Rare Earth Elements in Alberta Oil Sand Process Streams
Abstract
The concentrations of rare earth elements in Alberta, Canada oil sands and six oil sand waste streams were determined using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP–MS). The results indicate that the rare earth elements (REEs) are largely concentrated in the tailings solvent recovery unit (TSRU) sample compared to the oil sand itself. The concentration of lanthanide elements is ~1100 mg/kg (1100 ppm or 0.11 weight %), which represents a >20× increase in the concentration compared to the oil sand itself and a >7× increase compared to the North American Shale Composite (NASC). The process water, which is used to extract the oil from oil sands, and the water fraction associated with the different waste streams had very low concentrations of REEs that were near or below the detection limits of the instrument, with the highest total concentration of REEs in the water fraction being less than 10 μg/L (ppb). Size and density separations were completed, and the REEs and other potentially interesting and valuable metals, such as Ti and Zr, were concentrated in different fractions. These results give insights into the possibility of recovering REEs from waste streams generated from oil sand processing.
- Authors:
-
[1];
[2]
- National Energy Technology Lab. (NETL), Pittsburgh, PA, (United States); AECOM, Pittsburgh, PA (United States)
- National Energy Technology Lab. (NETL), Pittsburgh, PA, (United States)
- Publication Date:
- Research Org.:
- National Energy Technology Lab. (NETL), Pittsburgh, PA, (United States). In-house Research
- Sponsoring Org.:
- USDOE Office of Fossil Energy (FE)
- OSTI Identifier:
- 1393393
- Report Number(s):
- CONTR-PUB-270
Journal ID: ISSN 0887-0624
- Grant/Contract Number:
- FE0004000
- Resource Type:
- Accepted Manuscript
- Journal Name:
- Energy and Fuels
- Additional Journal Information:
- Journal Volume: 31; Journal Issue: 5; Journal ID: ISSN 0887-0624
- Publisher:
- American Chemical Society (ACS)
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
- Subject:
- 04 OIL SHALES AND TAR SANDS; Rare Earth Elements; Oil Sands; Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS); Extraction; Trace Elements; Mine Wastes
Citation Formats
Roth, Elliot, Bank, Tracy, Howard, Bret, and Granite, Evan. Rare Earth Elements in Alberta Oil Sand Process Streams. United States: N. p., 2017.
Web. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.energyfuels.6b03184.
Roth, Elliot, Bank, Tracy, Howard, Bret, & Granite, Evan. Rare Earth Elements in Alberta Oil Sand Process Streams. United States. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.energyfuels.6b03184
Roth, Elliot, Bank, Tracy, Howard, Bret, and Granite, Evan. Wed .
"Rare Earth Elements in Alberta Oil Sand Process Streams". United States. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.energyfuels.6b03184. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1393393.
@article{osti_1393393,
title = {Rare Earth Elements in Alberta Oil Sand Process Streams},
author = {Roth, Elliot and Bank, Tracy and Howard, Bret and Granite, Evan},
abstractNote = {The concentrations of rare earth elements in Alberta, Canada oil sands and six oil sand waste streams were determined using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP–MS). The results indicate that the rare earth elements (REEs) are largely concentrated in the tailings solvent recovery unit (TSRU) sample compared to the oil sand itself. The concentration of lanthanide elements is ~1100 mg/kg (1100 ppm or 0.11 weight %), which represents a >20× increase in the concentration compared to the oil sand itself and a >7× increase compared to the North American Shale Composite (NASC). The process water, which is used to extract the oil from oil sands, and the water fraction associated with the different waste streams had very low concentrations of REEs that were near or below the detection limits of the instrument, with the highest total concentration of REEs in the water fraction being less than 10 μg/L (ppb). Size and density separations were completed, and the REEs and other potentially interesting and valuable metals, such as Ti and Zr, were concentrated in different fractions. These results give insights into the possibility of recovering REEs from waste streams generated from oil sand processing.},
doi = {10.1021/acs.energyfuels.6b03184},
journal = {Energy and Fuels},
number = 5,
volume = 31,
place = {United States},
year = {2017},
month = {4}
}
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Works referencing / citing this record:
Investigation of Thulium and Other Rare Earth Element Mass Fractions in NIST SRM 1632a Bituminous Coal Reference Material by Quadrupole ICP-MS
journal, February 2018
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Recovery of extra-heavy oil and minerals from carbonate asphalt rocks by reactive extraction
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Mesoporous SiO2 Nanoparticles: A Unique Platform Enabling Sensitive Detection of Rare Earth Ions with Smartphone Camera
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