Fractionation and characterization of Syncrude sludge pond tailings

Two commercial oil sand extraction plants in Alberta generate vast quantities of tailings slurry as a result of the hot water extraction of bitumen from tar sands. The fine grained sludge component of this waste is the most troublesome because of its stability and poor compaction potential. Considerable quantities of organic matter are strongly associated with the fines contained in these clay slimes. This organic matter.is believed to be partly responsible for the intractability of the sludge and it could therefore play an important role in determining the nature of slime stability. In this investigation we have isolated organic matter from the mineral fines present in the Syncrude sludge pond tailings. The sludge was fvst fractionated into recoverable bitumen, sediment and suspension using an oil phase agglomeration technique. The organic matter, associated with the clay fines present in the suspension, was then concentrated by dissolving the mineral matter in HCUHF. These fractions have been characterized using elemental analysis and solid state 13C NMRspectroscopy.Peer reviewed: YesNRC publication: Ye