Tar sands
 Tar sands     | |
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Tar sands, also called oil sands, are a type of fossil fuel deposit, which has only fairly recently been considered as feasible sources of oil.
Rebranding
Tar sands were rebranded "oil sands" by the oil industry as part of a public relations exercise. The Wikipedia page was moved in 2008.[1]
Deposits
Large deposits exist in Canada and Venezuela, and lesser deposits have been found in Kazakhstan and Russia.
Extraction
The extraction of tar sands is a matter of concern due to the large carbon footprint and the local environmental damage of the process.
Purification
Tar sands are the "high hanging fruit" - requiring a lot of energy to extract and purify. Advances in technology have gradually allowed more extraction to be energetically profitable (i.e. decreased the amount of energy required to extract tar sands).
