Wetland treatment of oil sands process water

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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.