Biological treatment options for consolidated tailings release waters
Conference
·
OSTI ID:242335
- EVS Environment Consultants, North Vancouver, British Columbia (Canada)
Suncor Inc., Oil Sands Group, operates a large oil sands mining and extraction operation in northeastern Alberta. The extraction plant produces large volumes of a tailings slurry which resists dewatering and treatment, and is toxic to aquatic organisms. Consolidated tailings (CT) technology is used to treat tailings by either acid/lime or gypsum and enhances the possibility of treating residual fine tails in a ``dry`` land reclamation scenario and treating the release water in a wastewater treatment reclamation scenario. The objective was to assess the treatability of CT release water (i.e., the reduction of acute and chronic toxicities to trout, Ceriodaphnia, and bacteria) in bench-scale biological treatment systems. Microtox{reg_sign} IC20 test showed complete detoxification for the gypsum CT release water within 3 to 5 weeks compared with little reduction in toxicity for dyke drainage. Acute toxicity (fish) and chronic toxicity (Ceriodaphnia, bacterial) was removed from both CT release waters. Phosphate and aeration enhanced detoxification rates. Concentrations of naphthenic acids (an organic toxicant) were not reduced, but levels of dissolved organic compounds decreased faster than was the case for dyke drainage water, indicating that some of the organic compounds in both acid/lime and gypsum CT waters were more biodegradable. There was a pattern of increasing toxicity for dyke drainage water which confirmed observations during field-scale testing in the constructed wetlands and which was not observed for CT release waters. Acid/lime and gypsum CT water can be treated biologically in either an aeration pond, constructed wetlands, or a combination of both thereby avoiding the expense of long-term storage and/or conventional waste treatment systems.
- OSTI ID:
- 242335
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-9511137--; ISBN 1-880611-03-1
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Isolation and characterization of acutely toxic fractions in oil sands wastewater
Final report on the toxicological testing of groundwaters affected by underground coal gasification
Toxicological characterization of water produced during simulated in-situ processing of a reference shale. Progress report. [Treated, untreated and fractionated process water]
Conference
·
Sat Dec 30 23:00:00 EST 1995
·
OSTI ID:242329
Final report on the toxicological testing of groundwaters affected by underground coal gasification
Technical Report
·
Mon Sep 01 00:00:00 EDT 1986
·
OSTI ID:6259749
Toxicological characterization of water produced during simulated in-situ processing of a reference shale. Progress report. [Treated, untreated and fractionated process water]
Technical Report
·
Fri Feb 28 23:00:00 EST 1986
·
OSTI ID:5369829