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OIl Sands (called Tar sands by its detractors) is made up of natural deposits of sand, clay and bitumen ( this is a heavy black viscous oil) and are mined using strip mining in open pit mines or by thermal extraction using steam assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) technology. The two systems are similar except that the liberation of the oil from the sand matrix occurs on the surface with the excavation methods and underground with SAGD.

The oil is purified of all dirt and water and then upgraded on site or at a separate upgrader site. In the case of the distant upgrader, the bitumen is diluted with a conventional light oil to make it flow more easily.They generate oil similar to pumped oil but extracting the oil is more complex. er

Upgrading is done by breaking the oil molecules eith by thermal methods or by catalytic cracking. The broken molecules are still long enough to be classified as oil although some become light petroleum gases. The oil molecules are separated from each other by boilling points into various types of oil and further treated like oil from any conventional source.

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What type of resources does tar sands come from?

Tar sands or oil sands are consist of clay, sand, water, and bitumen. Its bitumen content is extracted and separated to purify it into oil.


What is Tar sand use for?

Tar sands, also known as oil sands, are a type of unconventional oil deposit that is extracted and processed to produce heavy oil. This oil is used primarily to produce gasoline, diesel fuel, and other petroleum products. Tar sands have become increasingly important as a source of oil due to declining conventional oil reserves.


What province has tar in it?

Tar is primarily found in the province of Alberta, Canada, particularly in the form of oil sands. The Athabasca Oil Sands region is well-known for its significant deposits of bitumen, which is a thick, tar-like form of petroleum. These resources are extracted for oil production, making Alberta a key player in the global energy market.


How is oil extracted from Tar sand oil and shale oil?

Oil is extracted from tar sands by either surface mining or in-situ methods. In surface mining, the oil sands are dug up and transported to a processing facility where the oil is separated from the sand. In-situ methods involve injecting steam underground to heat the oil sands and then pumping the oil to the surface. Shale oil is extracted through a process called hydraulic fracturing, or fracking. High-pressure fluids are injected into the shale rock to create fractures, allowing the oil to flow to the wellbore and be collected. The oil is then separated from the fracking fluid and other materials before being refined.


Why are the tar sands a valuable resource?

The Canadian Tar Sands in the Athabaska Valley of Northern Alberta are the world's largest deposit of a heavy oil called bitumen. That's the stuff that is used in asphalt on our major highways and byways. This form of oil is much more expensive to extract from the earth but, as the price of crude oil increases with the diminishing supply of world reserves, the tar sands deposits become increasingly more important as a source of energy. If we could stop using oil altogether, then the tar sands would no longer be important to our lifestyle.


What are the uses of tar sand?

Tar sands are primarily used for producing synthetic crude oil through a process called bitumen extraction. The extracted oil can be refined into various petroleum products such as gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel. Tar sands also have industrial uses in producing asphalt and bitumen for road construction.


Would plants die in tar sands?

Tar sands, also known as oil sands or bituminous sands, consist of clay, sand, water and a form of petroleum known as bitreum. Wheatgrass is one plant which will grow in tar sands.


Why are tar sands important?

Tar sands are important because they contain a source of unconventional oil that can be extracted and processed for energy production. They provide a significant resource for global energy needs, but also raise environmental concerns due to the intensive extraction process and emissions associated with their development.


Where is tar sands produced?

Tar sands, also known as oil sands, are primarily produced in Canada, with the largest reserves located in the province of Alberta. Other countries, such as Venezuela and the United States, also have smaller deposits of tar sands.


Why might we have to start using tar sands instead of normal oil?

There are larger known US supplies of tar sands than petroleum.


What is oil shales and tar sands?

Tar are usually mixture of clayand sand combined with water and varying amounts of a blackthick tar called bitumen. Oil shale is a rock that contains a waxy mixture of hydrocarbons called kerogen.


What has the author Frederick W Camp written?

Frederick W. Camp has written: 'The Tar sands of Alberta' -- subject(s): Oil sands 'The tar sands of Alberta, Canada'