Limited (Canadian­ Natural) is commercializing promising­ new ways to manage the tailings pond at its Horizon Oil Sands facility, 70 kilometers­ north of Fort McMurray. These new methods will require less space for fluid tailings, accelerate the process of reclamation and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The Horizon facility includes a surface mine and bitumen extraction plant with on-site bitumen upgrading and associated infrastructure­ to produce synthetic crude oil.

The production of sweet crude oil results in solid and liquid wastes called tailings which are stored in a pond. Progressive reclamation of the tailings ponds (bringing the area back to its natural state) takes place throughout the life of the mine, which is approximately 40 years.

34 L’Actualité chimique canadienne

which can be immediately­recycled for reuse in the bitumen extraction­ process.

During the next phase of Horizon development­, another new tailings treatment process will be implemented by Canadian Natural. As part of this new process, cyclones will remove the water from the coarse sand and thickeners will remove the water from the fine clays, silts as w ell as sand. The dewatered streams will then be combined with waste CO2. The resultant tailings will be deposited in the tailings disposal area where even more water will be released and reused. Additionally the CO2 will react with the minerals in the tailings to form mineral carbonates. In this phase, the waste CO2 will be captured from Horizon’s upgrader instead of purchasing and trucking it to site.

These new processes will reduce the footprint­ of the tailings pond and, by increasing the amount of water available for recycle, decrease the amount of river water needed to process bitumen. Canadian Natural expects this process of sequestering CO2 into tailings will eliminate about 219,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions every year.

Forests, Faster Returning land to a natural state with trees can take years for growth. Using recommendations­from a University of Alberta study, ConocoPhillips­is speeding things up by planting spruce, birch and aspen trees.

The first seedlings for Faster Forests will hit the ground in the summer of 2009. Standard reclamation programs for exploratory well sites

Juillet/aout 2009

usually plant a mix of grass seeds and let trees come along naturally. But that can take years.

Initially, the company will plant 30,000 trees on about 30 sites.

Next, the company wants to expand the types of trees and add a number of species of native shrubs, wild flowers and even blueberries­on reclaimed lands. ConocoPhillips­ Canada will work with local First Nations to identify the types of vegetation that may have a traditional use and include those plant species in the reclamation­ mix.

Eventually, ConocoPhillips Canada is planning­to help seed some economic benefits­ to the local communities as well. The company wants to create employment opportunities­ for local contractors and suppliers and help establish­ the necessary training in biology, planting and monitoring of reclamation sites.

“We think it’s a step change in reclamation­,” says Peter Zimmerman, ConocoPhillips­ Canada­’s manager, Environment­ and Stakeholder­ Engagement­, Oil Sands. "This is about more than planting trees. In the long term it will be about creating opportunities in the local community­, rehabilitating­ wildlife habitat and demonstrating­our commitment to sustainable­development."

It all starts with careful planning to determine­ which sites are suitable for what type of vegetation. At an in situ operation, the land is typically disturbed three ways; a large pad with a number of wells and a processing facility, linear seismic lines and smaller, 40 X 40 meter drilling pad sites.

ConocoPhillips Canada will begin planting on the smaller drilling pad sites that have been clear the longest. “It’s a first step and we’re proud of that but it’s a first little step and we’ll be taking bigger ones,” says Zimmerman.

Meanwhile, the University of Alberta is about half way through a 10-year study on removing wellsite footprints. ConocoPhillips­ Canada’s accelerated reclamation plans, furthered with support of their Surmont joint-venture associate total, are based on the study’s five year recommendations. This is one of several examples of producers that are working on ways to accelerate reclamation in the area, either on or off their lease sites. Other companies include StatoilHydro, Petro-Canada and Suncor Energy. ACCN Travis Davies is a public affairs advisor with the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers.

ď‚š

Chemical Institute of Canada

july/august 2009 Canadian Chemical News  35

ARticle: COMMENTARY

EXPLORING the OIL SANDS STORY The oil sands story begins with the formation of hydrocarbons at depth, in an area adjacent to the Rocky Mountains of western Alberta, and their subsequent migration over eons of time east up along an incline to become near surface deposits of bitumen in the Athabasca region.

