Team:Calgary/11 August 2009

From 2009.igem.org

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*Today we went on a tour of Conoco Philips.  In the morning we got a general overview of their processes and went on a perimeter walk to see how everything actually worked.  I found this a lot more interesting than yesterday as I found it easier this way to see the bigger picture, how all the parts of the process fit together.  Yesterday it was harder to see how all the parts of the process wre interconnected.
+
*Today we went on a tour of Conoco Philips.  In the morning we got a general overview of their processes and went on a perimeter walk to see how everything actually worked.  I found this a lot more interesting than yesterday as I found it easier this way to see the bigger picture, how all the parts of the process fit together.  Yesterday it was harder to see how all the parts of the processes were interconnected.
Some things I took away from this:
Some things I took away from this:
*ConocoPhilips has a much smaller footprint due to their different extraction method than Suncor  (In Situ versus surface extraction).  It also doesn't use large tailings ponds, etc
*ConocoPhilips has a much smaller footprint due to their different extraction method than Suncor  (In Situ versus surface extraction).  It also doesn't use large tailings ponds, etc

Revision as of 17:00, 12 August 2009

University of Calgary

UNIVERSITY OF CALGARY



THIS MONTH

August
MTWTFSS
          [http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/1_August_2009 1] [http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/2_August_2009 2]
[http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/3_August_2009 3] [http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/4_August_2009 4] [http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/5_August_2009 5] [http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/6_August_2009 6] [http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/7_August_2009 7] [http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/8_August_2009 8] [http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/9_August_2009 9]
[http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/10_August_2009 10] [http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/11_August_2009 11] [http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/12_August_2009 12] [http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/13_August_2009 13] [http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/14_August_2009 14] [http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/15_August_2009 15] [http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/16_August_2009 16]
[http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/17_August_2009 17] [http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/18_August_2009 18] [http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/19_August_2009 19] [http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/20_August_2009 20] [http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/21_August_2009 21] [http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/22_August_2009 22] [http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/23_August_2009 23]
[http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/24_August_2009 24] [http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/25_August_2009 25] [http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/26_August_2009 26] [http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/27_August_2009 27] [http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/28_August_2009 28] [http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/29_August_2009 29] [http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/30_August_2009 30]
[http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/31_August_2009 31]


NOTEBOOK PAGE INDEX



CALENDAR

May
MTWTFSS
        [http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/1_May_2009 1] [http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/2_May_2009 2] [http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/3_May_2009 3]
[http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/4_May_2009 4] [http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/5_May_2009 5] [http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/6_May_2009 6] [http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/7_May_2009 7] [http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/8_May_2009 8] [http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/9_May_2009 9] [http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/10_May_2009 10]
[http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/11_May_2009 11] [http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/12_May_2009 12] [http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/13_May_2009 13] [http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/14_May_2009 14] [http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/15_May_2009 15] [http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/16_May_2009 16] [http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/17_May_2009 17]
[http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/18_May_2009 18] [http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/19_May_2009 19] [http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/20_May_2009 20] [http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/21_May_2009 21] [http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/22_May_2009 22] [http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/23_May_2009 23] [http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/24_May_2009 24]
[http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/25_May_2009 25] [http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/26_May_2009 26] [http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/27_May_2009 27] [http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/28_May_2009 28] [http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/29_May_2009 29] [http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/30_May_2009 30] [http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/31_May_2009 31]


June
MTWTFSS
[http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/1_June_2009 1] [http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/2_June_2009 2] [http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/3_June_2009 3] [http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/4_June_2009 4] [http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/5_June_2009 5] [http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/6_June_2009 6] [http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/7_June_2009 7]
[http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/8_June_2009 8] [http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/9_June_2009 9] [http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/10_June_2009 10] [http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/11_June_2009 11] [http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/12_June_2009 12] [http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/13_June_2009 13] [http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/14_June_2009 14]
[http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/15_June_2009 15] [http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/16_June_2009 16] [http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/17_June_2009 17] [http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/18_June_2009 18] [http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/19_June_2009 19] [http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/20_June_2009 20] [http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/21_June_2009 21]
[http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/22_June_2009 22] [http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/23_June_2009 23] [http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/24_June_2009 24] [http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/25_June_2009 25] [http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/26_June_2009 26] [http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/27_June_2009 27] [http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/28_June_2009 28]
[http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/29_June_2009 29] [http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/30_June_2009 30]


