Abstract
AbstractThe oil sands industry has contributed to the Canadian economy for over 50 years. Challenges have arisen, however, due to worldwide concerns regarding the long‐term environmental impact of waste by‐products generated in the bitumen extraction process from oil sands. Reclaiming legacy tailings and reducing the number of ponds are two of these challenges. This article describes the synthesis and characterization of amylopectin‐graft‐hydrolyzed‐poly(methyl acrylate) copolymers with different graft lengths and densities, and how they can be used to treat oil sands tailings. Flocculation and dewatering results depend strongly on how the hydrophobic amylopectin backbones are combined with the hydrophilic hydrolyzed poly(methyl acrylate) grafts. These hybrid polymers, combining a natural backbone with synthetic grafts, seem to be an attractive alternative to treat oil sands and probably other mineral ore tailings.
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