The 5th Chemical and Materials Engineering Graduate Research Symposium
 
Characterization of MFT in the Context of its Response
to Chemical Treatment
 
Presenter: Mohammad Reza Salehi
Co-authors: Jacob H. Masliyah, and Zhenghe Xu
 
 
The continuous accumulation of mature fine tailings (MFT) is a major challenge to oil sands industry. To reduce the inventory of MFT through development of novel tailings treatment technologies, it is essential to understand the stabilization mechanism of fine solids in MFT. This  project aims at characterizing fine solids of MFT. A novel method will be developed in this study to understand characteristics of fine solids in MFT by studying their responses to the change of water chemistry. The settling and rheological responses of MFT to dilution with water of different chemistry will be determined. Combined with solids characterization at different layer of settled MFT, an enhanced understanding on stabilization of fine solids in MFT is anticipated. The knowledge generated through this study will provide scientific basis for technology development of MFT treatment.