A new book by about oilsands extraction has been released by Murray Gray, FCIC, of the University of Alberta and Hamad Bin Khalifa University in Qatar. Upgrading Oilsands Bitumen and Heavy Oil lays out current best practices for engineers and scientists in the oilsands and refining industries, government regulators, academics and students. Gray is one of the world’s leading experts on the processing of oilsands bitumen and heavy oil. He is the founding director of the Institute for Oilsands Innovation at the University of Alberta and served as president of the Canadian Society for Chemical Engineering from 1999-2000.
The high demand for quality petroleum products necessitates ongoing innovation in science and engineering that underlies oilsands extraction and upgrading. Beginning with a thorough grounding in the composition, fluid properties, reaction behaviour and economics of bitumen and heavy oil, Gray then delves into current processing technologies, particularly those used at full commercial scale. The tables of data on composition, yield and behaviour of oilsands bitumen and heavy oil fractions are extensive. Though the focus is on Alberta’s oilsands — the largest such resource in the world — the science applies to upgrading of heavy oil and petroleum residue feeds worldwide.