Wetland treatment of oil sands process water

从加拿大油砂中提取沥青会产生大量的碳氢化合物污染废水，或称油砂加工废水(OSPW)。OSPW通常无限期储存在大型尾矿库中，不允许排放到地表水中。目前正在探索具有成本效益的办法来回收OSPW，但到目前为止还没有实现。拟议的大学和行业合作的目的是(I)调查处理湿地在加拿大开垦OSPW的能力，以及(Ii)支持在加拿大将处理湿地应用于工业。这项研究涉及(I)在艾伯塔省新建和运行的Kearl处理湿地(TW)中对废水中碳氢化合物的去除及其相关水生毒性的实地研究，以及(Ii)开发和测试将湿地处理效率与加拿大的运行和环境条件以及法规要求联系起来的污染物去向和毒性模型。研究中产生的现场数据和建模工作将支持加拿大未来TW的开发和设计，这些TW既能有效地去除污染物，又能对栖息或访问湿地的物种安全。这项研究项目将使业界更好地了解在加拿大处理OSPW填海湿地的可行性。预计这一结果将使油砂行业了解应对OSPW挑战的一个潜在解决方案。拟议的研究将利用工业界的设施、运营能力和实地专业知识，以及学术界的环境化学、实验设计和数学模型专业知识。对加拿大工业的好处是提高了OSPW的处理能力和改进了湿地处理方面的专业知识。该大学的好处是在加拿大的一个关键环境和经济问题上与工业界接触；利用工业界的能力和专业知识，并培训学生和其他高素质的绿色技术人员。对工程学科的好处包括环境处理科学和技术的进一步发展。

Bitumen extraction from the Canadian Oil Sands generates large quantities of hydrocarbon contaminated wastewater, or Oil Sands Process Wastewater (OSPW). OSPW is usually stored in large tailings ponds indefinitely and not allowed to be discharged to surface waters. Cost effective solutions for reclaiming OSPW are being explored but have not been realized to date. The objective of the proposed university-industry collaboration are (i) to investigate the ability of treatment wetlands to reclaim OSPW in Canada and (ii) to support the application of treatment wetland for industry in Canada. The research involves (i) field studies of the removal of hydrocarbons and their associated aquatic toxicity from wastewater in a newly built and operational Kearl Treatment Wetland (TW) in Alberta and (ii) the development and testing of a contaminant fate and toxicity model that relates wetland treatment efficiency to operational and environmental conditions in Canada and regulatory requirements.The field data and modelling efforts generated in the study will support future development and design of TWs in Canada that are both effective in removing contaminants and safe for species inhabiting or visiting the wetland. This research project will allow industry to better understand the feasibility of treatment wetlands for OSPW reclamation in Canada. The results are expected to inform the oil sands industry on one potential solution to the OSPW challenge. The proposed research will take advantage of facilities, operating capacity and on-the-ground expertise of industry, and environmental chemistry, experimental design and mathematical modeling expertise from academia. Benefits to Canadian industry are enhanced OSPW treatment capacity and improved expertise in wetland treatment. Benefits to the University are to engage with industry on a key environmental and economic issue in Canada; to take advantage of industry capacity and expertise and to train students and other highly qualified personnel in green technology. Benefits to the engineering discipline include further development of environmental treatment science and technology.