Why is it Used? Whats the Problem?

Why is it used?

Bitumen is used because of its unique qualities. It contains components that allow it to harden and become resistant to weather conditions, as well as seal and strengthen products because of its tough nature. Also, it is used because it contains hydrocarbons that can be made into synthetic crude oil, so we’d have another source of energy if we were to run out of our other synthetic crude sources.

The problem?

There has been a lot of controversy over the tar sands for the past few years, but what one would realize would be that it’s not the tar sands that are the problem; it’s the extracting and processing methods that the environmental societies are angry about. The extracting methods are a concern because when the tar deposit sites use the In Situ extraction process, which is the process of using steam to heat up the tar sand formation and then waiting for the bitumen to leak into the created wells where it will be pumped out and transported to refineries. It’s become a problem because of the water that is used in the process; once the water had come in contact with the tar sands it is unusable afterwards because becomes toxic due to the chemical exposure. But this will be explained in better detail in the environmental effects section of the glog.

The processing methods of bitumen, which upgrades it to synthetic crude oil (used in gasoline, fuel, etc.) is a concern that people should take notice to because of the large amounts of different greenhouse gases and other harmful substances it emits, as well as the amount of energy that is used per day just for tar sands productions. Again, these will be discussed in the environmental and health effects sections later on.