Oil Sands Operators Address environmental Regulation Challenges

Mitigating a decades-old mess demands a concentrated effort of producers and suppliers, and they are up to the challenge

By Sue McGregor, Vice President, Western Canada General Manager, Aggreko

According to Directive 74, Canada’s oil sands producers must make a 90 percent reduction in the fine clay particles suspended in tailing ponds by 2014. Achieving this goal safely, economically and in an environmentally acceptable way will be a considerable challenge.

Oil sands production creates huge tailing ponds in which the remaining water and solid material is contained to prevent it from draining into the local watercourses. The middle layer of the pond, known as “mature fine tailings”, consists of 70 percent water and 30 percent fine clay, and it can take decades for the solids to settle out. only after separation can the liquids be treated to remove any residual hydrocarbons. In the meantime, the ponds are considered eyesores and hazardous to wildlife.

Several solutions have been proposed for dealing with the tailing ponds, from installing high-capacity centrifuges to speed up the formation of the solids, to applying other waste treatment techniques such as polymer additions, carbon dioxide injections and flocculating agents. however, operators want to test the suitability of these approaches before committing the significant necessary investment in permanent facilities.

The time available to test the different approaches is limited to the warmer months, from late May to October. Additional constraints occur during the annual ‘break-up’, when highway or site transportation is severely restricted. In addition many oil sands production sites do not have utility power available near the testing locations, and the lead time to bring utilities in is not an option due to tight deadlines.

Power when it’s needed rental power specialists such as Aggreko have the expertise to both resolve the power issue quickly and to contribute to the front-end engineering and design (Feed), ensuring projects are properly sized and robust.

By taking care of preparatory design work during the winter, and pre-staging equipment before the spring break-up, a rental power specialist can offer customers the maximum time in which to deploy and test proposed tailing pond solutions. The customer can then assess the proposal for performance, reliability, and economy including both front-end costs and operating expenses.

The reliable electric power that is critical to such operations can be supplied in a number of ways. natural gas generators can be used if field gas is available. They are clean-burning, economical and eliminate the risk of fuel-spill. diesel fuel is the best choice if neither natural gas nor electrical grid power is available. Customized power designs reduce the carbon footprint and exactly match the expected load, which increases fuel efficiency and ensures the power meets peak demand.

The use of rental electrical power is most advantageous because temporary installations are so flexible. It can be used to supply almost all requirements, and one needs only to ensure that sufficient total power is available to handle peak loading. In addition to its ability to supply a wide range of equipment types, electrical power can operate production control and safety instrumentation, enabling a minimum number of personnel to monitor and control the entire system. The only caveat is that for safety reasons neutral ground resistors are required by the Canadian Mine Act, but this is easily designed into the system.

Temporary electrical systems for waste processing should have redundancy for guaranteed back-up in the event of equipment failure. In addition, warm summer days can require electrically-powered cooling equipment to keep instrumentation within its recommended operating parameters. An experienced rental power company will make provision for both these necessities.

Getting it right—the first time

By facilitating the deployment and testing of various tailing-pond mitigation initiatives, rental power specialists can supply the critical needs of clients by using a methodology that is safe, economical and reliable. The most practical way to achieve this is by setting up temporary test sites to validate the various techniques under the most realistic conditions possible.

Using designs developed by experienced Canadian engineers, the harsh environment can be addressed at the same time an effective solution to waste management issues is developed and tested. Both the intent and the spirit of directive 74 can be addressed efficiently and economically while production of vital energy resources is sustained. Most importantly, the testing process fosters environmental stewardship by helping to ensure the best solution is chosen before permanent facilities are constructed.