July
MTWTFSS
    [http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/1_July_2009 1] [http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/2_July_2009 2] [http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/3_July_2009 3] [http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/4_July_2009 4] [http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/5_July_2009 5]
[http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/6_July_2009 6] [http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/7_July_2009 7] [http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/8_July_2009 8] [http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/9_July_2009 9] [http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/10_July_2009 10] [http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/11_July_2009 11] [http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/12_July_2009 12]
[http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/13_July_2009 13] [http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/14_July_2009 14] [http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/15_July_2009 15] [http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/16_July_2009 16] [http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/17_July_2009 17] [http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/18_July_2009 18] [http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/19_July_2009 19]
[http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/20_July_2009 20] [http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/21_July_2009 21] [http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/22_July_2009 22] [http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/23_July_2009 23] [http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/24_July_2009 24] [http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/25_July_2009 25] [http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/26_July_2009 26]
[http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/27_July_2009 27] [http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/28_July_2009 28] [http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/29_July_2009 29] [http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/30_July_2009 30] [http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/31_July_2009 31]


August
MTWTFSS
          [http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/1_August_2009 1] [http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/2_August_2009 2]
[http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/3_August_2009 3] [http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/4_August_2009 4] [http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/5_August_2009 5] [http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/6_August_2009 6] [http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/7_August_2009 7] [http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/8_August_2009 8] [http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/9_August_2009 9]
[http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/10_August_2009 10] [http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/11_August_2009 11] [http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/12_August_2009 12] [http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/13_August_2009 13] [http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/14_August_2009 14] [http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/15_August_2009 15] [http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/16_August_2009 16]
[http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/17_August_2009 17] [http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/18_August_2009 18] [http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/19_August_2009 19] [http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/20_August_2009 20] [http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/21_August_2009 21] [http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/22_August_2009 22] [http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/23_August_2009 23]
[http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/24_August_2009 24] [http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/25_August_2009 25] [http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/26_August_2009 26] [http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/27_August_2009 27] [http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/28_August_2009 28] [http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/29_August_2009 29] [http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/30_August_2009 30]
[http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/31_August_2009 31]


September
MTWTFSS
  [http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/1_September_2009 1] [http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/2_September_2009 2] [http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/3_September_2009 3] [http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/4_September_2009 4] [http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/5_September_2009 5] [http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/6_September_2009 6]
[http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/7_September_2009 7] [http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/8_September_2009 8] [http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/9_September_2009 9] [http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/10_September_2009 10] [http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/11_September_2009 11] [http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/12_September_2009 12] [http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/13_September_2009 13]
[http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/14_September_2009 14] [http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/15_September_2009 15] [http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/16_September_2009 16] [http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/17_September_2009 17] [http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/18_September_2009 18] [http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/19_September_2009 19] [http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/20_September_2009 20]
[http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/21_September_2009 21] [http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/22_September_2009 22] [http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/23_September_2009 23] [http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/24_September_2009 24] [http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/25_September_2009 25] [http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/26_September_2009 26] [http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/27_September_2009 27]
[http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/28_September_2009 28] [http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/29_September_2009 29] [http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/30_September_2009 30]


October
MTWTFSS
      [http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/1_October_2009 1] [http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/2_October_2009 2] [http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/3_October_2009 3] [http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/4_October_2009 4]
[http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/5_October_2009 5] [http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/6_October_2009 6] [http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/7_October_2009 7] [http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/8_October_2009 8] [http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/9_October_2009 9] [http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/10_October_2009 10] [http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/11_October_2009 11]
[http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/12_October_2009 12] [http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/13_October_2009 13] [http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/14_October_2009 14] [http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/15_October_2009 15] [http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/16_October_2009 16] [http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/17_October_2009 17] [http://2009.igem.org/Team:Calgary/18_October_2009 18]
[http://2009.igem.org/wiki/index.php?title=Team:Calgary/19_October_2009&preload=Team:Calgary/NotebookPreload&action=edit 19] [http://2009.igem.org/wiki/index.php?title=Team:Calgary/20_October_2009&preload=Team:Calgary/NotebookPreload&action=edit 20] [http://2009.igem.org/wiki/index.php?title=Team:Calgary/21_October_2009&preload=Team:Calgary/NotebookPreload&action=edit 21] [http://2009.igem.org/wiki/index.php?title=Team:Calgary/22_October_2009&preload=Team:Calgary/NotebookPreload&action=edit 22] [http://2009.igem.org/wiki/index.php?title=Team:Calgary/23_October_2009&preload=Team:Calgary/NotebookPreload&action=edit 23] [http://2009.igem.org/wiki/index.php?title=Team:Calgary/24_October_2009&preload=Team:Calgary/NotebookPreload&action=edit 24] [http://2009.igem.org/wiki/index.php?title=Team:Calgary/25_October_2009&preload=Team:Calgary/NotebookPreload&action=edit 25]
[http://2009.igem.org/wiki/index.php?title=Team:Calgary/26_October_2009&preload=Team:Calgary/NotebookPreload&action=edit 26] [http://2009.igem.org/wiki/index.php?title=Team:Calgary/27_October_2009&preload=Team:Calgary/NotebookPreload&action=edit 27] [http://2009.igem.org/wiki/index.php?title=Team:Calgary/28_October_2009&preload=Team:Calgary/NotebookPreload&action=edit 28] [http://2009.igem.org/wiki/index.php?title=Team:Calgary/29_October_2009&preload=Team:Calgary/NotebookPreload&action=edit 29] [http://2009.igem.org/wiki/index.php?title=Team:Calgary/30_October_2009&preload=Team:Calgary/NotebookPreload&action=edit 30] [http://2009.igem.org/wiki/index.php?title=Team:Calgary/31_October_2009&preload=Team:Calgary/NotebookPreload&action=edit 31]