36 L’Actualité chimique canadienne

Juillet/aoÛt 2009

N

By Gord Winkel

orthern Alberta contains a unique hydrocarbon resource known as the oil sands. From it’s humble origins as a curiosity­ to fur trade explorers seeing bitumen freely flowing from the banks of the Athabasca River, to today where the oil sands supply the equivalent of approximately 50 percent of Canada’s energy needs, this resource increasingly captures the attention of society, industry and stakeholders alike.

The interest drawn by the oil sands is certainly warranted given the importance of this resource to Canada. With this positive attention­ to responsible oil sands development, however, has also come misinformation­and flawed representations, which are a real disservice­ to the people, communities and industry that have worked to make the oil sands a Canadian success story. Like so many, I have lived and worked in the Athabasca oil sands, and this is an opportunity to provide a more balanced view, one that offsets recently published challenges with a track record of performance achievement and the opportunity afforded by this valued resource.

The oil sands story begins with the formation of hydrocarbons at depth, in an area adjacent to the Rocky Mountains of western Alberta, and their subsequent migration over eons of time east up along an incline, to become near surface deposits of bitumen in the Athabasca­ region. This is a vast resource totaling an estimated

1.7 trillion­ barrels. Three hundred billion barrels are predicted as recoverable with existing technologies­, with 20 percent of the bitumen accessed using surface mining techniques, and the balance using in situ drilling and steam injection technologies. Both of the approaches are still the focus of a significant­ research effort that continually delivers on improvements to bitumen recovery and environmental­ performance.­ From an environmental standpoint, there are important considerations to share.

Actual land disturbance to date of the North American­ boreal forest totals less than a couple of hundredths of one percent—an area less than that of the two nearest major cities, Edmonton and Calgary. Also, it should be borne in mind that significant areas have already been reclaimed as operations progress­ and all disturbed land will be reclaimed as operations conclude. Syncrude Canada Ltd. alone has planted some five million trees and shrubs, reclaimed 4,500 hectares (22 percent) of disturbed lands, recycled 88 percent of its process water, has significantly reduced energy intensity by researching and pioneering low temperature extraction­technologies, has spent $100 million on reclamation since 2003, and will spend an estimated $1.6 billion to reduce sulphur dioxide emissions by 60 percent. In addition­to reclaimed land returned to a boreal forest state, the area has about 300 bison grazing on these fields, and reconstructed watersheds­in the region have won awards for environmental­ innovation and cutting edge reclamation research.

The oil sands also contribute positively to the economy of Canada. Within the confines of the minimal land disturbance described previously, comes more than a million barrels of production a day to service Canada’s energy requirements. There are approximately­ a quarter of a million jobs linked to the oil sands, and development­ there in the period from 2000 to 2020 has the potential­to generate an estimated $123 billion for provincial­and federal governments­in the form of royalty and tax revenues. Industry leaders who we have had the pleasure­ and privilege of working with are also genuinely focused on the future and have supported education, community investment­,

per capita donations­. There are significant efforts to support education regionally and provincially­, and equally significant is the work to encourage Aboriginal­ education, employment­ and business­ development. It has been a wonderful experience to work with an army of community volunteers who help those in need of support, provide an impressive array of wholesome activities for young and old, and make improvements to the utility and appearance of local facilities.

Additionally the air quality in Fort McMurray is also rated as good or better than that in Edmonton, Calgary or Toronto. This is truly a great place to work and raise a family and rivals many cities in terms of quality of life

The development of the oil sands is a testament to the pioneering spirit, hard work, commitment and ingenuity of the people that made it happen. regional infrastructure working groups and environmental­ consortiums to ensure responsible­development of the oil sands.

