MCW Energy Group: successful initial testing of extraction of up to 99.9% of hydrocarbon content from oil sands tailings pond samples
05 June 2013
MCW Energy Group, a Canadian holding company involved in fuel distribution and the creation of oil sands extraction technology, announced successful results of processing random Alberta oil sands tailings ponds samples in a series of preliminary laboratory tests.
The separation/extraction tests utilizing MCW’s proprietary extraction technology were recently completed by separating solid and liquid phases, analyzing the contents of both phases and then implementing MCW’s extraction technology which is designed to extract all types of hydrocarbons from both solid and liquid phases.
Each of the tests were performed utilizing MCW’s protocol three times. The analyzed samples consisted of a sand/soil mixture: 41% - 41%; water: 25% - 26%; bitumen: 31% - 32%; cellulose and other impurities: less than 1%. Clean sand/soil and clean water with the solids content of less than 0.36% were obtained as three separate end products of the MCW extraction process.
The solid phase of the samples processed consisted of 6% to 6.5% of bitumen. The balance of the solid phase consisted of sand, clay and impurities of cellulose fibres. Subsequent to the MCW extraction process, all sand/clay, cellulose derivatives were practically removed from both the liquid phase and the bitumen.
Clean water (for subsequent use in continuous processing and/or irrigation ) was produced as an end product. Bitumen was produced as a separate end product.
Using similar laboratory test protocols, MCW will now proceed with a second series of laboratory tests as per their signed Undertaking and Acknowledgement to obtain a third party independent validation from an acceptable Qualified Person as defined by NI-51-101 which must be acceptable by the Exchange in order to verify MCW’s Extraction Technology.
Using our proprietary extraction technology, our first test results illustrated up to 99.9% of extracted hydrocarbons from these tailings pond samples from Alberta—the same rate of extraction that we’ve obtained in a laboratory environment from our Utah feedstock/ore samples.
—Dr. Vladimir Podlipskiy, Chief Technology Officer for MCW Energy Group
MCW suggests it could have several potential new potential revenue streams:
Technology licensing fees from joint venture partners worldwide in up to 70 countries with extensive tailings pond infrastructures.
Clean up and remedial fees from oil companies and/or governments.
Sale of hydrocarbons retrieved. The bitumen content of tailings ponds is usually up to three times the average hydrocarbon content of oil sands feedstock.
The Pembina Institute of Calgary estimates that more than 200 million liters of mature fine tailings are produced each day in Alberta alone. These toxic deposits are stored indefinitely in open lakes that currently cover an area 50% larger than the entire city of Vancouver, BC. Oil sands processing companies used more than 170 million cubic meters of water in 2011 and the storage of these tailings potentially risk the ecosystem of the Athabasca River which flows into one of the world’s largest freshwater deltas.
MCW expects that after processing tailings ponds with its extraction technology the recovered water may be reused in standard oil sands extraction processes and/or for irrigation.
MCW Energy Group intends on licensing its technology, including the processing of tailings pond deposits on a worldwide basis. On 27 March, MCW announced an intellectual property licensing agreement with a private arm’s-length Canadian company which has agreed to act as the sole agent and exclusive licensee of MCW’s extraction technology for the countries of Canada and the Republic of Trinidad & Tobago.
MCW Energy Group is currently assembling an initial 250 bbl/day extraction unit on its lease in Asphalt Ridge, Utah and expects to be testing during the months of July and August, 2013.
The MCW Energy Group is a Canadian holding company. It has two operations, MCW Fuels and MCW Oil Sands Recovery, LLC.
MCW Fuels was established in 1938 and is one of the leading branded and unbranded diesel and gasoline distributors in western United States.
MCW’s Oil Sands Recovery, LLC has a new proprietary oil sands technology suitable for oil extraction purposes on all type of hydrocarbon deposits. (oil wet deposits in the US and water wet deposits as in Canada), and has also been successfully laboratory tested using oil shale materials.
Another story of "waste into resource", perhaps.
Anything which can turn "mature fine tailings" into settled solids and water is a huge advance, both for the industry and for the environment.
Posted by: Engineer-Poet | 05 June 2013 at 08:24 AM
Good news.
Now is the time to to use this technology (or other similar one) to clean up the accumulated residues/tailings + the new residues: 200,000,000 liter/day (growing to 400,000,000 liter/day) with increased production.
Now that the technology exist, with Oil Sands operators be mandated to clean up their own mess before the end of the current decade?
Posted by: HarveyD | 05 June 2013 at 08:58 AM