Oil sand tailings or oil sands processaffected water ospw, have a highly variable composition and a complex mixture of compounds. Geochemical characteristics of oil sand tailings and bitumen. Mar 30, 2017 albertas oilsands could be heading for another showdown over tailings ponds after an independent assessment found that the cleanup plans of six major operators dont meet new rules. The composition of this manmade material and its influence on the insitu state of tailings is of particular importance. The comparison of c c for different tailings indicates that the oil sand tailings and coal wash tailings have a higher compressibility than the other metal tailings, and for the same type of tailings, the. A research program was therefore initiated at the university of pretoria, to investigate the composition and state of south african gold tailings on the far west rand gold reefs. Geochemical characteristics of oil sand tailings and. Consolidation testing of oil sand fine tailings ubc. Oil sands operators tackle tailings management challenges albertas oil sands miners are testing a variety of methods to process and manage tailings that meet the requirements of a tough new governmental directive by russell a. Albertas oilsands could be heading for another showdown over tailings ponds after an independent assessment found that the cleanup plans of six major operators dont meet new rules. Albertas oil sands miners are testing a variety of methods to process and manage tailings that meet the requirements of a tough new governmental directive. Geochemical characteristics of oil sand tailings and bitumen upgrading byproducts, alberta, canada bronwen forsyth1, stephen day1 and oladipo omotoso2 1.
Suncor energy inc, canada abstract few studies have characterized the metal leaching and acid rock drainage mlard potential of. Guidelines for performance management of oil sands fluid fine tailings deposits to meet closure commitments february 2014 canadas oil sands innovation alliance page ii this document further defines the process to manage and report annual and fiveyear progress to regulators, for control of fft volumes on each mine site, consistent with. Tailings, and characteristics of oil sands tailings ponds. A method for oil sands tailings consolidation to a trafficable surface soon after its disposal was developed. Tailings ponds a toxic legacy of albertas oilsands the star. Feb 03, 2016 composite tailings ct, an engineered, alkaline, saline mixture of oil sands tailings fft, processed sand and gypsum caso 4. The insitu method of accessing oil sands resources does not produce tailings.
Most existing oil sand tailings are stored in large ponds which have been shown to be consolidating very slowly. University of calgary characterization of oil sands tailings. The objective of this study was to investigate the filterability of the tailings and the effect of various factors, such as tailings composition fines content and flocculant addition, on filtration performance. The most common sulphide at both sites was pyrite fes. Oil sands tailings oil sand is composed of 8085% mineral, 1015% bitumen and 34% water by weight. Sap based rapid dewatering of oil sands mature fine tailings. Consolidation testing of oil sand fine tailings ubc library.
A good starting point is to understand the composition of the oil sands deposits. In order to investigate the feasibility of oil sands tailings filtration, we conducted a series of benchscale filtration tests. Sand, clay and other solid particles contained in oil sands tailings does not include bitumen. Requirements under the framework will be administered primarily through the oil sands conservation act and the environmental protection and enhancement act. Funding was provided by the canadian oil sands innovation alliance cosia and the natural science and engineering research council of canada nserc. Members, metagenomics and ecophysiology, handbook of hydrocarbon and lipid. In 2008, the former ercb alberta energy resources conservation board, now known as the alberta energy regulator introduced directive 074. The particlesize distribution of oil sands tailings has always figured prominently in the mine planning and overall operations and closure strategy in surfacemined oil sands. Oil sands tailings ponds are engineered dam and dyke systems used to capture oil sand tailings. Tailings ponds a toxic legacy of albertas oilsands. They are a mix of water, sand, silt, clay, unrecovered hydrocarbons, and other contaminants.
Composite tailings ct, an engineered, alkaline, saline mixture of oil sands tailings fft, processed sand and gypsum caso 4. Following over two years of consultation and planning, the oil sands tailings consortium ostc was formally launched december 10, 2010 to facilitate cooperation with the objective of accelerating development of tailings management technology and practices. Metabolism begins with betaoxidation of naphtha such as long and short nalkanes to acetate and h2 by syntrophussmithella. We identified 34 oil sands tailings treatment technologies that are discussed. Beside its contribution to greenhouse gas emissions, methanogenesis was shown to increase tailings densification. The oil sands mining and extraction processes in canada produce large volumes of tailings that are. Oil sands tailings are a mixture of water, sand, fine silts, clay, residual bitumen and lighter hydrocarbons, inorganic salts and watersoluble organic. Three quarters of albertas oil sands reserves are located in the athabasca region, which are mostly recovered by openpit mining natural resources canada, 2015. The asphaltenes contained in the tailings constitute valuable hydrocarbons that, if recovered, could be useable as coker feed or paving material. Recovery of hydrocarbons from froth treatment tailings of oil. Sand is defined as having a particle size greater than 44 microns and fines have particle sizes less than 44 microns. The mineral component of the oil sand contains both sand and fines.