The development of the oil sands is a testament­ to the pioneering spirit, hard work, commitment and ingenuity of the people that made it happen. The people in the region demonstrate their care and commitment­ through significant volunteerism­ and often contribute more than any other community­ in Canada to annual United Way campaigns based on

for its residents. It’s a community that many are proud to call home.

This is then the oil sands story written by the people, communities and industry that worked to develop the oil sands into the success it is today, providing a safe sustainable­energy source serving our society now and into the future. ACCN Gord Winkel is based in Fort McMurray, AB, and is the chair of the Surface Mining Association for Research Technology.

july/august 2009 Canadian Chemical News 37

Recognition reconnaissance



Canadian Society for Chemical Engineering

Canadian Society for Chemical Engineering 2009 Award Winners Gagnants 2009 des prix de la Société canadienne de génie chimique The Canadian Society for Chemical­ Engineering Board of Directors would like to congratulate the 2009 award winners.

Zhonghe Xu, MCIC

Michel Perrier

John Shrives

Bantrel Award in Design and Industrial­Practice Prix Bantrel de la conception et de la pratique industrielle Sponsored by / Parrainé par Bantrel The Bantrel Award in Design and Industrial Practice­is given to a Canadian citizen or a resident of Canada for innovative design or production activities accomplished in Canada.

Le Prix Bantrel de la conception et de la pratique industrielle est présenté à un citoyen­canadien ou une personne qui réside au Canada pour souligner une conception­ ou des activités de production novatrices effectuées­au Canada.

Zhonghe Xu, MCIC University of Alberta Department of Chemical and Materials­ Engineering­ Zhenghe Xu is a Teck Professor at the University­ of Alberta. He obtained BSc and

38 L’Actualité chimique canadienne

Pierre Carreau, FCIC

Josephine M. Hill, MCIC

MSc degrees in minerals engineering from Central South University (China) in 1982 and 1985, respectively, and then PhD in materials science and engineering from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in 1990. After a short stay at the University of California, Santa Barbara, as a postdoctoral fellow, Xu joined McGill University as an assistant professor in 1992. He then moved to University of Alberta in 1997 and became full professor in 2000.

Xu’s research is built on interfacial science and engineering with emphasis on natural resources processing and utilization. He has authored or co-authored 200 peer-reviewed scientific journal papers and over 45 technical proceeding conference papers, along with eight book chapters and two US patents.

He served as NSERC–EPCOR–AERI Industry Research Chair in Advanced Coal Cleaning and Combustion Technology from 2002–2008.

Xu was awarded a Canada Research Chair (Tier I) in Mineral Processing in 2006 and an NSERC Industry Research Chair in Oil Sands Engineering in 2008. He was elected to Fellow of Canadian Academy of Engineering in 2008.

Juillet/aoÛt 2009

D. G. Fisher Award Prix D.G.Fisher Sponsored by / Parrainé par The department of chemical and materials­ engineering, University of Alberta, Suncor Energy Foundation and Shell Canada Limited / Le départment de génie chimique et des matériaux de la University of Alberta, Suncor Energy Foundation et Shell Canada Limitée.

The D. G. Fisher Award is awarded to an individual­who has made substantial contributions­to the field of systems and control engineering. The award is given in recognition of significant contributions to any, or all, of the areas of theory, practice and education.

Le Prix D.-G.-Fisher est décerné à une personne qui s’est distinguée par ses contributions­ importantes­dans le domaine du génie des systèmes et des contrôles. Il couronne les apports importants dans certains ou tous les domaines suivants : la théorie, la pratique et l’éducation.

