Barley, a Potential Species for Initial Reclamation of Saline Composite Tailings of Oil Sands

2003 ◽  
Vol 32 (6) ◽  
pp. 2245-2253 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sylvie Renault ◽  
Mike MacKinnon ◽  
Clara Qualizza
Keyword(s):  
Oil Sands ◽  
Composite Tailings

Methanogenic potential of tailings samples from oil sands extraction plants

2002 ◽  
Vol 48 (1) ◽  
pp. 21-33 ◽  
Author(s):  
Phillip M Fedorak ◽  
Debora L Coy ◽  
Myrna J Salloum ◽  
Marvin J Dudas
Keyword(s):  
Methane Production ◽  
Oil Sands ◽  
Sulfate Reducing Bacteria ◽  
Extraction Process ◽  
Hot Water ◽  
Electron Donors ◽  
Sulfate Reducing ◽  
Settling Ponds ◽  
Reducing Bacteria ◽  
Composite Tailings

Approximately 20% of Canada's oil supply now comes from the extraction of bitumen from the oil sands deposits in northeastern Alberta. The oil sands are strip-mined, and the bitumen is typically separated from sand and clays by an alkaline hot water extraction process. The rapidly expanding oil sands industry has millions of cubic metres of tailings for disposal and large areas of land to reclaim. There are estimates that the consolidation of the mature fine tails (MFT) in the settling ponds will take about 150 years. Some of the settling ponds are now evolving microbially produced methane, a greenhouse gas. To hasten consolidation, gypsum (CaSO4·2H2O) is added to MFT, yielding materials called consolidated or composite tailings (CT). Sulfate from the gypsum has the potential to stimulate sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB) to out-compete methanogens, thereby stopping methanogenesis. This investigation examined three MFT and four CT samples from three oil sands extractions companies. Each was found to contain methanogens and SRB. Serum bottle microcosm studies showed sulfate in the CT samples stopped methane production. However, if the microcosms were amended with readily utilizable electron donors, the sulfate was consumed, and when it reached approximately 20 mg/L, methane production began. Some unamended microcosms were incubated for 372 days, with no methane production detected. This work showed that each MFT and CT sample has the potential to become methanogenic, but in the absence of exogenous electron donors, the added sulfate can inhibit methanogenesis for a long time.Key words: consolidated tailings, composite tailings, methanogens, oil sands, sulfate-reducing bacteria.

Towards an integrated oil sands mine plan and composite tailings plan

2012 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 103-126 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samira Kalantari ◽  
Eugene Ben-Awuah ◽  
Hooman Askari-Nasab
Keyword(s):  
Oil Sands ◽  
Mine Plan ◽  
Composite Tailings

scholarly journals Sulfur Biogeochemistry of an Oil Sands Composite Tailings Deposit

2016 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lesley A. Warren ◽  
Kathryn E. Kendra ◽  
Allyson L. Brady ◽  
Greg F. Slater
Keyword(s):  
Oil Sands ◽  
Sulfur Biogeochemistry ◽  
Composite Tailings

Megaloads and Mobilization

2017 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-7
Author(s):  
Corrie Grosse
Keyword(s):  
Oil Sands ◽  
Fossil Fuel ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Nez Perce ◽  
Grassroots Organizations ◽  
Canadian Province ◽  
Creation Story ◽  
Oil Companies ◽  
Heavy Crude ◽  
Ways Of Life

From 2011 to 2014 fossil fuel corporations trucked tar sands processing machinery along rural Idaho highways. The machinery was bound for the world's largest deposits of tar or oil sands, a heavy crude oil substance called bitumen, located in the western Canadian province of Alberta. These loads of machinery, what became known as megaloads, encountered much resistance. Throughout Idaho and the surrounding region, a network organized opposition. Neighbors, grassroots organizations, nonprofits, and the Nez Perce and other tribes all collaborated. They held information sessions, protested, waged legal battles, monitored the loads, and blockaded highways. What oil companies hoped would be a cost-effective solution for transporting their megaloads became a David versus Goliath, Coyote versus the Monster—to reference the Nez Perce creation story—struggle to protect rural and indigenous ways of life and sovereignty, and the planet.

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