Biodegradation of cycloalkane carboxylic acids in oil sand tailings

1993 ◽  
Vol 39 (6) ◽  
pp. 576-580 ◽  
Author(s):  
David C. Herman ◽  
Phillip M. Fedorak ◽  
J. William Costerton
Keyword(s):  
Acute Toxicity ◽  
Microbial Activity ◽  
Carboxylic Acids ◽  
Microbial Degradation ◽  
Oil Sands ◽  
Naphthenic Acids ◽  
Oil Sand ◽  
Nitrogen And Phosphorus ◽  
Athabasca Oil Sands

The biodegradation of both an n-alkane and several carboxylated cycloalkanes was examined within tailings produced by the extraction of bitumen from the Athabasca oil sands. The carboxylated cycloalkanes examined were structurally similar to naphthenic acids that have been associated with the acute toxicity of oil sand tailings. The biodegradation potential of naphthenic acids was estimated by determining the biodegradation of both the carboxylated cycloalkanes and hexadecane in oil sand tailings. Carboxylated cycloalkanes were biodegraded within oil sand tailings, although compounds with methyl substitutions on the cycloalkane ring were more resistant to microbial degradation. Microbial activity against hexadecane and certain carboxylated cycloalkanes was found to be nitrogen and phosphorus limited.Key words: biodegradation, carboxylated cycloalkanes, oil sand tailings.

Biodegradation of naphthenic acids by microbial populations indigenous to oil sands tailings

1994 ◽  
Vol 40 (6) ◽  
pp. 467-477 ◽  
Author(s):  
David C. Herman ◽  
Phillip M. Fedorak ◽  
Mike D. MacKinnon ◽  
J. W. Costerton
Keyword(s):  
Organic Carbon ◽  
Acute Toxicity ◽  
Organic Acids ◽  
Microbial Activity ◽  
Oil Sands ◽  
Toxicity Testing ◽  
Naphthenic Acids ◽  
Commercial Mixture ◽  
Oil Sands Tailings ◽  
Chromatographic Peaks

Organic acids, similar in structure to naphthenic acids, have been associated with the acute toxicity of tailings produced by the oil sands industry in northeastern Alberta, Canada. Bacterial cultures enriched from oil sands tailings were found to utilize as their sole carbon source both a commercial mixture of naphthenic acids and a mixture of organic acids extracted from oil sands tailings. Gas chromatographic analysis of both the commercial naphthenic acids and the extracted organic acids revealed an unresolved "hump" formed by the presence of many overlapping peaks. Microbial activity directed against the commercial mixture of naphthenic acids converted approximately 50% of organic carbon into CO2 and resulted in a reduction in many of the gas chromatographic peaks associated with this mixture. Acute toxicity testing utilizing the Microtox test revealed a complete absence of detectable toxicity following the biodegradation of the naphthenic acids. Microbial activity mineralized approximately 20% of the organic carbon present in the extracted organic acids mixture, although there was no indication of a reduction in any gas chromatographic peaks with biodegradation. Microbial attack on the organic acids mixture reduced acute toxicity to approximately one half of the original level. Respirometric measurements of microbial activity within microcosms containing oil sands tailings were used to provide further evidence that the indigenous microbial community could biodegrade naphthenic acids and components within the extracted organic acids mixture.Key words: naphthenic acids, biodegradation, oil sands tailings, toxicity testing.

scholarly journals Adamantane Carboxylic Acids Demonstrate Mitochondrial Toxicity Consistent with Oil Sands-Derived Naphthenic Acids

2021 ◽  
pp. 100092
Author(s):  
Kate I. Rundle ◽  
Mahmoud S. Sharaf ◽  
Don Stevens ◽  
Collins Kamunde ◽  
Michael R. Heuvel
Keyword(s):  
Carboxylic Acids ◽  
Oil Sands ◽  
Naphthenic Acids ◽  
Mitochondrial Toxicity

Physiological and Biochemical Responses of Ontario Slimy Sculpin (Cottus cognatus) to Sediment from the Athabasca Oil Sands Area

2003 ◽  
Vol 38 (2) ◽  
pp. 361-377 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gerald R. Tetreault ◽  
Mark E. McMaster ◽  
D. George Dixon ◽  
Joanne L. Parrott
Keyword(s):  
Oil Sands ◽  
Production Capacity ◽  
Erod Activity ◽  
Oil Sand ◽  
Athabasca Oil Sands ◽  
Cottus Cognatus ◽  
Exposed Fish ◽  
Biochemical Responses ◽  
Slimy Sculpin

Abstract This study was conducted to evaluate whether a laboratory exposure of reference fish to oil sands sediment could produce biochemical responses (increases in 7-ethoxyresorufin-O-deethylase [EROD] activity and decreases in vitro steroid production capacity) similar to fish caught in the Athabasca Oil Sands area. Sediment samples from the Steepbank River, Alberta, were collected outside of the oil sands area at a reference site (S-Ref), within the oil sands areas where oil sand compounds leach naturally into the surface water (S-Nat), and within the natural-leach deposit areas, but also adjacent to anthropogenic mining activity (S-Dev). In the laboratory, an Ontario reference population of slimy sculpin (Cottus cognatus) were exposed to sediment concentrations of 10 or 20 g/L, for 4 and 8 d. A period of 4 d was sufficient to induce EROD activity in this species by these sediments. The EROD activity measured in exposed fish was comparable to that measured in fish native to the oil sands area. This study was not capable of predicting a reduced ability of gonadal tissue of exposed fish to produce steroid hormones in vitro, as was demonstrated in the wild fish assessment of 1999 and 2000. The short-term laboratory bioassay exposing slimy sculpin to sediment from the Athabasca Oil Sands area was not a suitable surrogate for field studies, however it could be an important tool in identifying MFO-inducing compounds in Athabasca Oil Sands sediment using a Toxicity Identification Evaluation (TIE).

Mass spectrometric and toxicological assays of Athabasca oil sands naphthenic acids

2006 ◽  
Vol 40 (4) ◽  
pp. 655-664 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chun Chi Lo ◽  
Brian G. Brownlee ◽  
Nigel J. Bunce
Keyword(s):  
Oil Sands ◽  
Naphthenic Acids ◽  
Mass Spectrometric ◽  
Athabasca Oil Sands
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