Recognition reconnaissance Michel Perrier, MCIC École Polytechnique de Montréal Department of Chemical Engineering Michel Perrier obtained his BIng and MScA d e g re e s f ro m É c o l e Po l y t e c h n i q u e d e Montréal and his PhD from McGill University in chemical­ engineering. He began his career in 1986 with Shell Canada as a process control engineer where he worked on design and implementation­ of control systems. He then worked for two years as a research associate at the Biotechnology Research Institute in Montreal developing control strategies for the operation of bioprocesses. From 1990–1993, he worked for the Pulp and Paper Research Institute of Canada as a research engineer on monitoring of control loop performance and on the development of adaptive control techniques­. He has been a professor of chemical­ engineering at École Polytechnique since 1993. He was an invited professor in 2001–2002 at the Centre for Integrated Dynamics and Control in the Department of Electrical Engineering at the University of Newcastle in Australia, at the Centre for Systems Engineering and Applied Mechanics at the Université Catholique de Louvain in Belgium in 2002, and at the Advanced Control of Energy Systems Group of the Universitat­Politecnica de Catalunya in Spain in 2008– 2009. His research interests are in the field of dynamics, control and optimization of biotechnological processes. He has been chair of the International Federation for Automatic Control technical committee on biosystems and bioprocesses from 2003–2006.

He received the Teaching Excellence Award from École Polytechnique­ in 2005. He was awarded a doctorate honoris causa from the Faculté Polytechnique­de Mons in Belgium in 2008 for his contribution to adaptive control and on-line optimization of bioreactors

Process Safety Management Award Prix de gestion de la sécurité opérationnelle Sponsored by / Parrainé par AON Reed Stenhouse Inc. The Process Safety Management Award is presented as a mark of recognition to a person who has made an outstanding contribution in Canada to the Process Safety Management

(PSM) Division of the Canadian Society for Chemical Engineering, recognizing excellence in the leadership and dedication of individuals who have led Canada in the field of process safety and loss management (PSLM).

Le Prix de gestion de la sécurité opérationnelle est décerné à titre de reconnaissance à une personne qui s’est distinguée au Canada par sa contribution exceptionnelle au sein de la Division­ de la gestion de la sécurité opérationnelle­ de la Société canadienne de génie chimique. Il reconnaît l’excellence de leadership et le dévouement des personnes qui ont été des chefs de file dans le secteur canadien­ de la gestion, de la sécurité opérationnelle­et des pertes.

John Shrives Environment Canada John Shrives is head of the Emergencies Prevention Section with the Environmental Emergencies Division of Environment Canada in Gatineau, QC. He joined the department in 1983 and has been with the environmental emergencies program since 1990. His interests­include risk assessment, chemical process safety management and environmental auditing. He participated in the development of the s200 environmental emergency planning regulations under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 in 2003 and is currently involved with their implementation and proposed amendments.

Previously, he worked in the electric power sector both for Environment Canada and as a consultant. He began his career in 1973 with the Ontario Ministry of the Environment in Toronto working on the development of regional water supply and sewage treatment­ systems and later environmental­ assessments­.

He holds both a BSc and MSc in environmental engineering from The University of Western Ontario. He is a member of the CIC and chairs the Process Safety Management­ Committee of the CSChE. Shrives was also active with the Partnerships Toward Safer Communities­ Program of the Canadian­ Association of Fire Chiefs and the Technical Management Committee of the former Major Industrial Accidents­ Council of Canada (MIACC).

He lives in Ottawa, ON with his wife, Gail, and their 3 children.

R.S. Jane Memorial Award Prix commémoratif R.-S.-Jane Sponsored by / Parrainé par CIC Chemical Education Fund / donds de l'enseignements de la chimie de l'ICC The R.S. Jane Memorial Award is the premier prize of the Canadian Society for Chemical Engineering and is awarded for exceptional achievement in chemical engineering or industrial­chemistry.

Le prix commémoratif R.-S.-Jane est le prix principal présenté par la Société canadienne de génie chimique pour souligner une contribution­exceptionnelle au domaine du génie chimique ou de la chimie industrielle.

Pierre Carreau, FCIC École Polytechnique de Montréal Department of Chemical Engineering Pierre Carreau is professor of chemical engineering­ at École Polytechnique de Montréal. He is internationally recognized for his scientific contributions in polymer processing and rheology, an area in which he has published more than 250 scientific papers in journals and authored or co-authored two books. He has received many awards and distinctions. He is a Fellow of the CIC and was CSChE president from 1977–1978. He was recently appointed Fellow of the Canadian­ Academy of Engineering and the Royal Society of Canada. He has received many other awards, in particular, the Urgel-Archambault Medal of the Société francophone pour le savoir (ACFAS) and the 2007 Society of Plastics­ Engineers’­ Research Award. He received honourary­doctorates­from the University of Grenoble (in 1989) and l’École Nationale des Sciences Appliquées­(INSA) de Lyon in 2007.

