Athabasca Oil Sands Lab Report

The purpose of this experiment was to separate all components in a mixture that was consisted of water, salt, sand and mineral oil. This was achieved through the knowledge on physical properties of the substances being used, and also through previous understanding of intermolecular forces. This lab is based on the Athabasca Oil Sands, which are located in Northern Alberta, an area that is highly controversial due to its negative impact on the environment and the First Nations People. In 2011, 52 million tons of crude oil were extracted and distilled for fossil fuels, making it one of the largest mining operations in the world. In this area, crude oil exists as bitumen, which is mixed with sediments like sand and clay. Oil production is extremely

All of the components of this mixture have different physical properties, which is what helped in the process of separation. Starting with sodium chloride, this is a compound that has the following physical properties: colourless, transparent, crystal structure, salty taste, boiling point of 1465 degrees Celsius, melting point of 8000.7 degrees Celsius, and is soluble in water (Sodium Chloride, PubChem). Silicon dioxide, which is also known as silica, has the physical properties of odourless, a boiling point of 2230 degrees Celsius, a melting point of 1710 degrees Celsius, and is insoluble in water (Silicon Dioxide, PubChem). Furthermore, octane is an alkane that that has the physical properties of colourless, clear, liquid, a boiling point of 125.6 degrees Celsius, a melting point of -56.73 degrees Celsius, and is soluble in water (Octane, PubChem). When connecting back to the Athabasca Oil Sands, on average, the sediments and oil are mixed together with

Sodium chloride forms an ionic intermolecular force, and silicon dioxide and octane both form a London dispersion force. Each compound behaves differently in water. Sodium chloride is soluble in water, and silica and mineral oil are not. This is because of the idea that likes dissolve like. Water forms a polar intermolecular force, and when ionic molecules enter it, they dissolve because the water molecules are more attracted to the ions rather than other water molecules. However, when non-polar compounds like octane and silica enter, they do not dissolve because the water molecules are more attracted to each other. When separating, it is known that silica/sand is a solid that does not dissolve, so it is easy to filter it out. The salt would have dissolved in the water, so it would not be filtered out with the sand. Since mineral oil is insoluble, they separate over time, which can then be removed. Finally, the salt is dissolved into the water, but it has a much higher boiling point than water, so the water can be boiled and evaporated at 100 degrees Celsius, leaving the salt