Improvements to production planning in oil sands mining through analysis and simulation of truck cycle times

CIM Journal ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Goris Cervantes ◽  
S. P. Upadhyay ◽  
H. Askari-Nasab
Keyword(s):  
Production Planning ◽  
Oil Sands ◽  
Cycle Times ◽  
Oil Sands Mining

scholarly journals Growth Response of Aspen and Alder to Fresh and Stockpiled Reclamation Soils

Forests ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (12) ◽  
pp. 731 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kwadwo Omari ◽  
Sanatan Gupta ◽  
Bradley Pinno
Keyword(s):  
Populus Tremuloides ◽  
Oil Sands ◽  
Growth Response ◽  
Plant Biomass ◽  
Nitrogen Fixing ◽  
Forest Region ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Oil Sands Mining ◽  
Potassium Supply ◽  
Phosphorus And Potassium

Soil stockpiling is a common reclamation practice used in oil sands mining in the boreal forest region of Canada to conserve soil resources; but stockpiling may have detrimental effects on soil quality and plant growth. We examined growth response of trembling aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx.), a fast-growing early successional tree, and green alder (Alnus viridis (Chaix) DC. ssp crispa (Ait.) Turrill), a nitrogen-fixing shrub, to stockpiling and fertilization treatments on two reclamation soils (forest floor mineral mix (FFMM) and peat mineral mix (PMM)). Aspen and alder seeds were planted and their growth monitored for four months in the greenhouse. We found that unfertilized stockpiled FFMM supported significantly higher aspen and alder aboveground biomass than the other fresh and stockpiled soils. Phosphorus and potassium supply rates were highest in stockpiled FFMM and were positively correlated with aboveground plant biomass. There was no significant difference in aspen and alder aboveground biomasses between unfertilized fresh FFMM and PMM soils. Aspen grown in combination with nitrogen-fixing alder did not experience competition or facilitation except on fresh PMM, where aspen height declined. Fertilization increased both aspen and alder growth and eliminated differences in growth between soil types and stockpiling treatments. Our study showed that individual soil properties are more important for revegetation purposes than type of soil or stockpiling treatment.

scholarly journals Air Quality Predictions using Measurement-Derived Organic Gaseous and Particle Emissions in a Petrochemical-Dominated Region

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Craig A. Stroud ◽  
Paul A. Makar ◽  
Junhua Zhang ◽  
Michael D. Moran ◽  
Ayodeji Akingunola ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Air Quality ◽  
Organic Compound ◽  
Volatile Organic Compound ◽  
Oil Sands ◽  
Organic Aerosol ◽  
Base Case ◽  
Systematic Bias ◽  
Volatile Organic ◽  
Oil Sands Mining ◽  
The Impact

Abstract. This study assesses the impact of revised volatile organic compound (VOC) and organic aerosol (OA) emissions estimates in the GEM-MACH (Global Environmental Multiscale‒Modelling Air Quality and CHemistry) chemical transport model, driven with two different emissions input datasets, using observations from the 2013 Joint Oil Sands Monitoring (JOSM) intensive field study. The first emissions dataset (base-case run) makes use of regulatory reported VOC and particulate matter emissions data for the large oil sands mining facilities in northeastern Alberta, Canada, while the second emissions dataset (sensitivity run) uses emissions estimates based on box-flight aircraft observations around specific facilities (Li et al., 2017, Zhang et al., 2017) and a mass-balance analysis (Gordon et al., 2015) to derive total facility emission rates. The preparation of model-ready emissions files for the base-case and sensitivity run is described in an accompanying paper by Zhang et al. (2017). The large increases in VOC and OA emissions in the revised emissions data set for four large oil sands mining facilities were found to improve the modeled VOC and OA concentration maxima in plumes from these facilities, as shown with the 99th percentile statistic and illustrated by case studies. The results show that the VOC emission speciation profile from each oil sand facility is unique and different from standard petrochemical-refinery emission speciation profiles used for other regions in North America. A feedback between larger long-chain alkane emissions and higher secondary organic aerosol (SOA) concentrations was found to be significant for some facilities and improved OA predictions for those plumes. The use of the revised emissions data resulted in a large improvement of the model OA bias; however, the decrease in OA correlation coefficient suggests the need for further improvements to model organic aerosol emissions and formation processes. Including intermediate volatile organic compound (IVOC) emissions as precursors to SOA and spatially allocating more PM1 POA emissions (primary organic aerosol of 1.0 μm or less in diameter) to mine-face locations are both recommended to improve OA bias and correlation further. A systematic bias in the background OA was also predicted on most flights, likely due to under-predictions in biogenic SOA formation. Overall, the weight of evidence suggests that the new aircraft-observation-derived organic emissions help to constrain better the fugitive organic emissions, which are a challenge to estimate in the creation of bottom up emission inventories. This work shows that the use of facility-specific emissions, based on direct observations, rather than generic emission factors and speciation profiles can result in improvements to model predictions of VOCs and OA. Emissions estimation techniques, such as those used to construct the inventories in our study, may therefore have beneficial impacts when applied to other regions with large sources of VOCs and OA.