He has trained some 48 masters students and 34 PhD students.

He was a founder of the Center for Applied Research on Polymers and Composites­ (CREPEC). CREPEC groups together over 50 individuals: professors from École Polytechnique­ and governmental investigators in Quebec, working on polymers and composites­. He was editor of the Canadian­ Journal of Chemical Engineering from 1996– 2006. He has organized many conferences­ including the 2nd World Congress of Chemical Engineering that attracted more than 3,000 july/august 2009 Canadian Chemical News 39

Recognition reconnaissance 

Canadian Society for Chemistry

The CCUCC Chemistry Doctoral Award Sponsored by the Canadian Council of University Chemistry Chairs (CCUCC)

The CCUCC Chemistry Doctoral Award is presented for outstanding achievement and potential in research by a graduate­student whose PhD thesis in chemistry was formally accepted by a Canadian university­in the 12-month period preceding the nomination­ deadline.­ Award: A framed scroll and cash prize.

Nominations are now open for the 2010 award.

Submit your nominations to: Awards Manager Canadian Society for Chemistry 130 Slater Street, Suite 550 Ottawa, ON K1P 6E2 Tel: 613-232-6252, ext. 223 Fax: 613-232-5862 awards@cheminst.ca

Syncrude Canada Innovation Award Prix d’innovation Syncrude Canada Sponsored by / Parrainé par Syncrude Canada Limited The Syncrude Canada Innovation Award is presented annually to a resident of Canada, who has made a distinguished contribution to chemical engineering before the age of 40.

Le Prix d’innovation Syncrude Canada est décerné annuellement pour souligner une contribution importante au domaine du génie chimique par un ingénieur chimiste de moins de 40 ans qui réside au Canada.

Deadline: September 15, 2009 The full Terms of Reference for this award are available at www.cheminst.­ca/awards.

Le Prix du doctorat en chimie du CDDCUC Parrainé par le Conseil des directeurs de département de chimie des universités­ canadiennes­(CDDCUC)

Le prix du doctorat en chimie du CDDCUC est présenté à un étudiant des cycles supérieurs­dont la thèse de doctorat en chimie a été formellement­acceptée par une université­canadienne­au cours des 12 mois précédant la date d’échéance des mises en candidatures. Ce prix souligne une contribution­et un potentiel en recherche exceptionnels­.

Prix : Un parchemin encadré et un prix en argent comptant.­

La période de mise en candidature est maintenant ouverte pour le prix 2010.

Veuillez faire parvenir vos mises en candidature à : Directrice des prix Société canadienne de chimie 130, rue Slater, bureau 550 Ottawa (Ontario) K1P 6E2 Tél. : 613-232-6252, poste 223 Téléc. : 613-232-5862 awards@cheminst.ca

Date limite : le 15 Septembre 2009 Le cadre de référence complet pour ce prix est disponible au www.chemist.ca/awards.

40 L’Actualité chimique canadienne

delegates to Montréal in 1981. He was head of the chemical engineering department­ at École Polytechnique from 1973– 1978 and a member of the administration board of École Polytechnique­from 1996–2000 and from 2002–2006.

Juillet/aoÛt 2009

Josephine M. Hill, MCIC University of Calgary Department of Chemical and Petroleum­ Engineering­ Josephine Hill is an associate professor holding the Zandmer/ Canada Research Chair in Hydrogen and Catalysis, in the Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering of the Schulich School of Engineering at the University­of Calgary.

She received her education and training at the University of Waterloo (BASc and MASc) and the University of Wisconsin– Madison (PhD) and worked for two years at Surface Science Western at The University of Western Ontario between her graduate degrees. Hill’s research is in the area of catalysis with applications to fuel cells, hydrotreating and gasification.

