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New study finds GHG emissions from palm oil production significantly underestimated; palm oil biofuels could be more climate-damaging than oil sands fuels

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Based on visual interpretation of high-resolution (30 m) satellite images, a new study in the journal Global Change Biology: Bioenergy determined that industrial plantations covered over 3.1 When peat swamps are drained for agriculture, the peat begins to decompose, and is an enormous source of carbon emissions. Earlier post.).

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Researcher urges more effort on assessment of land and water impacts of oil sands production; reference point for other unconventional fuels

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Bitumen production from the Canadian oil sands provides a point of reference that could be used to observe and better manage the land and water impacts of a rapid transition to unconventional fuels, suggests Dr. Sarah Jordaan of the Energy Technology Innovation Policy Research Group, Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Harvard University.

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Report finds diluted oil sands bitumen not more corrosive than comparable heavy crude in pipelines

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Transmitting oil sands production. Pipelines require a product with a density of 940 kg/m 3 and/or a viscosity of 350 cST at the pipeline reference temperature. Pipelines require a product with a density of 940 kg/m 3 and/or a viscosity of 350 cST at the pipeline reference temperature. —“Dibit Corrosivity”.

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Utah Water Quality Board upholds issuance of permit for oil sands mine in Utah

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The Utah Water Quality Board, in a 9-2 vote this week, agreed with the August 2012 recommendations of an administrative law judge (ALJ) upholding a permit-by-rule issued by the Division of Water Quality (DWQ) for the proposed PR Spring an oil sands mine on state land in eastern Utah. USOS bitumen extraction process. Source: USOS.

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Study finds plausibly high volumes of Canadian oil sands crudes in US refineries in 2025 would lead to modest increases in refinery CO2 emissions

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An analysis of the US refining sector, based on linear programming (LP) modeling, finds that refining plausibly high volumes of Canadian oil sands crudes in US refineries in 2025 would lead to a modest increase in refinery CO 2 emissions (ranging between 5.4% to 9.3%) from a 2010 baseline, depending upon the supply scenario.

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State Department issues Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement on Keystone XL Pipeline: climate change impacts

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The US Department of State (DOS) has released its Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) in response to TransCanada’s May 2012 application for the Keystone XL pipeline that would run from Canada’s oils sands in Alberta to Nebraska. The pipeline would primarily transport crude oil from the WCSB and Bakken regions.

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State Department releases final environmental impact statement on Keystone XL Pipeline Project; analysis of GHG emissions

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Comparison of the percent differential for WTW (well-to-wheel) GHGs from gasoline produced from WCSB oil sands using different production processes relative to gasoline produced from reference crudes. The NETL study serves as a key input for analyses conducted by EPA and DOE. Source: FEIS, Appendix V. Click to enlarge.

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