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Fall 2023

Dadjou, Hoda

Sand control screens are necessary for steam-assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) wells drilled into oil sands to prevent sand production. However, the accumulation of mobilized fine particles near the wellbore can result in screen plugging, adversely affecting the well's flow performance. This...

Spring 2022

Erland, Broghan

To combat global warming, Canada has committed to reducing greenhouse gases (GHGs) 40-45% below 2005 emission levels by 2025. Monitoring emissions and deriving accurate inventories are essential to reaching these goals. GHGs can be measured at a small scale, often using ground measurements which...

Fall 2020

Collins, Catherine

Alberta’s oil sands generate large volumes of tailings from bitumen ore processing. These tailings ponds produce biogenic methane, which can be measured across 60-80% of the tailings surface. Based on current surface area data and emissions studies, tailings ponds could account for 8% of Canada’s...

Spring 2020

Zhang, Dingfang

Albertan oil sands ores are becoming more difficult to process efficiently as the clay content of the ore increases and the grade of the ore worsens. A key to improving the extraction of bitumen from low-grade oil sands, thereby increasing the longevity of this critical resource, is reducing the...

Fall 2020

Miles, Sarah, M

Current development of Alberta’s oil sands region requires large volumes of water, leading to an abundance of oil sands process affected water (OSPW). OSPW contains naphthenic acid fraction compounds (NAFCs) which have been found to contribute extensively to OSPW toxicity. Degradation of this...

Fall 2020

Trepanier, Kaitlyn E

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,...

Spring 2019

Cossey, Heidi

Extractions of hydrocarbons from bitumen and bitumen-containing process and process waste streams generated from surface mined oil sands were conducted using supercritical carbon dioxide (SC-CO2). Dynamic extractions were performed on a bench-scale batch supercritical fluid extraction (SFE)...

Spring 2019

Mohsen Safaei

There is increased focus on reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to reduce global warming. Combustion of fossil fuels are a key contributor to emissions of GHG. Alberta is the largest hydrocarbon base in North America due to its oil sands deposit. Bitumen from oil sands is refined to...

Spring 2019

Baker, Kathleen E.N.

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...

Spring 2019

Woywitka, Robin

This thesis contributes to the development of chronological and geological frameworks for the archaeological record of the mineable oil sands regions in northeastern Alberta, Canada. This area contains a rich pre-European contact archaeological record that has largely been documented through...