Date of Award
2015
Publication Type
Master Thesis
Degree Name
M.Sc.
Department
Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research
Keywords
athabasca, biostabilization, chemical, flux, redox, tailings
Supervisor
Christopher G Weisener
Rights
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Abstract
Extraction of raw bitumen from the Athabasca Oil Sands through open-pit mining produces waste materials called tailings, which are housed in large settling basins called tailings ponds. As consolidation of fines (sands, silts and clays) occurs, biogeochemical cycling of nutrients and an overall REDOX environment establishes, as with any natural wetland or lake sediment environment. These biogeochemical processes play a role in the dynamic nature of these tailings ponds over time, and directly implicate the future fate of these ponds as they are prepared for reclamation to wetlands or End-Pit Lake environments. This thesis tracks general chemistry and physico-chemical gradients within two different tailings materials over the course of the study, providing measurements of O2 and HS- diffusive flux measurements at the tailings-water interface. Further, the effects of biota on the stabilization of these tailings materials, when subjected to an applied shear stress at the interface is studied, with implications on sediment/contaminant erosion and transport.
Recommended Citation
Reid, Thomas, "Physicochemical gradients, diffusive flux and biostabilization of oil sands tailings material" (2015). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 5683.
https://scholar.uwindsor.ca/etd/5683