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Summary

The majority of the technology development for CO₂ capture and storage (CCS) is driven by the electric-utility industry, in which the emphasis is on large centralized units for electric-power generation with coal as the primary fuel. The implementation of CCS in oil-sands operations has significant potential to provide meaningful carbon-emissions reductions. This paper presents various concepts for integrating leading CO₂-capture techniques to bitumen-extraction and -upgrading processes. The main carbon-capture technologies are reviewed, and their relative advantages and disadvantages for implementation in bitumen mining, thermal bitumen extraction, and bitumen upgrading are discussed, leading to a qualitative assessment of their suitability for each oil-sands process.