Bitumen Oilsands: Slick Science
By: Andrew Nikiforuk
Canadian Business Magazine — September 15, 2008

N-Solv Corp. just might have a better, cheaper, greener way to recover bitumen.

All that John Nenniger needs to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions in the oilsands by 85% is a cool $60 million and a 300-metre field of gooey bitumen. He doesn’t need carbon capture and storage service because his process hardly makes any. Nor does it consume groundwater or burn vast quantities of valuable natural gas. “From a scientific point of view,” he explains, “this technology is a great opportunity to significantly reduce the energy requirements for tarsands extraction.”
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New solvent-based process could dramatically reduce the cost and environmental impact of recovering oil from tar sands
By: Vicky J. Sharpe
Canadian Environmental Protection — March 1, 2006

A new Canadian technology shows promise as an environmentally-friendly way to extract oil from Alberta's tar sands by using significantly less energy than conventional steam-extraction methods.

Dubbed N-Solv, the technology, which involves the injection of propane into the tar sands in place of steam, will soon be put through the paces in a demonstration project led by Mississauga, Ontario-based engineering firm Hatch Ltd. and Calgary-based consulting firm Nenniger Engineering Inc. The project will be funded in part by Sustainable Development Technology Canada (SDTC).
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Waterless Extraction
By: Lynda Harrison
New Technology Magazine — December 1, 2005

Demonstration Plant To Test In-Situ Oilsands Extraction Using Pure Condensing Solvent

A process that uses an almost-pure condensing solvent to extract oilsands faster than current methods -- without using water and reducing energy costs as well as greenhouse gas emissions -- is close to being tested in a demonstration project.

A consortium of industry players is preparing to construct a 2,000 bbl-per-day demonstration plant near Fort McMurray that will test the patented N-Solv process.
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Sustainable Development Technology Canada to Provide $42.5 Million in New Funding For Canadian Clean Technology Projects
OTTAWA, Ontario — October 20, 2005

Sustainable Development Technology Canada (SDTC) will provide $42.5 million in new funding for clean technology projects.

The funding, approved by SDTC’s Board of Directors, will support the development and demonstration of groundbreaking clean technologies and fast-track their progress toward commercialization. Funding for each project is subject to final contract negotiations.
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