NAIT Applied Research Centre for Oil Sands Sustainability (NARCOSS)

2009年9月，艾伯塔省政府能源节约委员会(ERCB)执行了第074号指令--“油砂开采计划的尾矿性能标准和要求”。该指令规定了减少流体尾矿和在油砂中形成可运输的可回收沉积物的性能标准。自该指令实施以来，油砂行业一直在集中努力开发符合该指令的技术。“油砂环境可持续性：北艾伯塔省理工学院(NAIT)绿色化学与工程中心(CGCE)”研究项目的目的是：1)将北艾伯塔省理工学院在化学和工程方面的多学科应用研究能力与中小型企业(SME)和油砂运营商整合起来，以筛选、验证和协助进一步开发流体尾矿处理技术，使之能够遵守指令074；以及2)开发现场和实验室的精确测量系统和方法。CGCE团队从端到端系统的角度处理挑战，以确保系统某一领域的解决方案不会对其他领域产生负面影响。这包括流体尾矿的脱水和稳定，结合对系统化学的了解，以及释放的受工艺影响的水处理。这项研究将由绿色化学和工程(GCE)原则的应用推动，该原则侧重于可持续研究和开发。这是预料之中的， 该计划将通过与中小企业的合作以及油砂开采运营商可能实施和采用的新技术，带来实质性的创新。这给中小企业、油砂运营商、艾伯塔省和加拿大带来了显著的环境和经济效益。通过提高创新、研究和教学能力，NAIT研究人员和学生将在艾伯塔省和整个加拿大的环境工程领域感受到未来的好处。

The Energy Resources Conservation Board (ERCB) of the Government of Alberta implemented Directive 074, "Tailings Performance Criteria and Requirement for Oil Sands Mining Schemes" in September 2009. The Directive specifies performance criteria for the reduction of fluid tailings and the formation of trafficable reclaimable deposits in the oil sands. Since its implementation, there has been a concentrated effort by the oil sands industry to develop technologies that comply with the Directive. The aim of the "Oil Sands Environmental Sustainability: Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT) Centre for Green Chemistry and Engineering (CGCE)" research program, is to 1) integrate NAIT's multidisciplinary applied research capacities in chemistry and engineering with small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and oil sands operators to screen, validate, and assist in further developing fluid tailings treatment technologies to enable Directive 074 compliance, and 2) develop accurate measurement systems and methods, both in the field and in the laboratory. The CGCE team approaches the challenges from an end-to-end systems perspective to ensure that solutions in one area of the system do not negatively impact other areas. This includes the de-watering and stabilization of fluid tailings combined with understanding the system chemistries, and released process-affected water treatment. The research will be driven by the application of Green Chemistry and Engineering (GCE) principles, which focus on sustainable research and development. It is anticipated, that this program will lead to substantial innovations through collaborations with SMEs and the potential implementation and adaptation of new technologies by oil sands mining operators. The environmental and economic benefits to SMEs, oil sands operators, Alberta and Canada are significant. The benefits for NAIT researchers and students by means of increased innovation, research and instructional capacity will be felt into the future for Alberta, and in the field of environmental engineering throughout Canada.