Effect of various treatments on consolidation of oil sands fluid fine tailings

Abstract

Regulatory policy and regulations in Alberta require oil sands companies to reduce their production and storage of fluid fine tailings by creating deposits that can be reclaimed in a timely manner. To meet the regulatory requirements, some companies are adding flocculants to the fluid fine tailings and then using thickeners, inline flocculation or centrifuges to increase the solids content. Freeze–thaw and drying processes are then used to further dewater the tailings. The effects of flocculating, thickening, and freeze–thaw treatments were investigated by performing large-strain consolidation and shear strength tests on these treated fluid fine tailings. The consolidation and shear strength results were then compared with those of untreated fluid fine tailings. All of the treatments increased the hydraulic conductivity of the fluid fine tailings to some degree, but had little to no effect on the compressibility and shear strength. The effects of the treatment processes are discussed and evaluated.