Spills of Diluted Bitumen from Pipelines

Spills of Diluted Bitumen from Pipelines
Author: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
Publisher: National Academies Press
Total Pages: 167
Release: 2016-03-22
Genre: Nature
ISBN: 0309380103

Diluted bitumen has been transported by pipeline in the United States for more than 40 years, with the amount increasing recently as a result of improved extraction technologies and resulting increases in production and exportation of Canadian diluted bitumen. The increased importation of Canadian diluted bitumen to the United States has strained the existing pipeline capacity and contributed to the expansion of pipeline mileage over the past 5 years. Although rising North American crude oil production has resulted in greater transport of crude oil by rail or tanker, oil pipelines continue to deliver the vast majority of crude oil supplies to U.S. refineries. Spills of Diluted Bitumen from Pipelines examines the current state of knowledge and identifies the relevant properties and characteristics of the transport, fate, and effects of diluted bitumen and commonly transported crude oils when spilled in the environment. This report assesses whether the differences between properties of diluted bitumen and those of other commonly transported crude oils warrant modifications to the regulations governing spill response plans and cleanup. Given the nature of pipeline operations, response planning, and the oil industry, the recommendations outlined in this study are broadly applicable to other modes of transportation as well.

The Dilbit Disaster

The Dilbit Disaster
Author: Elizabeth McGowan
Publisher:
Total Pages:
Release: 2016-10-19
Genre:
ISBN: 9781539009597

InsideClimate News won the 2013 Pulitzer Prize in national reporting for this four-part narrative and six follow-up reports into an oil spill most Americans have never heard of. More than 1 million gallons of oil spilled into the Kalamazoo River in July 2010, triggering the most expensive cleanup in U.S. history -- more than 3/4 of a billion dollars -- and after almost two years the cleanup still isn't finished. Why not? Because the underground pipeline that ruptured was carrying diluted bitumen, or dilbit, the dirtiest, stickiest oil used today. It's the same kind of oil that the controversial Keystone XL pipeline could someday carry across the nation's largest drinking water aquifer. Written as a narrative, this page-turner takes an inside look at what happened to two families, a community, unprepared agencies and an inept company during an environmental disaster involving a new kind of oil few people know much about.

Dilbit Disaster

Dilbit Disaster
Author: Elizabeth McGowan
Publisher:
Total Pages:
Release: 2012
Genre: Bitumen
ISBN:

More than 1 million gallons of oil spilled into the Kalamazoo River in July 2010, triggering the most expensive cleanup in U.S. history -- more than 3/4 of a billion dollars -- and after almost two years the cleanup still isn't finished. Why not? Because the underground pipeline that ruptured was carrying diluted bitumen, or dilbit, the dirtiest, stickiest oil used today. It's the same kind of oil that the controversial Keystone XL pipeline could someday carry across the nation's largest drinking water aquifer. Written as a narrative, this page-turner takes an inside look at what happened to two families, a community, unprepared agencies and an inept company during an environmental disaster involving a new kind of oil few people know much about.

Spills of Diluted Bitumen from Pipelines

Spills of Diluted Bitumen from Pipelines
Author: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
Publisher: National Academies Press
Total Pages: 167
Release: 2016-02-22
Genre: Nature
ISBN: 0309380138

Diluted bitumen has been transported by pipeline in the United States for more than 40 years, with the amount increasing recently as a result of improved extraction technologies and resulting increases in production and exportation of Canadian diluted bitumen. The increased importation of Canadian diluted bitumen to the United States has strained the existing pipeline capacity and contributed to the expansion of pipeline mileage over the past 5 years. Although rising North American crude oil production has resulted in greater transport of crude oil by rail or tanker, oil pipelines continue to deliver the vast majority of crude oil supplies to U.S. refineries. Spills of Diluted Bitumen from Pipelines examines the current state of knowledge and identifies the relevant properties and characteristics of the transport, fate, and effects of diluted bitumen and commonly transported crude oils when spilled in the environment. This report assesses whether the differences between properties of diluted bitumen and those of other commonly transported crude oils warrant modifications to the regulations governing spill response plans and cleanup. Given the nature of pipeline operations, response planning, and the oil industry, the recommendations outlined in this study are broadly applicable to other modes of transportation as well.

Effects of Diluted Bitumen on Crude Oil Transmission Pipelines

Effects of Diluted Bitumen on Crude Oil Transmission Pipelines
Author:
Publisher: Transportation Research Board National Research
Total Pages: 132
Release: 2013
Genre: Bitumen
ISBN: 9780309286756

"Effects of Diluted Bitumen on Crude Oil Transmission Pipelines TRB Special Report 311: Effects of Diluted Bitumen on Crude Oil Transmission Pipelines analyzes whether shipments of diluted bitumen have a greater likelihood of release from pipelines than shipments of other crude oils. The oil sands region of Canada is the source of diluted bitumen shipped by pipeline to the United States. The committee that produced the report did not find any pipeline failures unique to the transportation of diluted bitumen or evidence of physical or chemical properties of diluted bitumen shipments that are outside the range of those of other crude oil shipments. The committee's comprehensive review did not find evidence of any specific aspect of the transportation of diluted bitumen that would make it more likely than other crude oils to cause pipeline releases"--Provided by publisher.