AUGUST 11, 2009


CAROL

Conoco Phillips Oil Sand Tour and Oils Sand Discovery Centre

Today, we were fortunate enough to join a tour at one of Conoco Phillips oil sand sites near Fort McMurray. We received a quick information session about how their extraction process works and we were able to walk around the site (perimeter walk) to see how these processes actually work. A lot of the details that I learned today was taught through one of the petroleum geology classes I took, however, it was definitely great to see how classroom knowledge is applied in extraction of oil. Some of the possible areas that they wanted us to consider is:

  • Since bitumen is difficult to extract due to its viscosity (its very thick), is there a way to engineer bacteria that can lower viscosity. As of now they use heat to change the viscosity of the bitumen, but if there is a more cost effective and efficient way to change the viscosity, it would be a great project...
  • About 10% of the water that goes through the whole treatment is not reused

After the great tour, we also went to the oil sand discovery centre and we were able to learn the details of oil composition and how oil is extracted. I thought the tour was excellent because it gave me more insight of how all these technologies come from. As well, we were able to watch a video regarding some history of oil. In general, I had fun and I thought the trip was definitely useful in terms of iGEM and my career. I will update more as I think about the things we learned the last few days, and will explain it on friday.


CHINMOYEE

Descriptive Title of What You're Doing

WIKI CODING HERE


EMILY

Tour of ConocoPhilips and Discover Centre

  • Today we went on a tour of Conoco Philips. In the morning we got a general overview of their processes and went on a perimeter walk to see how everything actually worked. I found this a lot more interesting than yesterday as I found it easier this way to see the bigger picture, how all the parts of the process fit together. Yesterday it was harder to see how all the parts of the processes were interconnected.

Some things I took away from this:

  • ConocoPhilips has a much smaller footprint due to their different extraction method than Suncor (In Situ versus surface extraction). It also doesn't use large tailings ponds, etc
  • Despite competiton, all companies rely on each other for various materials, technologies, etc.
  • One of the major problems facing the project is the high viscosity of the bitumen. They need a way to make it less viscous in order to get it to the surface. Right now they are using steam injected in to the ground. This uses a lot of energy and water though, so is there a way to reduce this viscosity using either less steam or something else?
  • Another problem they face is that some of the water that goes through the process is released as vapour and lost. Is there a way to save this water? They are currently looking into using some form of a condenser, which apparently poses some engineering challenges, is there another way?
  • A third problem is that not all of the Bitumen can currently be extracted. Is there a way to fix this?
  • In the afternoon, we went to one of the two pads where the drilling actually happens. We then finished the day with a tour of the discovery centre before returning to Calgary.



FAHD

Day 2 of the Tour of the Oil Sands

Today was the second day of our trip to the Fort McMurrary courtesy of Andrew Hessel and OSLI (Oil Sands Leadership Initiative). OSLI is an organization of 5 Oil giants who have taken the initiative to promote Youth Leadership and Biotechnology in Alberta. Today we toured the Oil Sands of ConocoPhillips Inc., which is a joint venture of Total and Surmont Inc. We learned about the SAGD method of extracting bitumen out the oil sands, discussed the potential biotechnology projects in the field of synthetic biology and took a tour of their operation sites.

