Engineered bacteria for treating mature fine tailings generated from bitumen mining processes

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Currently the production of tailings is an unavoidable consequence of the bitumen mining process used in the Canadian oil sands industry. Current treatment strategies are unable to cause rapid settling or the effective dewatering of mature fine tailings. Moreover, the widespread deployment of current flocculation strategies is both costly and has the potential to negatively impact the environment. As greater quantities of tailings are produced the need for a complete, environmentally-friendly and economically viable treatment becomes more urgent. It is proposed herein, that bacteria - already native to tailings ponds - will be engineered to actively cause settling and dewatering of tailings. By engineering these bacteria surfaces to mimic the properties of conventional polymers, already shown to be useful in tailings treatment, it is expected that these self-replicating bacteria will provide both an environmentally safe and significantly cheaper alternative to polymer flocculants. Moreover, as engineered bacteria will settle along with suspended solids and naturally dewater upon death, it is expected that a more compact mature fine tailings will be formed. Finally, safety through genetic engineering has been considered using best practice principles to ensure no environmental harm occurs through the use of these bacteria.