Business
Research project to capture valuable minerals from oil sands tailings and reduce emissions intensity
EDMONTON, March 28 /CNW/ - An abundance of manufactured products including ceramic tiles and kitc...
About this update from Cvw Sustainable Royalties Inc.
[{"type":"text","content":"\n\n\n\nEDMONTON, March 28 /CNW/ - An abundance of manufactured products\nincluding ceramic tiles and kitchenware, consumer electronics, medical\nappliances and paints may in the future include minerals extracted from oil\nsands tailings thanks to a $3.5-million grant from Alberta Energy to\nTitanium Corporation Inc. The company will research the value-added\nopportunities and environmental benefits of stripping out hydrocarbons and\nheavy minerals from oil sands tailings streams. Funding for this two-year\nproject is being provided through Alberta's Energy Innovation Fund.\n\n\n"The ingenuity of our energy industry continues to offer significant\nbenefits for current and future generations of Albertans," said\nEnergy Minister Mel Knight. "Not only can this research result in processing\nindustrial waste into beneficial products, but it has the potential to\nsignificantly reduce emissions and improve the environment by extracting\nbitumen from tailings rather than from mining."\n\n\nTitanium Corporation is a Canadian company developing a commercial\nprocess to maximize the value existing in waste material presently being\ndeposited in Alberta's oil sands tailings. Rather than channeling mine froth\ntailings into disposal areas, the mineral-rich stream is sent to a separation\nplant via pipeline where bitumen, titanium minerals, zircon and naphtha are to\nbe recovered for commercial use.\n\n\n"I am very pleased that the Government of Alberta has agreed to provide\nsuch significant support for this project," said Scott Nelson, President and\nCEO of Titanium Corporation. "Development of new technology that will\nreprocess an otherwise discounted waste product will add value to the bitumen\nresource and provide a number of environmental benefits such as reduced carbon\ndioxide emissions and smaller disposal areas."\n\n\nMore than 90 per cent of the world's titanium minerals are sold to the\npigment industry, which manufactures products for the paint, coating, paper\nand plastics industries. Another important use of titanium is in making\nalloys. Zircon sand is in high demand worldwide and is used by the ceramic,\nrefractory and chemical industries. Naphtha, a liquid hydrocarbon, may also be\nrecovered through the research project and reused for processing bitumen prior\nto upgrading.\n\n\nThe ...