Environmental Stewardship
Deliberate choices in facility design focused on reducing emissions and disturbance to the local surroundings.
CARBON CAPTURE
The Sturgeon Refinery is the world’s first bitumen refinery designed from inception with a carbon capture and storage solution. A process called gasification converts the heavy bottoms—a waste product of bitumen—into both the hydrogen required for refinery operations and a pure, dry CO2 stream. It is cost-effectively captured instead of vented into the atmosphere. This captured CO2 is then sold to third parties for enhanced oil recovery and permanent storage.
AIR
The refinery is located in a 4,500 square kilometer airshed monitored by the Heartland Air Monitoring Partnership, a non-profit organization that collects and reports air quality data in the region. As one of the newest industrial facilities in the hub of Alberta’s Industrial Heartland, the refinery uses technology and practices to reduce emissions.
WATER
Water management is based on water reuse to limit freshwater intake from the North Saskatchewan River and minimize treated water discharge. The site is intentionally designed to retain stormwater and recycle it for use as plant process water. Maximizing air cooling coupled with advanced water treatment technology including ultrafiltration and membrane bioreactors, the total amount of freshwater withdrawn from the river is minimized to the extent possible while maintaining efficient operations of the water treatment system. The small stream of water from the site wastewater treatment facility is sent to the Alberta Capital Region Wastewater Commission for further treatment before being released to the North Saskatchewan River.
LAND
The Sturgeon Refinery site was strategically selected on land zoned for heavy industrial facilities within Alberta’s Industrial Heartland to both minimize land disturbance and maximize industry integration. The site allows access to existing infrastructure, including highways, rail, power transmission lines, utility gas, potable water, and wastewater service lines. This minimizes the need for added infrastructure, maximizes integration and provides efficiency benefits superior to a stand-alone site. NWR also maintains a designated wildlife corridor along the south boundary of our property.
WASTE RECYCLING
A system of waste collection and recycling was implemented at the beginning of facility construction and remains in place currently. Items such as scrap metal and beverage containers are returned for a refund, and all funds are reinvested back into the community. Materials such as wood, drywall, aluminum, steel, beverage containers are recycled or recovered to reduce the waste sent to landfills.