She currently works with many companies including Suncor, Shell, NOVA Chemicals, Criterion Catalysts, VersaPower and GreatPoint Energy. She is actively involved in the Catalysis Division of the Chemical­ Institute of Canada (CIC) and is currently the Division newsletter editor. She is also actively involved in the promotion of science and engineering­to high school and university students through various programs and was awarded the Minerva Mentoring Award from the Alberta Women’s Science Network in recognition of the difference she has made. ACCN

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Recognition reconnaissance

2009 MSED/LANXESS Graduate Award in Polymer Science

Mark Ingratta

E

Tim Kelly

ach year, the Macromolecular Science and Engineering Division (MSED) sponsors­ an award that recognizes research­ excellence by two graduate students working in polymer science and engineering in Canada. The MSED is pleased to announce that this award has once again been co-sponsored­

by LANXESS Inc. The award has a value of $1,000, and provides up to $500 for travel to a Canadian conference for each winner. The 2009 competition was one of the fiercest­ of the past few years, with 13 outstanding applications­ having been received from across Canada.

The two winners of this year’s competition­are Mark Ingratta, from The University of Waterloo­ (under the supervision of Jean Duhamel­, MCIC), and Timothy Kelly, MCIC, from The University of British Columbia (under the supervision­of Michael Wolf, MCIC).

Mark Ingratta completed his BSc in polymer materials engineering from the Department of Chemistry at the University of Waterloo, and remained there to pursue his PhD in the Duhamel research group.

His thesis, entitled­ “Aspects of Polymer Chain Dynamics in Solution­ Studied using Fluorescence­,” described methods for detailed characterization­ of chromophorelabeled­ macromolecules through the use of fluorescence­ spectroscopy. “My research

established­ that quantitative information­ on the chain dynamics of polymers and polypeptides­ could be obtained even when a chromophore and its quencher are randomly attached along the polymer backbone. This finding will hopefully open up new possibilities and experiments for polymer chemists who are interested in polymer chain dynamics” states Ingratta.

The careful work that Ingratta did during his graduate studies has impacted the types of polymers (polypeptides­) being sold by commercial suppliers, and how their structures­ are reported. “Mark has certainly performed extremely well at Waterloo as a graduate student,” states Duhamel. He adds that Ingratta has a “wonderful personality­which, combined with the depth of knowledge­ he has accumulated in his six years of graduate­ work, makes him also an outstanding teacher.”

Currently, Ingratta is working as a postdoctoral researcher with Patric Jannasch at Lund University in Sweden, where he investigates the synthesis and characterization­ of novel polymer electrolyte­ membranes for use in hydrogen fuel cells. Ingratta was awarded a European Union Scholarship in order to pursue his postdoctoral­studies. His career aspirations include polymer and materials chemistry at a university or in industry.

Timothy Kelly, completed his BSc at Memorial University of Newfoundland in 2004, and then moved to The University of British Columbia for his graduate training.

During his doctoral research, Kelly focused on the preparation­ and characterization­ of hybrid polymer materials­ composed of microspheres in which one component is a conjugated polymer. According to Kelly, these

NOTICED

microparticles­exhibit enhanced optoelectronic­ properties­, and can be self-assembled­­ into opaline arrays. “This gives rise to entirely new optical properties­due to Bragg diffraction from the lattice planes of the opal. Thus, by carefully controlling the morphology of the polymer by using these templates, both new and enhanced properties can be achieved” states Kelly. These new materials have potential­ applications as conducting photonic crystals­, and in energy storage devices such as supercapacitors­.

Wolf, Kelly’s research supervisor, states that “the depth of Tim’s knowledge of chemistry is extremely impressive, and the rapidity with which he has made things happen in the lab is simply extraordinary­.” He adds that Kelly is “… a natural leader by example, and clearly has the maturity­needed to ultimately­ direct an independent­ research effort.” In addition to the MSED/LANXESS Graduate Award, Kelly has been the recipient of the Julie Payette Scholarship­ from NSERC, and was funded by an NSERC CGS-D Award.

