Unravelling the complexity of pollution by the oil sands industry

Schindler, D. W.

doi:10.1073/pnas.1400511111

Cited by 35 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…The resultant oil sands process water (OSPW) can be recycled~18 times, and, as no discharge is permitted, storage accrues in large tailings ponds. It is estimated that tailings ponds in the region currently hold 720 billion liters of OSPW, covering an area of more than 170km 2 [3]. As oil sands production continues to increase, it is important to ensure environmental sustainability of this sector [4].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Beyond Naphthenic Acids: Environmental Screening of Water from Natural Sources and the Athabasca Oil Sands Industry Using Atmospheric Pressure Photoionization Fourier Transform Ion Cyclotron Resonance Mass Spectrometry

Barrow

Peru

Fahlman

et al. 2015

J. Am. Soc. Mass Spectrom.

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There is a growing need for environmental screening of natural waters in the Athabasca region of Alberta, Canada, particularly in the differentiation between anthropogenic and naturally-derived organic compounds associated with weathered bitumen deposits. Previous research has focused primarily upon characterization of naphthenic acids in water samples by negative-ion electrospray ionization methods. Atmospheric pressure photoionization is a much less widely used ionization method, but one that affords the possibility of observing low polarity compounds that cannot be readily observed by electrospray ionization. This study describes the first usage of atmospheric pressure photoionization Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (in both positive-ion and negative-ion modes) to characterize and compare extracts of oil sands process water, river water, and groundwater samples from areas associated with oil sands mining activities. When comparing mass spectra previously obtained by electrospray ionization and data acquired by atmospheric pressure photoionization, there can be a doubling of the number of components detected. In addition to polar compounds that have previously been observed, low-polarity, sulfur-containing compounds and hydrocarbons that do not incorporate a heteroatom were detected. These latter components, which are not amenable to electrospray ionization, have potential for screening efforts within monitoring programs of the oil sands.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Beyond Naphthenic Acids: Environmental Screening of Water from Natural Sources and the Athabasca Oil Sands Industry Using Atmospheric Pressure Photoionization Fourier Transform Ion Cyclotron Resonance Mass Spectrometry

Barrow

Peru

Fahlman

et al. 2015

J. Am. Soc. Mass Spectrom.

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“…Alberta has substantial oil extraction projects surrounding the mineable surface area (Figure 6). Other studies have shown that oil pumps and pipelines occasionally leak and increase contaminant levels locally (Timoney and Lee 2009; Schindler 2014; Korosi et al 2016). These more elusive sources of contamination could confound the effect that surface mining directly has on river otter gut bacterial community structure.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Gut Microbial Community Structure of the North American River Otter (Lontra canadensis) in the Alberta Oil Sands Region in Canada: Relationship with Local Environmental Variables and Metal Body Burden

Guo

Eccles

McMillan

et al. 2020

Enviro Toxic and Chemistry

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The Alberta Oil Sands Region in Canada is home to one of the largest oil bitumen deposits in the world. The North American river otter (Lontra canadensis) is a top predator with a small home range and is sensitive to disturbances; it has been designated as a sentinel species for the potential impacts of the natural resource exploitation on freshwater ecosystems in the Alberta Oil Sands Region. With an increasing interest in noninvasive biomarkers, recent studies suggest that gut microbiota can be used as a potential biomarker of early biological effects on aquatic wildlife. The goal of the present study was to determine the river otter gut microbial structure related to environmental variables characterizing mining activities and metal body burden. We obtained 18 trapped animals from and surrounding the surface mineable area of the Alberta Oil Sands Region. The gut microbial community structure was characterized using high-throughput sequencing of 16S rRNA gene amplicon analyses. Trace metal concentrations in the liver were measured by inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry. Our study revealed that the gut bacteria of river otters in the Alberta Oil Sands Region clustered in 4 groups dominated by Peptostreptococcaceae, Carnobacteriaceae, Enterobacteriaceae, Clostridiaceae, and Nostocaceae. We show that arsenic, barium, rubidium, liver-body weight ratio, and δ 15 N were associated with each cluster. When comparing affected versus less affected sites, we show that river otter gut bacterial community and structure are significantly related to trophic level of the river otter but not to Alberta Oil Sands Region mining activities. Our study reveals that the gut bacterial dynamics can provide insights into the diet and habitat use of river otters but that more work is needed to use it as a pollution biomarker.

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“…The current hot water extraction process for recovering bitumen from mined ore produces wet tailings that are difficult to reclaim, particularly due to paste‐like fluid fine tailings . The difficulty in treating the tailings has led to accumulation over time, and ponds now contain over 700 million m 3 of tailings and cover an area greater than 170 km 2 …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…[2] The difficulty in treating the tailings has led to accumulation over time, and ponds now contain over 700 million m 3 of tailings and cover an area greater than 170 km 2 . [3] One alternative technology is extraction of bitumen by dissolution in light hydrocarbon solvents instead of flotation in hot water. [4] With recoveries of 80-95 %, this method is less sensitive to variation in the grade of the ore and the surface properties of the solids.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Vacuum drying of cyclohexane from solvent‐extracted oil sands gangue

et al. 2016

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Solvent‐based extraction has the potential to give higher bitumen recovery from mined oil sands without further accumulation of tailings ponds. A crucial aspect of this technology is the recovery of solvent from the solid waste stream, or gangue. Experiments were performed on gangue after cyclohexane extraction from high‐ and low‐grade oil sand ores to determine the effects of drying temperatures from 25 to 105 °C and pressures from 30 to 95 kPa. Increasing temperature and decreasing pressure both increased the mass flux of evaporating cyclohexane. The maximum mass flux of cyclohexane correlated strongly with cyclohexane vapour pressure at the oven temperature. The total time required to reach a target residual cyclohexane concentration of 250 mg/kg followed a power law relationship with both temperature and pressure, ranging from 300 to 9000 s depending on oven temperature and pressure. Evaporation of solvent was slower from the gangue from low‐grade ore, with a total completion time 3.2 ± 0.9 (n = 33) times longer compared to gangue from high‐grade ore at the same temperature and pressure. The higher water and fines contents of the gangue from low‐grade ore likely contributed to this result.

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Unravelling the complexity of pollution by the oil sands industry

Cited by 35 publications

References 6 publications

Beyond Naphthenic Acids: Environmental Screening of Water from Natural Sources and the Athabasca Oil Sands Industry Using Atmospheric Pressure Photoionization Fourier Transform Ion Cyclotron Resonance Mass Spectrometry

Beyond Naphthenic Acids: Environmental Screening of Water from Natural Sources and the Athabasca Oil Sands Industry Using Atmospheric Pressure Photoionization Fourier Transform Ion Cyclotron Resonance Mass Spectrometry

The Gut Microbial Community Structure of the North American River Otter (Lontra canadensis) in the Alberta Oil Sands Region in Canada: Relationship with Local Environmental Variables and Metal Body Burden

Vacuum drying of cyclohexane from solvent‐extracted oil sands gangue

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