Abstract

AbstractCommercial Magnafloc 1011 (Percol 727) polymer and in‐house synthesised Al‐PAM polymer were used to flocculate oil sands tailings that were derived from low and high fines oil sands ores. Fines are defined as mineral solids less than 44 µm. The performance of polymers was evaluated in terms of tailings settling, filtration rate, and final moisture content of tilter cakes. Both polymers were shown to effectively flocculate the derived oil sands tailings and hence to enhance tailings settling. Al‐PAM performed very well as a filtration aid. The final moisture content of the filter cake obtained from tailings derived from the low fines ore was 6.6 ± 1.2 wt.% and that from the high fines ore was 16.9 ± 0.8 wt.%. This class of polymer can provide an alternative approach for oil sands tailings disposal that has the potential to eliminate tailings ponds. However, the commercial Magnafloc 1011 polymer was found ineffective as a filtration aid for the two tailings tested in this study.

Talk to us

Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have

Schedule a call

Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.