Innovation Anthology #145: Assistant Professor and AIHS Translational Health Chair in Metabolomics
As peak oil becomesa reality, the world’s attention is turning to Alberta’s vast oil sands deposits.
But current technology can only capture a fraction of the resource.
Open pit mining digs out oil sands near the earth’s surface. Steam injection can access very deep deposits. But there’s still no way to recover the oil sands lying in between.
That’s why mechanical engineer Dr. Mike Lipsett has turned his attention to middle earth. His project for the Imperial Oil-Alberta Ingenuity Centre for Oil Sands Innovation will look at the use of vibration or sound.
DR. MIKE LIPSETT: We’re trying to establish the technical feasibility of trying to fragment oil sand very remotely from the surface. The obvious approach to do it is to try a long wall or tunnel boring type of approach which so far hasn’t been viable in an oil sands environment. Because it is expensive capital equipment and also the oil sand itself doesn’t have a whole lot of strength. So we’re trying to use more directed sonic techniques so that we can disrupt the oil sand, make it flow underground to a place where we can mix it with a small amount of water and then pump it to the surface.
Thanks today to Alberta Ingenuity
Learn more at
INNOVATION ANTHOLOGY.COM
I’M CHERYL CROUCHER
Guest
Ian Lewis, PhD,
University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada,
Sponsor
Alberta Ingenuity
Established in 2000, the Alberta Ingenuity Fund supports science and engineering research of the highest calibre, to create a prosperous future for the province of Alberta. It draws funding from a $1 billion endowment established in 2000 and managed by the Government of Alberta to build the capacity for innovation, especially in areas with long lasting social and economic impact.
Among its many programs, Alberta Ingenuity supports graduate students and university researchers, industrial research and commercialization partnerships, and has established several Centres and Institutes.
In January 2010, under the new Alberta Innovation Framework, Alberta Ingenuity was restructured and absorbed in the new agency Alberta Innovates Technology Solutions.
Program Date: 2008-06-24