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Skip to Search Results- 1Afshar, Shima
- 1Aghaie, Ermia
- 1Baker, Kathleen E.N.
- 1Brandon, Jordan T
- 1Brown, Daniel M.
- 1Chan, Judith S.
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Oil Upgrading by Molecular Rearrangement and Cracking: A Study Using Model Compounds and Natural Chabazite
DownloadFall 2015
As demand for fuel increases, new technologies that can convert heavy oil and bitumen into light fuels are needed. Natural zeolites have been proven to catalyze reactions that decrease molecular weight, density, nitrogen, and metals content as well as vacuum residue content when mixed with raw...
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Fall 2020
Oil sands mining is a significant disturbance in the Canadian boreal forest. One objective for reclamation after mining is to create a self-sustaining ecosystem, which includes establishing a native plant community. For this thesis, study one evaluates the different plant assembly mechanisms,...
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Possible thunderstorm modifications caused by the Athabasca oil sands development and the Canadian Shield
DownloadFall 2017
Thunderstorms are common in boreal forest regions and can cause dangerous hazards such as lightning, forest fires, hail, wind, and flooding. Significant research has been conducted to help predict thunderstorms to mitigate or avoid the hazards and damage. The development of thunderstorms...
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Productivity and carbon accumulation potential of transferred biofilms in reclaimed oil sands-affected wetlands
DownloadSpring 2011
Biofilms are significant contributors to primary production, nutrient cycling, bio-stabilization and the food web of wetland ecosystems. Photoautotrophic biomass (PB) and primary production (PP) were determined for biofilms exposed to various treatments and materials in wetlands near Fort...
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Protecting Worker Safety in Alberta by Enhancing Hazard Identification and Control for Hazards Associated with Tailings Facilities, Dams, and Systems
DownloadSpring 2019
My research was motivated by a fatality that occurred at an oil sands tailings operation on January 19, 2014, when a worker drowned in an underground cavern which formed under a leaking tailings transport system. At the time of the incident, the organization and workers did not know that ground...
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Reclamation of Unconventional Oil Processed Water through the Adsorption of Naphthenic Acids by Carbon Xerogel
DownloadFall 2017
This study examines the use of carbon xerogel (CX) material for the adsorption of naphthenic acids (NAs). The adsorption of NAs is crucial for the reclamation of unconventional oil processed water, more specifically Alberta’s oil sands process-affected water (OSPW). CX material is synthesized at...
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Removal of Organic and Inorganic Contaminants from Oil Sands Tailings using Carbon Based Adsorbents and Native Sediment
DownloadFall 2013
The extraction and refinement of oil sands bitumen produces substantial quantities of liquid tailings and solid coke. Tailings contain metals and naphthenic acids, which require remediation before mine closure. Adsorption is a potential remediation technique which may reuse stockpiled petroleum...
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Spring 2016
Non-aqueous extraction technologies are currently being investigated as an alternative to the conventional water based process for extracting bitumen from oil sands. The reduced dependence on fresh water and land for creation of tailing ponds makes non-aqueous technologies a greener alternative....
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Subsurface Geophysical Characterization of the Crystalline Canadian Shield in Northeastern Alberta: Implications for Geothermal Development
DownloadFall 2013
In northern Alberta, existing heat flow and geothermal gradient studies suggest that using geothermal heat in oil sands processing would require deep drilling of the crystalline Canadian Shield. Using a 2.36 km deep borehole located near Fort McMurray, the goal of this study is to investigate the...
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Tarring the Oil Sands: The Evolution and Emergence of ENGO Opposition in Alberta’s Oil Sands and Social Movement Theory
DownloadFall 2012
ABSTRACT: The Alberta oil sands represent tremendous economic growth and prosperity for Alberta and Canada but their development does not come without cost. Environmental Non-Governmental Organizations (ENGOs), specifically the Pembina Institute and Greenpeace, have brought significant attention...