An investigation of bioamendment strategies for bitumen degradation of MFT in the oil sands industry

Large volumes of waste in the form of tailings are produced during bitumen extraction. Conventionally, whole tailings are composed of sands, clay, water and residual bitumen. One of the major challenges facing the oil sands mining industry is the economical and efficient detoxification and reclamation of the tailings pond. Cypher Environmental, in collaboration with Dr. Ania Ulrich at the University of Alberta, will assess the performance of Cypher’s UltraZyme on degrading known contaminants of concern in MFT. Information obtained from this research will provide the technical information to the organization’s development team which will be highly beneficial in evaluating new market opportunities and to promote in-house manufacturing.

Faculty Supervisor:

Ania Ulrich

Student:

Partner:

Aquarian Industries International Ltd

Discipline:

Engineering

Sector:

Professional, scientific and technical services; Wholesale trade

University:

University of Alberta

Program: