CALGARY – A major breakthrough has been made in the effort to clean up oilsands development.
Researchers at the University of Calgary have isolated tiny living organism that eat the toxic sludge found in tailings ponds.
Tailings ponds have often been ground zero for environmentalists targeting Alberta’s ‘dirty oil’. The water can be poisoned with heavy metals and hazardous waste; following remediation efforts, companies are left with toxic left over’s.
“We are hoping that we can provide a process to clean that water rather than simply pumping that water into tailings ponds hoping it goes away some day,” says Dr. Raymond Turner, U of C bio-scientist.
Dr. Turner and several other researchers began an independent experiment two years ago, isolating tiny organisms that only only survived, but thrived in tailings ponds, literally eating the poisonous materials.
Even Dr. Turner admits it was a shot in the dark but the research proved him wrong.
“He was quite pleased and shocked when we did find out we can get these multi-species bio-films growing from the tailings,” says Susanne Golder, U of C researcher.
The research team uses the analogy of a river to explain their project – the Bow River offers plenty of clean water but on the bank several organisms attached to the rocks scrub the water as it passes through.
The researchers have developed their own ‘rocks’ to house entire communities of the micro-organisms.
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“What we have done in the last year I thought would take five years so it’s accelerating rapidly,” says Dr. Turner.
The next step for the team will be building a bio reactor or treatment plant. Engineers from the University of Alberta are now helping put the bugs to the real test.
“It’s really exciting,” says Golder. “We want to see this come full circle and see it in use.”
Treatment plants could be up and operating within two years to a degree many people would think impossible.
“I would like to be able to swim in the tailings water,” says Dr. Turner.
The super bugs may offer added value as well, crystallizing the heavy metals allowing them to be recycled and sold.
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