Nanocellulose Filament Treatment for Management of Oil Sand Tailings

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Performance BioFilament Inc. (PBI) is actively engaged in developing industrial applications of nanocellulose**filaments, a renewable resource product derived from wood fibre. The nanocellulose filaments have**exceptional strength and unique physical properties. These features permit the cellulose to be used as**reinforcement agents to enhance the strength and stability of a variety of materials. The company intends to**extend the application of their product to treat oil sands tailings. The oil sands mining industry in northern**Alberta has amassed a significant volume of over 1 billion cubic meters of fine grained slurry waste known as**fluid fine tailings (FFT). The FFT has poor settling properties and without treatment, the FFT would take**decades to settle and develop strength thereby delaying reclamation activities. To permit reclamation and**closure to proceed at the oil sand mine sites, the strength and density of FFT must be increased. Research is**needed to supplement current treatment approaches to stabilize the FFT and speed up the reclamation process.**It is anticipated that treatment of FFT with PBI's nanocellulose filaments would lead to a favourable increase in**strength and density. Through a series of bench top tests, measurements of potential strength and density**enhancements, as a result of treating FFT with nanocellulose filaments, will be conducted. Development of an**optimal dose and application method of the nanocellulose will also be undertaken. Ultimately, this project**aims to develop the process of using nanocellulose filaments to stabilize FFT thereby promoting faster**reclamation and closure of the oil sand tailings deposits.