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，或油砂处理废水（OSPW）。OSPW通常无限期地储存在大型尾矿库中，不允许排放到地表水中。正在探索回收OSPW的成本效益解决方案，但迄今尚未实现。拟议的大学-工业合作的目标是(i)调查加拿大处理湿地回收OSPW的能力，（ii）支持处理湿地在加拿大工业中的应用。该研究包括：(1)在阿尔伯塔省新建并运行的Kearl处理湿地（TW）中对废水中碳氢化合物及其相关水生毒性的去除进行实地研究；(2)开发和测试污染物命运和毒性模型，该模型将湿地处理效率与加拿大的运行和环境条件以及监管要求联系起来。在研究中产生的实地数据和建模工作将支持加拿大未来的TWs开发和设计，这些TWs既能有效地去除污染物，又能保护栖息或访问湿地的物种。该研究项目将使工业界更好地了解加拿大OSPW回收处理湿地的可行性。研究结果有望为油砂行业提供一个潜在的解决方案，以应对OSPW的挑战。拟议的研究将利用工业的设施、操作能力和实地专业知识，以及学术界的环境化学、实验设计和数学建模专业知识。对加拿大工业的好处是增强了OSPW处理能力和提高了湿地处理的专业知识。对大学的好处是与工业界就加拿大的一个关键环境和经济问题进行接触；利用行业能力和专业知识，在绿色科技方面培训学生和其他高素质人才。对工程学科的好处包括环境处理科学技术的进一步发展。

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.