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Natural Resources
 Energy self-sufficiency has been a strategic goal for Canada for the past century. Continuing to achieve this goal in the next century will require engineering breakthroughs on a scale equal to or greater than those we have achieved to date. Canada's extensive onshore and offshore hydrocarbon resources make us one of the few countries in the world that can maintain energy self sufficiency, provided we devise means of unlocking our untapped reservoirs. For example, only 5% of the estimated 150 billion cubic meters of the bitumen in the Athabasca oil sand deposit of Alberta, the world's largest deposit, can be recovered with existing economical mining extraction technologies; no commercially viable in situ bitumen recovery technology exists for the remaining 142 billion cubic meters.
The impediment to commercial production is the lack of an economic method of providing, maintaining and controlling access to the production zone while controlling fluid inflow or loss to surrounding formations. The research group will combine the expertise of several disciplines to create new tools such as a remotely controlled boring vehicle (mechanical mole). This breakthrough will be achieved by sharing CCIT's unique equipment and expertise in drilling, petroleum recovery, bitumen upgrading, x-ray imaging, environment, navigation, sensor development, data transmission and processing, mechanical, manufacturing, structures, and materials.
Another thrust of this group is the development of sensor systems and modeling tools that will allow detailed study of chemical processes at the pilot and full plant scales, or within reservoirs as a function of position and time. These tools will allow model verification, waste elimination and improved process design. Primary interests of this research will be monitoring of in situ oil sands upgrading as well as data gathering in heterogeneous chemical reactors used in the upgrading and refining processes.
Traditionally the technologies associated with the resource industry have generated emissions which if uncontrolled, impact human health and the environment. This group will develop economical new technologies to minimize solid, liquid and air pollutants at their source. In addition, cost-effective technologies for remediation of contaminated water and soils using bacteria and containment technologies will be implemented in collaboration with Canadian industry. A major thrust of the environmental team is to address issues around global warming and Canada's Kyoto commitments.
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