May 23, 2017 the authors would like to acknowledge shell canada for providing mft and polymer samples and oil sand tailings research facility ostrf. Under this new directive, oil sands mining operators are required by law to commit to the reduction of fine fluid tailings and reduce any current inventories. Microbial sulfur biogeochemistry of oil sands composite. The role of clays in the performance of oilsands tailings. Fine solids from tailings streams tend to trap large volumes of water, making pond reclamation challenging at best. The aim of this report is to serve as a fundamental planning document for future research initiatives by osrin and other research agencies to support, promote, and improve the oil sands industrys capability to deal with the challenges of fine tailings management. The authors would like to acknowledge shell canada for providing mft and polymer samples and oil sand tailings research facility ostrf. Rheology for deposition control of polymeramended oil. Mamadou fall in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of master of applied science in environmental engineering department of civil engineering university of ottawa ottawa, canada april, 20. Requirements under the framework will be administered primarily through the oil sands conservation act and the environmental protection and. Along with the 2030 wt% of solids sands and clays and slightly alkaline water ph7. Oil sands tailings ponds are engineered dam and dyke systems used to capture oil sand. To manage the volumes effectively, engineers must be able to predict a rate of compression of these tailings. In handbook on theory and practice of bitumen recovery from athabasca oil sands.
A blend of mft and sand used to dispose of fine tailings. Thickening of mature fine oil sands tailings thesis format. Tailings, a lasting oil sands legacy wwfcanada, october 2010 3 today four operators suncor, syncrude, shell and canadian natural resources ltd. Geotechnical properties of mine tailings journal of. Current knowledge of seepage from oil sands tailings ponds and its. Large volumes of tailings are a byproduct of bitumen extraction from the oil sands and managing these tailings is one of. Oct 06, 2015 what are tailings and why are people talking about them. Oil sands tailings can be thought of as being made up of two major solids components. Oil sands tailings and directive 074 oil sands mining operations produce significant quantities of liquid waste materials called tailings.
Mine tailings are usually produced from the mill in slurry form, which is a mixture of sunrise dam in western australia and bulyanhulu gold mine in tanzania. Ultraviolet light is an economical and simple way to clean up the residue, or tailings, left over from extracting oil from canadian tar sands. Oil sands operators tackle tailings management challenges e. Oil sands tailings management natural resources canada. Tailings are stored in basins called tailings ponds, which allow the solids in tailings to settle. Tailings ponds are massive earth structures used to store coarse and fine solids contained in the oil sands deposit and recover water back to the main processing plant. The acetate produced is coupled to methanogenesis either by acetoclastic methanogens to generate ch4 gas directly from acetate. Delft university of technology dewatering behaviour of fine oil.
The dewatering of oil sand tailings has become more imperative in the past few years with the creation of directive 074. In oil sands applications, the convention is to define the sand as the mineral components 44. The majority of the fines separate or segregate during tailings. However, it will fill a management gap by providing a framework in which to monitor and manage longterm fluid tailings accumulation and reclamation on the landscape in the lower athabasca region. In addition to h 2 s, methane contributes to 6080% of gas flux over oil sands tailings ponds.
Tailings producers are now being required to have plans in place such that it is possible to demonstrate the achieving of five kpa of shear strength within oilsand tailings deposits. An investigation of the use of inline thickened tailings to create composite tailings at a sand to fines ratio, sfr, of 4. A study on chemical stabilization of oil sands mature fine. Oct 31, 2012 after solvent recovery, the asphaltenes, water, and mineral solids are discharged as froth treatment tailings. Tailings directive 074 explained oil sands magazine. Finely ground rock particles ranging from sandsized to siltsized. Understanding the implications of the composition of ospw for industrial. We conducted investigations of the feasibility of recovering asphaltenes from the tailings. Cms workshop lectures volume 22 introduction to oil sands clays organized by daryl hockley srk consulting canada inc.
Tailings producers are now being required to have plans in place such that it is possible to demonstrate the achieving of five kpa of shear strength within oil sand tailings deposits in reasonable times. Oil sands tailings harbor diverse microbes that generate greenhouse gases. Nov 30, 2011 proceedings tailings and mine waste 2011 vancouver, bc, november 6 to 9, 2011 consolidation testing of oil sand fine tailings dobroslav znidarcic and robert miller university of colorado, boulder, usa dirk van zyl mining engineering, university of british columbia, vancouver, canada murray fredlund soilvision systems ltd. Oil sands operators tackle tailings management challenges. What are tailings and why are people talking about them. Nrcancetc devon facility and location of the oil sands tailings research facility the ostrf is a unique academic and industrial research facility dedicated to collaborative and multidisciplinary tailings research. Oil sands processaffected water has been researched for decades. The values of c c of the coal wash tailings and the fine oil sand tailings are 0. Oil sands tailings are a mixture of water, sand, fine silts, clay, residual bitumen and lighter hydrocarbons, inorganic salts and watersoluble organic compounds. Federal study says oil sands toxins are leaching into. Guidelines for performance management of oil sands fluid fine. We identified 34 oil sands tailings treatment technologies that are discussed and analyzed. Wang, yixuan, a study on chemical stabilization of oil sands mature fine tailings 2017. Oil sands tailings pond water tpw according to canadas oil sands innovation alliance cosia, an alliance of oil sands producers formed in 2012, who share research on environmental priority areas epas such as tailing pond water and greenhouse gases, tailings are the sand, silt, clay and water found naturally in oil sands that remain following the mining and bitumen extraction process.