Tar Sands Pipelines Safety Risks

Tar Sands Pipelines Safety Risks
Author: Anthony Swift
Publisher:
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2011
Genre: Bitumen
ISBN:

The risks of corrosion and the abrasive nature of DilBit As tar sands oil companies send increasing volumes of DilBit are made worse by the relatively high heat and pressure at to the United States, the risks of pipeline spills are becoming which these pipelines are operated in order to move the thick more apparent. [...] The characteristics pressure of the natural gas liquid condensate used to dilute of DilBit create challenges for cleanup efforts in rivers and the DilBit increase the risk of the leaked material exploding.41 wetland environments. [...] Over half of the pipelines currently operating in Alberta area where residents could notify authorities of the spill and have been built in the last twenty years as the tar sands region significant private spill response equipment was nearby, other developed.63 In contrast, the majority of hazardous liquid DilBit pipelines cross significantly more remote areas.57 In pipelines in the United States [...] While differences in data collection and regulations -. Stephen Hamilton, professor of Aquatic Ecology between Alberta and the United States make it impossible to make a clear comparison of this data, the higher internal at Michigan State University and the President of corrosion rates in Alberta certainly raise the yet unanswered the Kalamazoo River Watershed Council question of whether the prope [...] The river is of vital use 963 In Kansas, the proposed Keystone XL pipeline for fishermen and recreationalists, and is a major irrigation source for would cross native prairies and may affect critically farmers and ranchers.78 17401 designated habitat for the federally endangered 8 Topeka Shiner minnow.72 Mississippi River 52 The Keystone pipeline crosses the Mississippi River in Missouri, near 9 6.

The Use of Dispersants in Marine Oil Spill Response

The Use of Dispersants in Marine Oil Spill Response
Author: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
Publisher: National Academies Press
Total Pages: 341
Release: 2020-04-24
Genre: Nature
ISBN: 0309478219

Whether the result of an oil well blowout, vessel collision or grounding, leaking pipeline, or other incident at sea, each marine oil spill will present unique circumstances and challenges. The oil type and properties, location, time of year, duration of spill, water depth, environmental conditions, affected biomes, potential human community impact, and available resources may vary significantly. Also, each spill may be governed by policy guidelines, such as those set forth in the National Response Plan, Regional Response Plans, or Area Contingency Plans. To respond effectively to the specific conditions presented during an oil spill, spill responders have used a variety of response optionsâ€"including mechanical recovery of oil using skimmers and booms, in situ burning of oil, monitored natural attenuation of oil, and dispersion of oil by chemical dispersants. Because each response method has advantages and disadvantages, it is important to understand specific scenarios where a net benefit may be achieved by using a particular tool or combination of tools. This report builds on two previous National Research Council reports on dispersant use to provide a current understanding of the state of science and to inform future marine oil spill response operations. The response to the 2010 Deepwater Horizon spill included an unprecedented use of dispersants via both surface application and subsea injection. The magnitude of the spill stimulated interest and funding for research on oil spill response, and dispersant use in particular. This study assesses the effects and efficacy of dispersants as an oil spill response tool and evaluates trade-offs associated with dispersant use.

Ethical Oil

Ethical Oil
Author: Ezra Levant
Publisher: McClelland & Stewart
Total Pages: 270
Release: 2011-05-03
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 077104643X

Canada's "no. 1 defender of freedom of speech" and the bestselling author of Shakedown makes the timely and provocative case that when it comes to oil, ethics matter just as much as the economy and the environment. In 2009, Ezra Levant's bestselling book Shakedown revealed the corruption of Canada's human rights commissions and was declared the "most important public affairs book of the year." In Ethical Oil, Levant turns his attention to another hot-button topic: the ethical cost of our addiction to oil. While many North Americans may be aware of the financial and environmental price we pay for a gallon of gas or a barrel of oil, Levant argues that it is time we consider ethical factors as well. With his trademark candor, Levant asks hard-hitting questions: With the oil sands at our disposal, is it ethically responsible to import our oil from the Sudan, Russia, and Mexico? How should we weigh carbon emissions with human rights violations in Saudi Arabia? And assuming that we can't live without oil, can the development of energy be made more environmentally sustainable? In Ethical Oil, Levant exposes the hypocrisy of the West's dealings with the reprehensible regimes from which we purchase the oil that sustains our lifestyles, and offers solutions to this dilemma. Readers at all points on the political spectrum will want to read this timely and provocative new book, which is sure to spark debate.

Fossil Fuels

Fossil Fuels
Author: Gerard M. Crawley
Publisher: World Scientific Publishing Company
Total Pages: 349
Release: 2016
Genre: Science
ISBN: 9789814699976

Concerns over energy resources and the environmental impact of energy use will continue to be part of the polical agenda across the globe. World Scientific's unique series of books on Current Energy Issues is intended, in part, as an expansion and update of the material contained in the World Scientific Handbook of Energy but in part each volume will focus on related energy resources or issues that contain a broader range of topics plus more explanatory text than was possible in the Handbook. The authors will also take the opportunity to update the data presented in the Handbook since in many cases the field is rapidly changing. The Fossil Fuels volume focuses on the main fossil resources, viz. coal, oil and natural gas. Coal is still an extremely important resource especially for electricity production around the world and the book discussed methods for making coal a cleaner resource, including carbon sequestration. There has been a rapid change in the mix of fossil fuels mainly because of hydraulic fracturing which enables oil and gas to be extracted from previously inaccessible formations. The book describes this changing situation including the precautions required to make the production of these fuels safe and environmentally benign. Alternative fossil fuels such as methane hydrates are also discussed.