Integrated systems including a
photobioreactor system designed to contain a
liquid medium comprising at least one species of phototrophic
organism therein, and a facility associated with extracting and / or
processing oil extracted from mixtures of oil and
solid material, such as an
oil sands facility, are described. Processes for using a
photobioreactor system as part of a gas-treatment process and
system able to at least partially remove certain undesirable pollutants from a byproduct gas
stream produced by an
oil sands facility are also described. Examples of such pollutants that may be removed include compounds contained within
combustion gases, e.g., CO2 and / or
NOx. These pollutants processed with the
photobioreactor system, and, in some embodiments,
biomass produced with the photobioreactor system may be utilized to produce a fuel source (e.g.,
biodiesel) and
cutting stock for further operation of or use in the
oil sands facility. Such uses of certain embodiments can provide an efficient means for recycling carbon, thereby reducing CO2 emissions, fuel, and / or
cutting stock requirements for a given
quantum of energy produced. In addition, in some cases the photobioreactor can be integrated with a holding pond and
waste heat from the oil extraction process can be used to maintain the photobioreactor temperature and / or provide energy for other processes. Accordingly, embodiments described herein can improve the overall environmental and economic profile of the oil sands facility.