Flocculation of limetreated oil sands tailings sciencedirect. Tailings bulk composition showed enrichment of co, mo. Proceedings tailings and mine waste 2011 vancouver, bc, november 6 to 9, 2011 consolidation testing of oil sand fine tailings dobroslav znidarcic and robert miller university of colorado, boulder, usa dirk van zyl mining engineering, university of british columbia, vancouver, canada murray fredlund soilvision systems ltd. Sulfur biogeochemistry of an oil sands composite tailings deposit. Not only have microbes profoundly affected the composition and. Fine tailings either mature fine tailings or free fine tailings was thickened to a tailings mud, then the tailings mud and coarse sand were placed in alternative layers in a 100 l container, water released from the interlayered. Original paper chemical composition of weathering products. Review of the composition and toxicity of oil sands processaffected.
Funding was provided by the canadian oil sands innovation alliance cosia and the natural science and engineering research council of. Technical guide for fluid fine tailings management cosia. The resulting composite sandclay particles settle and dewater rapidly to a stackable product that can be handsqueezed to 4083 wt% solids. In addition, the aer will continually improve the directive based on observations as to the. W aterfowl that land on oilsands tailings ponds can become coated in oil, causing them to sink to the bottom. The claydominated fine mineral solids contained in the water runoff from the mainly sand tailings discharged from the oil sands bitumen extraction process. While oil sands companies are expected to reclaim liquid tailings, there has been 40 years of poor performance in addressing this longterm liability. Comparison of hydraulic conductivity of oil sands fine tailings. Oil sands tailings are a mixture of water, sand, fine silts, clay, residual bitumen and lighter hydrocarbons, inorganic salts and. Chemical composition of weathering products in neutral and acidic mine tailings from stibnite exploitation in slovakia.
Whole oil sands tailings resulting from waterbased bitumen extraction processes can be coflocculated, after treatment with slaked lime, with low dosages of a high molecular weight anionic polyacrylamide. Sulfur biogeochemistry of an oil sands composite tailings. Suncor energy inc, canada abstract few studies have characterized the. Showdown looming for albertas oilsands over cleanup of. Bitumen is separated from oil sand using the clark hot water. Join keith and rita in conversations that matter, a series of short videos about albertas oil sands the alberta energy regulators role. Geochemical characteristics of oil sand tailings and bitumen upgrading byproducts, alberta, canada bronwenforsyth, stephen day, srk consulting canada inc. Guidelines for performance management of oil sands fluid. A study on chemical stabilization of oil sands mature fine tailings yixuan wang. Sap based rapid dewatering of oil sands mature fine tailings by aida farkish a thesis submitted under the supervision of dr.
In northern alberta, canada, oil sands industries produce large volumes of tailings. New federal research has strongly backed suspicions that toxic chemicals from albertas vast oil sands tailings ponds are leaching into groundwater and seeping into the athabasca river. Anaerobic methanogenic hydrocarbon degradation is the source of ch4 emissions in tailings ponds. The objective of this study was to investigate the filterability of the tailings and the effect of various factors, such as tailings composition fines. Predicting oil sands tailings behaviour from clay content. The oil sands tailings ponds are settling ponds that contain the waste byproduct of oil sands extraction and upgrading.
Fluid tailings management for oil sands mining projects october 2017 necessary to ensure it appropriately enables and aligns with changes in the. Ercb approved s23 production accounting manual, interim directive id 200107. Pdf the oil sands research and information network. Oil sand tailings contain a mixture of salts, suspended solids and other dissolvable chemical compounds such as acids, benzene, hydrocarbons residual bitumen, fine silts and water. Based on the results of this thesis, ct srb appear to have a greater ability than irb to utilize recalcitrant oc e. Use of toxicity tests in studies of oil sands tailings water detoxification.
663 558 606 1000 755 78 1112 457 830 1010 724 186 890 376 420 936 153 1037 1458 897 970 1239 121 1522 79 1302 453 1362 728 1456 638 833 1474 127 1234 853 1405