Advanced study of unconventional oil behaviour, innovative emergency measures to surface water oil spills: protection of water sources

由于常规石油储量日益稀缺，以及对石油需求的反应，非常规石油的开采量正在增加。对于拥有油砂的加拿大(来自艾伯塔省的Dilbit)和拥有轻质石油的美国(来自北达科他州的Bakken)来说都是如此。这些石油通过铁路和管道运输的增加带来了更高的风险，导致了大量的意外泄漏，造成了巨大的修复成本。值得注意的是，卡拉马祖河(密歇根州，2010年)一条泄漏Dilbit的管道破裂，以及(魁北克省，2013年)Mégantic湖一列火车脱轨，牵涉到污染了190公里Chaudière河的Bakken石油。这些灾害使人类和环境健康处于危险之中，因为它们污染了淡水水源，从而阻止将其生态服务作为饮用水来源、维持栖息地和灌溉用途。这些事件的后果，突显了城市、政府和补救行业在应对非常规石油紧急情况方面缺乏准备。事实上，由于非常规石油具有根本不同的物理化学性质(酸度、粘度、组成、密度、粘附性)，一旦泄漏，其表现与传统原油不同，这使得目前的应对措施在应急和修复行动中不充分、无效和不充分。由于解决这些问题迫切需要独立研究，这一多学科、结构化的研究项目旨在实现：i)Dilbit和Bakken油的高级物理化学特性；ii)开发创新的吸附剂和氧化剂；以及iii)评估这些油的自然衰减和改善水和沉积物中的辅助生物降解。研究成果，包括知识、工具和设备，将有助于保护人口和淡水水源。一批重要的HQP将接受培训，并在急需的领域加入劳动力大军。此外，将在参与该项目的大量和多样化的NAO和利益攸关方的参与和协作下，将成果移交给政府、公民协会和工业界。

The extraction of unconventional oil is growing due to the increasing scarcity of conventional oil reserves and in response to oil demands. This is true for Canada with oil sands (Dilbit from Alberta) and for the USA with light oil (Bakken from North Dakota). The increased transport of these oils by rail and pipeline has brought higher risks resulting in large accidental spills at monumental rehabilitation costs. Notably, the rupture of a pipeline that spilled Dilbit in Kalamazoo River (Michigan, 2010) and a train derailment at Lac Mégantic (Quebec, 2013) implicating Bakken oil that contaminated 190Km of the Chaudière River. These disasters placed in danger human and environmental health by contaminating fresh water sources thereby preventing the use of its ecological services as a source of drinking water, sustaining habitats and for irrigation purposes. The aftermath of these events, have emphasized the lack of preparedness of cities, government and the remediation industry to respond to unconventional oil emergencies. Indeed, due to their fundamentally different physicochemical properties (acidity, viscosity, composition, density, adherence), once spilled, unconventional oil behaves differently from traditional crudes making present response measures insufficient, ineffective and inadequate during emergency and rehabilitation actions. As independent research is critically needed to address these issues, this multidisciplinary, structured research project aims to achieve: I) the advanced physicochemical characterization of Dilbit and Bakken oils; II) the development of innovative adsorbents and oxydants; and III) the evaluation of these oil's natural attenuation and improvement of assisted biodegradation in water and sediments. The research outputs, including knowledge, tools and devices, will assist in the protection of populations and fresh water sources. An important number of HQP will be trained and join the workforce in a critically needed area. Furthermore, the results will be transferred to government, citizen associations, and industry, with and through the participation, and collaboration, of a large and diverse number of NAOs and stakeholders participating to the project.********