Process water treatment in Canada’s oil sands industry: I. Target pollutants and treatment objectives

Process water treatment has become a critical issue for Canada’s oil sands industry. Continuous recycling of tailings pond water (TPW) has contributed to a decline in water quality that has consequences for bitumen recovery, water consumption, and reclamation efforts. Potential roles for water treatment were assessed through a review of process water quality and toxicity data from two long-term oil sands operations. Target pollutants were identified according to exceedances of environmental and industrial water quality guidelines. From 1980 to 2001, the salinity of TPW increased at a rate of 75 mg/L per year. Recent increases in hardness, sulphate, chloride, and ammonia have raised concerns over scaling and corrosion. Naphthenic acids released during bitumen extraction are the primary source of toxicity in TPW. Biodegradation of naphthenic acids has been demonstrated in pond experiments;; however, recalcitrant compounds may contribute to chronic toxicity in reclaimed environments. Water treatment objectives established in this review provide benchmarks for the selection of candidate water treatment technologies.