Kelly’s future research interests remain in the area of materials­ and polymer science.

More specifically­, they include the fields of conjugated­ polymers, colloid chemistry, mesoporous­ host-guest composites, as well as opals and photonic crystals. Upon completion­ of his PhD, he will be moving to the University­ of California, San Diego, to start a post-doctoral­­ fellowship with Michael J. Sailor in the area of porous silicon environmental­ sensors.

For further information about the MSED/ LANXESS Graduate Award, contact Alex Adronov, MCIC, Department of Chemistry­, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON or adronov@mcmaster.ca. ACCN

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july/august 2009 Canadian Chemical News 41

Recognition reconnaissance

The Catalysis Award— Call for Nominations­ The Catalysis Award, sponsored by the Canadian Catalysis Foundation, is awarded biannually­to an individual who, while resident in Canada, has made a distinguished contribution­to the field of catalysis. The recipient of the Award receives a rhodium-plated­­silver medal and travel expenses to present the award lecture at the Canadian Symposium­on Catalysis or the annual conference of the Canadian Society for Chemistry or the Canadian­Society for Chemical Engineering.

Nominations for the award must be submitted in writing to the Awards Manager by October­ 1, 2009, using the CIC nomination form found at www.cheminst.ca/awards.

Previous winners of the Catalysis Award are R.J. Cvetanovic and Y. Amenomiya (1977), R. B. Anderson­ (1979), C. H. Amberg (1982), H. Alper (1984), H. W. Habgood (1986), J. B. Moffat­ (1988), B. R. James (1990), B. Wojciechowski (1992), I. Dalla Lana (1994), M. Ternan (1996), S. Kaliaguine­(1998), G. L. Rempel (2000), M. C. Baird (2002), C. A. Fyfe (2004), S. Brown (2006) and Flora T. T. Ng (2008).

For more information, please contact the Division Chair, Flora Ng, FCIC, Department­ of Chemical Engineering, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON N2L 3G1; Tel: 519-885-1211­, ext. 33979, Fax: 519-746-4979, email : fttng@cape.uwaterloo.ca or Gale Thirlwall­, Awards Manager, Chemical Institute of Canada, 130 Slater Street, Suite 550, Ottawa, ON K1P 6E2; Tel: 613-232-6252, ext 223; Fax: 613-232-5862; E-mail: gthirlwall­@cheminst.ca.

Events Événements

Canada Conferences August 23–27, 2009. 8th World Congress of Chemical Engineering­, Montréal, QC, www.wcce8.org.

May 29–June 2, 2010. 93rd Canadian Chemistry Conference­and Exhibition, Toronto, ON, www.csc2010.ca August 15–19, 2010. 3rd International IUPAC Conference on Green Chemistry, Ottawa, ON, www.icgc2010.ca.

October 24–27, 2010. 60th Canadian Chemical Engineering Conference (CSChE 2010), Saskatoon, SK.

U.S. and Overseas Conferences

Appel de candidatures pour le Prix de catalyse Le Prix de catalyse, parrainé par la Fondation canadienne de catalyse, est remis bisannuellement­à un chercheur dont la contribution au domaine de la catalyse est considérée­comme exceptionnelle­ et ce, pour la recherché effectuée au Canada. Le récipiendaire­du prix reçoit une médaille d’argent plaquée rhodium et le remboursement­de ses frais de déplacement pour presenter la Conférence du Prix de catalyse au Symposium­canadien de catalyse ou au congrès annuel de la Société canadienne­de chimie ou de la Société­canadienne de génie chimique.