We also visited the Oil Sands Discovery centre, which is a museum that describes the history and establishment of the Oil Sands in Alberta. There were self-toured exhibits tour in the museum and a 45 minute long documentary based on the history of the Oil Sands.

On the whole, the entire tour was an excellent learning experience and a huge success. The tour gave me a vision of the future potential synthetic biology projects that I can do as part of the iGEM Team Calgary. It also gave me an opportunity to understand the workings and the importance of the Oil Sands in Alberta.



IMAN

Descriptive Title of What You're Doing

WIKI CODING HERE


JAMIE

Descriptive Title of What You're Doing

WIKI CODING HERE


JEREMY

ConocoPhillips, the Oil Sands and Synthetic Biology

Julie, Bob, Andrew and Pat, all representatives from ConocoPhillips, were able to give our group an amazing tour of their site today. Whereas Suncor’s site was devoted to mining the Oil Sands, ConocoPhillips’ site at Surmont used a different approach: Steam Assisted Gravity Drainage (SAGD). This method involves the injection of steam through a horizontal pipe through the oil sand in order to reduce the incredibly viscosity of the bitumen. The heated bitumen then flows by gravity down to a pipe lower and parallel to the steam injection pipe to be pumped back up to the surface. The production of oil appeared to be a byproduct as most of the plant was devoted to the recycling, heating and cooling of water.

Although ConocoPhillips employed a different method of extracting the oil from the sands, we can see many similarities between the two extraction methods, the largest being the large dependence on incredible amounts of heat energy. Whether it be heating massive amounts of water up to over 300ºC or processing the oil by “cracking” it at incredibly high pressures and temperatures, it appears we cannot avoid this energy demand, yet.

This is where iGEM Calgary and synthetic biologists come in to play. The entire purpose of these past two days was to get people in our field thinking about how we can use the tools and techniques in biology to benefit these energy giants. And that we did. We are bound to find and exploit a gene that allows for the processing of oil, whether it be an enzyme that catalyzes the cracking process at 20ºC instead of 700ºC, or an enzyme that allows for a decrease in viscosity of extracted oil. In any event, I am starting to think that a collaboration between iGEM and the oil sands will inevitably happen in the near future.



KATIE

Useful Refresher and Initial Lab Completion

For the majority of the morning the second life team was able to get a walkthrough of what has been happening in the lab. It served as a useful refresher to the beginning of the year and included:

  • The purpose of everyone’s tasks in the lab.
  • Returning to the original signalling system inside of a cell
  • The circuits required (signalling, reporter etc.)
  • How the circuits will be tested.

The virtual lab has basically been completed aside from some structural modifications and position changes within the second lab. Do to permission setting difficulties, these modifications will be made tomorrow when the team members with modify permissions can make changes.

I began working on the framework for DNA replication, which now consists of a double stranded DNA strand that has been separated along with nucleotides for each strand. A representation of helicase will now travel to its respective position along the framework and now I will be working on changing the nucleotide orientation once rezzed behind the DNA polymerase.



KEVIN

2nd half of the tour...

ConocoPhilips have given us a thorough tour through their oil processing plant. Their footprint was much smaller than the Suncor's due to the use of different technologies. Where as the Suncor uses surface mining to collect the bitumin from the mine fields, ConocoPhilips uses what's called in situ method, which uses high temperature steam to lower the viscosity of bitumin, which is then sucked up to the ground. They mainly are looking for solutions to lower the viscosity of bitumin without steam or with lower amount of steam so that they can save some energy related costs, and we may be able to remedy the problem with bacteria. Further research is required regarding this issue.

The oil sand discovery center was very interesting. They provided us with clear demonstrations of how bitumin was extracted and processed, and how thick bitumin actually is. We were also given the opportunity to watch a film regarding the history of the oil sands, which gave us a good idea of the gradual development of the oil sands.

MANDY

Descriptive Title of What You're Doing

WIKI CODING HERE


PATRICK

Descriptive Title of What You're Doing

WIKI CODING HERE


PRIMA

Descriptive Title of What You're Doing

WIKI CODING HERE


STEFAN

Descriptive Title of What You're Doing

WIKI CODING HERE


VICKI

Fort McMurray oilsands tour: reflections of day 2

We rose early this morning to venture to Surmount, another oil sands development site that is co-operated by ConocoPhilips and Total (of France). Whereas the oil sands on the Suncor lease site is high enough for it to be mined relatively inexpensively, the sands in Surmount are much deeper and the bitumen must be extracted with SAGD technology. SAGD entails drilling a horizontal well far below the surface, consisting of an upper pipe that releases steam into the surrounding area and a lower pipe that collects the bitumen runoff and channels it to another location for processing. As the bitumen in raw form is extremely viscous and will not travel through the pipe untreated, it must be mixed with another petroleum-based product (which they purchase from Suncor!). Some semi-iGEM-related issues that come from this are:

