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An Investigation of the Methylene Blue Titration Method for Clay Activity of Oil Sands Samples
Download2014-12-04
Currie, R., Mian, H., Bansal, S., Khan, I.
The purpose of this report is to use a design of experiment (DOE) approach to examine the main factors affecting the determination of methylene blue index (MBI) values for oil sands samples. The methylene blue titration of clays has become a principle tool to assess extraction efficiency of oil...
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Benign-by-Design: Synthesis of Engineered Silicon Nanoparticles and their Application to Oil Sands Water Contaminant Remediation
Download2013-11-29
Iqbal, M., Veinot, J.G.C., Purkait, T.K., Goss, G.G.
Oil sands are naturally occurring mixtures of sand or clay, water, fine silts, and bitumen. The oil sands extraction process consumes large volumes of water (i.e., ca. 3 barrels of fresh water for every 1 barrel of oil). Following the extraction of bitumen from the oil sands, a tailings slurry...
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2012-05-31
Mian, H., Currie, R., Zhao, B.
The purpose of this report is to identify challenges in analyzing naphthenic acids (NAs) associated with oil sands process water (OSPW). Naphthenic acids are present naturally in oil sands bitumen and have the classical formula CnH2n+ZO2. Within this formula n represents the carbon number and Z...
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Characterizing the Organic Composition of Snow and Surface Water Across the Athabasca Region: Phase 2
Download2014-12-15
Gibson, J., Birks, J., Cho, S., Taylor, E., Yi, Y.
This study was conducted to characterize the composition of polar dissolved organic compounds present in snow and surface waters in the Athabasca Oil Sands Region (AOSR) with the goal of identifying whether atmospherically-derived organics present in snow are an important contributor to the...
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Designer Biochar-Coke Mixtures to Remove Naphthenic Acids from Oil Sands Process-Affected Water (OSPW)
Download2014-11-27
Alessi, D.S., Alam, M S., Kohler, M.C.
The objective of this 6-month pilot experimental study was to test the ability of biochars derived from Alberta biomass and an oil sands petroleum coke to remove selected organic acids from water. To this end, we selected one biochar produced from wheat straw and made by the Alberta Biochar...
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Development of a Novel Engineered Bioprocess for Oil Sands Process-Affected Water and Tailings Fines/Bitumen/Water Separation
Download2014-12-09
Gamal El-Din, M., McPhedran, K., Islam, M.S.
The oil sands bitumen extraction process results in the creation of waste products including oil sands process-affected water (OSPW) and mature fine tailings (MFT). Many technologies are currently under investigation to treat these waste products that are currently contained in vast storage...
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2013-10-18
The oil sands industry in Alberta produces large volumes of process-affected water (PAW), which is known to contain heavy metals and organic compounds (such as naphthenic acids, naphthalene, phenanthrene, pyrene, etc.) that are toxic and hazardous to the environment. The industry has an ongoing...
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Isotopic and Geochemical Tracers for Fingerprinting Process-Affected Waters in the Oil Sands Industry: A Pilot Study
Download2011-04-04
Jasechko, K., Gibson, J.J., Moncur, M., Birks, S.J., Tattrie, S., Yi, Y., Eby, P., Richardson, K.
A pilot study was conducted by Alberta Innovates – Technology Futures during 2009 and 2010 to assess potential for labelling process-affected water from oil sands operations using a suite of isotopic and geochemical tracers, including inorganic and organic compounds in water. The study was...
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Microcosm Evaluation of Community Level Physiological Profiling in Oil Sands Process Affected Water
Download2012-11-02
Eaton, B., Humphries, D., Davies, J.
A microcosm-based experiment was conducted to investigate the ability of community level physiological profiling (CLPP) to detect changes in an aquatic microbial community resulting from exposure to oil sands process affected water (OSPW). Detection of the microbial response was done by using...
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Next Generation Sequencing of Protists as a Measure of Microbial Community in Oil Sands Tailings Ponds: Amplicon Versus Metagenomic Approaches
Download2014-11-21
Aquilar, M., Glücksman, E., Bass, D., Dacks, J.B.
The Alberta oil sands provide a major benefit to the province as an economic driver. At the same time, their responsible exploitation, particularly in mitigating the environmental impact of oil extraction stands as a significant challenge to be addressed. One of the most contentious aspects is...