Date of Award
2015
Publication Type
Master Thesis
Degree Name
M.Sc.
Department
Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research
Keywords
flux, gamma irradiation, geochemistry, naphthenic acid, oil sands
Supervisor
Christopher Weisener
Supervisor
Jan J. H. Ciborowski
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
Naphthenic acids (NA) are components of most petroleum, including those found in the Athabasca oil sands and in some systems are considered to be persistent compounds. Their presence in the environment can pose significant problems since freshly released NAs are toxic to aquatic organisms. In this investigation gamma irradiation (GI) was used to reduce the toxicity and concentration of NAs in oil sand tailings and assess the impact on biogeochemical processes. GI reduced NA concentration by up to 97% in Oil Sands Process Water (OSPW) and 85% in fluid fine tailings (FFT). Dissolved oxygen flux was stimulated directly in the GI-treated FFT in both fresh and aged sources, while increases in hydrogen sulfide flux was restricted to the fresh FFT source material. Acute toxicity to Vibrio fischeri was immediately reduced following GI treatment of fresh OSPW. GI treatment followed by 28-day incubation reduced toxicity of aged OSPW to Vibrio fischeri.
Recommended Citation
Boudens, Ryan Nicholas, "Bio-Physicochemical Effects of Gamma Irradiation Treatment for Naphthenic Acids in Oil Sands Fluid Fine Tailings" (2015). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 5703.
https://scholar.uwindsor.ca/etd/5703