  • Efficiency of energy production. One of the ConocoPhilips representatives mentioned that they can extract 6 barrels of oil for every barrel equivalent of energy that is put in. Most of the input energy is lost in producing steam to heat the bitumen and sufficiently lower its viscosity to enable it to flow. Although this number is certainly more realistic than what I heard at Suncor the day before (and, admittedly, the Suncor source did mention that he was not sure of the exact value), it is nowhere near the 30:1 output-input ratio that comes from conventional oil wells (Pressnail, 2007). Given that many people are anticipating an energy crisis, one must ask whether accelerated development of the oilsands is really in the best interests of the world at this stage, especially when we consider one or two generations into the future, when the effects of the extravagant lifestyles of this generation become more pronounced. Please note that I have not said that the oilsands should not be developed – I am merely suggesting that we should approach their development cautiously until we have more efficient means of extracting oil – let’s say, a 20:1 output-input energy ratio. For now, developing the technologies that are capable of extracting oil more efficiently is critical.
    • From an iGEM perspective, this could entail designing bacteria that release an enzyme that lowers the viscosity of the bitumen. This would allow us to operate with lower steam temperatures, and thus lower the input energy necessary to get anything out of the process.
    • Alternatively, we could design bacteria that can effectively crack longer carbon chains. This would held circumvent the energy expenditure required to bring the bitumen up to a high heat and pressure that are currently employed in the cracking process.
  • Mining versus SAGD. Different technologies are more appropriate for different environments: the former is useful when the oil sands are close to the surface; the latter is more suited to sands that are too deep to be mined safely. Mining is advantageous because up to 95% of the bitumen trapped in the sands can be extracted for use. SAGD looks better because although the extraction efficiency is much lower, the surrounding land doesn’t look as scorched. Nevertheless, a day of production at the Cold Lake site uses as much input energy as the entire city of Edmonton in that time! Moreover, SAGD only extracts 65% of the bitumen that is actually present. From what we were told, the rest remains trapped in the sand pores and could be later extracted with different technologies, but that would entail re-drilling the well, re-clearing the reclaimed land and re-setting up the equipment for the well – each of which require time, money and energy.
    • Bacteria that can survive the steam treatment and extract some of the remaining 35% of the bitumen that SAGD technology misses will increase the efficiency of the process, by enabling us to gain more output energy for the same amount of input.
  • Reclamation. Syncrude and Suncor both proudly displayed their reclaimed land and seemingly-flourishing ecosystems on earth that was once scorched. As mentioned yesterday, these efforts are admirable. I was particularly impressed by how they recruit people specifically to further their reclamation efforts. Again, however, we don’t know what the long-term effects of the former excavation site will be – say, whether tar ponds leach chemicals into the environment a generation down the road, or whether the reclaimed land better supports the survival of species that should not ordinarily flourish there, or the list goes on. Note that the latter point is not necessarily negative, but it remains unknown.
    • There would be great value in developing bacteria that can digest harmful residual chemicals of the well site and release waste products that will not devastate the local environment if they leach beyond their containment points in the future. Similarly, bacteria that can serve as an obvious indicator of whether or not certain chemicals are present (before plants start dying off) can warn us that something is amiss, and will allow us to react before serious problems occur in the local environment. Of course, there’s always the issue of how sensible it really is to introduce a strain of bacteria into an ecosystem where it is not naturally found, depending on what chassis is used in the final product…
  • Desulfonation of the tar. Suncor uses smoke stacks with limestone scrubbers to clean 95% of the sulphur out of the tar slurry and reduce the potential for acid rain down the road. Certain bacteria that are found in caves (and otherwise) can process sulfonated bodies and remove the sulphur that is present.
    • If we could use bacteria that self-replicate and extract more than 95% of the sulphur – in addition to or lieu of limestone in finite supply – we could lower the environmental impact of this process.
  • Exploiting the power of the natural environment. Although this term carries many negative connotations, it is not meant in an entirely self-serving sense – rather, if there are bacteria that naturally occur in the depths where oil sands are found, it would be useful to gain an understanding of what they are and what they can do.
    • This will better support our efforts in engineering an effective biological approach to improving the efficiency and lessening the environmental impact of the oil sands development projects.