A Deep Look into the Microbiology and Chemistry of Froth Treatment Tailings: A Review

Dongen, Angeline Van; Samad, Abdul; Heshka, Nicole E.; Rathie, Kara; Martineau, Christine; Bruant, Guillaume; Degenhardt, Dani

doi:10.3390/microorganisms9051091

Cited by 4 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 69 publications

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“…For Canada's Oil Sands mining tailings ponds, residual diluent in the tailings undergoes simultaneous sulfidogenesis and methanogenesis in the mature fine tailings (MFT) layer [8]- [13]. Currently methane and other volatile organic carbons (VOCs) represent the majority of emissions from these tailings ponds [8], [9], but the convective transport of methane from the MFT to the tailings pond surface can act as a carrier for malodourous sulfur emissions (H2S) [11], [13], circumventing the natural sulfur cycle in the pond. These RSC emissions may affect the local air quality and pose a potential health risk to nearby communities and operators [14]- [16].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A solar photocatalytic floating reactive barrier for aqueous gas emissions interception and treatment

Martin¹,

Leshuk²,

Wilson

et al. 2023

Preprint

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Reduced sulfur compounds produced as a by-product of anaerobic digestion pose a significant health and environmental hazard for nearby communities. Here we assessed a novel floating reactive barrier (FRB), comprised of buoyant photocatalysts (BPCs), as a passive solution to intercept and treat malodorous compounds before crossing the air-water interface. Using industry provided samples of oil sands process water (OSPW) containing anaerobically produced aqueous sulfide, the FRB system was evaluated at both the bench and pilot scale. The photocatalytic FRB demonstrated a 95% reduction in H2S emissions at the lab scale and up to 98% at the pilot-scale under outdoor weather conditions and natural sunlight. H2S emissions intercepted by the FRB were found to be oxidized to non-volatile sulfate. An empirical reactive transport model describing the performance of the FRB is proposed informed by the results obtained in this work. The photocatalytic FRB described herein is proven to be an effective measure for the mitigation of potentially hazardous reduced sulfur compound emissions under solar UV conditions.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A solar photocatalytic floating reactive barrier for aqueous gas emissions interception and treatment

Martin¹,

Leshuk²,

Wilson

et al. 2023

Preprint

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“…To remove residual water and solids from the bitumen froth, a hydrocarbon diluent is added, and settling and/or centrifugation processes are applied [7,8]. These froth treatment processes produce diluted bitumen that has been separated from the aforementioned bitumen froth, and froth treatment tailings (FTT) [9]. Solvent recovery processes are applied to remove and recycle as much diluent as possible from the FTT, but a fraction (<2 wt.%) of residual diluent remains [10].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Methane released from ponds that contain FTT is a by-product of the microbial breakdown of the residual diluent hydrocarbons that remain in the FTT [11][12][13]. The diluent used is either naphthenic or paraffinic, depending on the operator, and the extraction process used; FTT deposits will contain one or the other diluent, but not both [9,14]. The naphthenic diluent contains hydrocarbons in approximately the C6-C12 range, with both linear and cyclic isomeric structures [15][16][17], while paraffinic diluents contain isomers of pentane and hexane [16].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The naphthenic diluent contains hydrocarbons in approximately the C6-C12 range, with both linear and cyclic isomeric structures [15][16][17], while paraffinic diluents contain isomers of pentane and hexane [16]. Understanding and quantifying the residual diluent hydrocarbons in these ponds is a key component to elucidating the pathways that lead to methane generation, as well as correlating microbial activity with the chemistry of the FTT deposits [9,18]. While individual companies likely have internal methodologies for the measurement of diluent hydrocarbons from tailings, and some publications have made reference to these [19,20], they are not reported in the literature.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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An optimized extraction and gas chromatography analysis method for the quantification of diluent hydrocarbons in froth treatment tailings

Heshka

Rathie

Degenhardt

2023

J of Separation Science

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Froth treatment tailings are one type of waste stream generated during the extraction of surface-mined oil sands bitumen. To remove water and solids from bitumen froth recovered during the water-based extraction process, hydrocarbon diluent is added, and settling and/or centrifugation are applied to the diluted bitumen froth, producing diluted bitumen and froth treatment tailings. While recovery processes are in place to remove and recycle the diluent from froth treatment tailings, some residual diluent can remain. Since tailings are stored in outdoor ponds, the residual diluent can have implications for methanogenic microbial processes and resulting greenhouse gas emissions. This work presents a methodology to accurately extract and quantify diluent hydrocarbons from froth treatment tailings using gas chromatography. A cold-start temperature program is used to separate diluent hydrocarbons from any residual bitumen in the sample, and diluent is quantified using commercial standards as well as unprocessed diluent. A series of extraction parameters were tested and results from multiple conditions are shown with a rationale for the selected optimized parameters. Quantification of diluent in tailings samples is demonstrated from 60 to 5329 μg/g, and results from quality control standards show an average diluent recovery of 100 ± 10%.

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“…Although the residual organic fraction of tailings only accounts for a few % of the total composition by weight, it is viewed as a liability for four reasons. First, the residual organics are a substrate leading to fugitive methane emissions. ,− Second, residual organic components can lead to the contamination of ground and surface waters. − Third, residual organics have been linked to the slow consolidation and low shear strength of FFTs. − Finally, the presence of residual organics is believed to reduce the overall effectiveness of polymeric flocculants and requires higher concentrations of polymeric flocculants …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Characterization and Dynamics of Residual Organics in Oil Sands Fluid Fine Tailings

2022

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Fluid fine tailings (FFTs) generated by the surface mining of oil sand ore bodies are high-water-content, clay-rich materials that contain unrecovered bitumen and additional residual organics, including solvents used during bitumen extraction. Despite a large accumulated inventory of these tailings and despite the environmental implications and challenges that the presence of organics poses, little is known about the differences in the residual organics generated by different bitumen extraction processes and about the effects of polymeric flocculation on mineral–organic interactions. This study investigated residual organics in two compositionally different FFTs both before and after flocculation with a commercially available polyacrylamide polymer. Thermogravimetric (TG) analysis, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, and evolved gas analysis (EGA-TG-FTIR) were used to characterize the makeup of total organics, free bitumen, and mineral-associated organics. These observations highlighted distinct differences between the FFTs. Relative to the sample receiving waste only from the bitumen extraction process (FFT-1), the FFT sample that received waste from both the extraction and the froth treatment processes (FFT-2) exhibited a higher residual organic content and a larger fraction of lower-molecular-mass organic substances and showed a proportionally smaller release of free bitumen as a result of the washing process, evidence of a higher fraction of mineral-associated organics. Moreover, TG and FTIR analyses showed that the free bitumen released from both FFTs contained a higher fraction of lighter organics and was characterized by a more ordered molecular structure compared to the remaining organics. Finally, the study also found that the bitumen release characteristics of FFT-1 were fundamentally different from those of FFT-2. Bitumen release continued to be observed from both FFTs after polymeric flocculation.

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A Deep Look into the Microbiology and Chemistry of Froth Treatment Tailings: A Review

Cited by 4 publications

References 69 publications

A solar photocatalytic floating reactive barrier for aqueous gas emissions interception and treatment

A solar photocatalytic floating reactive barrier for aqueous gas emissions interception and treatment

An optimized extraction and gas chromatography analysis method for the quantification of diluent hydrocarbons in froth treatment tailings

Characterization and Dynamics of Residual Organics in Oil Sands Fluid Fine Tailings

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