Operator and dipper tooth influence on electric shovel performance during oil sands mining

2008 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 120-145 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Patnayak ◽  
D. D. Tannant ◽  
I. Parsons ◽  
V. Del Valle ◽  
J. Wong
Keyword(s):  
Oil Sands ◽  
Oil Sands Mining

Quantification of changes in oil sands mining infrastructure land based on RapidEye and SPOT5

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ying Zhang ◽  
Nicholas Lantz ◽  
Bert Guindon ◽  
Todd Shipman ◽  
Dennis Chao ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Oil Sands ◽  
Oil Sands Mining

scholarly journals TREE SWALLOWS (TACHYCINETA BICOLOR) NESTING ON WETLANDS IMPACTED BY OIL SANDS MINING ARE HIGHLY PARASITIZED BY THE BIRD BLOW FLY PROTOCALLIPHORA SPP.

2007 ◽  
Vol 43 (2) ◽  
pp. 167-178 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marie-Line Gentes ◽  
Terry L. Whitworth ◽  
Cheryl Waldner ◽  
Heather Fenton ◽  
Judit E. Smits
Keyword(s):  
Oil Sands ◽  
Tachycineta Bicolor ◽  
Tree Swallows ◽  
Blow Fly ◽  
Oil Sands Mining

Assessment of seven Canadian rivers in relation to stages in oil sands industrial development, 1972–2010

2016 ◽  
Vol 24 (4) ◽  
pp. 484-494 ◽  
Author(s):  
A.C. Alexander ◽  
P.A. Chambers
Keyword(s):  
Water Quality ◽  
Water Chemistry ◽  
Oil Sands ◽  
Industrial Development ◽  
Upstream Site ◽  
Land Clearing ◽  
Oil Sands Mining ◽  
Operational Activities ◽  
Positive Correlations ◽  
Mine Development

We compiled a 38 year dataset (1972 to 2010) to evaluate changes in water chemistry over time in relation to oil sands mining activities. We examined patterns in three focal elements (dissolved selenium, dissolved arsenic, total vanadium) at 96 sites along seven tributaries of the Athabasca and Clearwater Rivers. Concentrations of the three focal elements did not differ between sites sampled upstream versus downstream of future development, between sites upstream versus downstream of the primary bitumen-bearing geologic formation, or at an upstream site over a 33 year period on the Muskeg River (1976–2009). Hence, longitudinal patterns observed in water chemistry following mine development cannot be attributed to natural background variation. In contrast, concentrations and loads of the three focal elements were greater post-development compared to reference values (p ≤ 0.01), and were typically greatest during the early exploration and land clearing stage of mine development (p < 0.01). Positive correlations between our three focal elements and 17 other variables either associated with bitumen or considered priority pollutants (r ≥ 0.13, p ≤ 0.04) suggest that the historical impacts of oil sands development on water quality extend beyond our three focal parameters. These results indicate that erosion and subsequent runoff associated with land clearing, construction, and early operational activities have affected water quality in the oil sands region.

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