Les mise en candidatures pour le Prix doivent être soumises par écrit à la directrice des prix d’ici le 1er octobre 2009 à l'aide du formulaire de mise en candidature pour les prix de l’ICC. Les récipiendaires précédents du Prix sont R. J. Cvetanovic et Y. Amenomiya (1977), R. B. Anderson­ (1979), C. H. Amberg (1982), H. Alper (1984), H. W. Habgood (1986), J. B. Moffat (1988), B. R. James (1990), B. Wojciechowski (1992), I. Dalla Lana (1994), M. Ternan (1996), S. Kaliaguine (1998), G. L. Rempel (2000), M. C. Baird (2002), C. A. Fyfe (2004), S. Brown (2006) et Flora T. T. Ng (2008).

Pour tout renseignement supplémentaire, veuiller contacter la présidente de la division­, Flora Ng, FCIC, département de génie chimique, University of Waterloo, Waterloo­ (Ontario)­ N2L 3G1; tél. : 519-885-1211, poste 33979, téléc. : 613-232-5862, courriel : fttng@cape.uwaterloo.ca ou Gale Thirlwall, Directrice des prix, Institut­ de chimie­ du Canada­, 130, rue Slater, bureau 550, Ottawa (Ontario) K1P 6E2; tél. : 613-232-6252, poste 223; téléc­. : 613-232-5862; courriel : gthirlwall@cheminst.ca.

42 L’Actualité chimique canadienne

Juillet/aoÛt 2009

August 1–9, 2009. IUPAC 42nd Congress and 45th General Assembly, Glasgow, U.K., www.iupac2009.org.

September 27–30, 2009. Engineering our Future, Perth, Australia, www.chemeca2009.com.

December 15–20, 2010. Pacifichem 2010, Honolulu, Hawaii, www.pacifichem.org.

Saviez-vous Toutes les éditions d’ACCN parues avant 2009 peuvent être lues gratuitement sur le Web à www.accn.ca?



Continuing Education for Chemical Professionals

Risk assessment course

T

he Chemical Institute of Canada (CIC) and the Canadian Society

2009 Schedule October 19–20

for Chemical Engineering (CSChE)

are presenting a two-day course designed to enhance the knowledge and working experience of safety, environmental and process safety professionals. This course is geared to those whose responsibilities include: risk assessment, development of

Toronto, ON

management systems, and providing advice

October 26–27

is to reach a thorough understanding of

Edmonton, AB

Registration fees

$845 CIC members $995 non-members $100 student members For more information about the course and locations, and to access the registration form, visit:

www.cheminst.ca/ profdev

to decision makers. The learning objective integrated risk assessment and management principles and techniques.

During the course, participants will be provided with a broad overview of the technical tools available to assess risk in industrial environments and shown how these tools fit in the broader risk management systems.

Instructor Ertugrul Alp, PhD, PEng, MCIC, principal, Alp & Associates Incorporated, has over 20 years experience in assessment and management of risks to environment,

Day

• Introduction • Major Historical Accidents in Process Industries • Risk Concepts: How to Estimate Risk and Evaluate it’s Acceptability • Integrated Risk Management: Success Factors for High Performance • Risk Management Process • Techniques for Risk Analysis • Qualitative Techniques: Hazard Identification with hands-on applications • Index Methods • Frequency Analysis Techniques, SVA, LOPA (Fault and Event Trees) • Practical Hazard Awareness in Operating Plants

Day • • • • • • • • • • •

health, safety, property and reputation. His experience covers a number of industrial sectors including: chemical, energy, pulp and paper, mining, steel, transportation, and government.



1

• • • •

2

Quantitative Techniques Fault and Event Trees Fire, Explosion, Dispersion Modeling Damage/Vulnerability Modeling Risk Estimation and Risk Presentation Applications to Plant Layout Design Health Risk Analysis Risk Evaluation and Decision-Making Risk Cost Benefit Analysis Elements for Process Safety Management with Reference to US OSHA PSM Regulations Emergency Management with Reference to Environment Canada and other Canadian Legislation Land Use Planning Risk Monitoring Stakeholder Participation Summary and Conclusion

Canadian Society for Chemical Engineering july/august 2009 Canadian Chemical News 43

PM40021620

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Juillet/aoÛt 2009