Aquanty Staff Research Highlight – (pre-press) Characterizing the hydraulic and transport properties of a constructed coarse tailings sand aquifer
As always we’re excited to highlight the research of Aquanty staff! This week we are highlighting a recently published article co-authored by Eric Kessel and Dr. Behrad Gharedaghloo.
This study recognizes the anticipated growth of bitumen extraction in the Alberta Oil Sands Region (AOSR), and the need for detailed characterization of hydraulic and transport properties of the vast quantities of coarse tailings sand produced over the years. The study is a continuation of research at the Nikanotee Fen Watershed, a reclaimed oil sands landform in the AOSR. The authors have used a number of techniques to evaluate these hydraulic and transport properties, including laboratory column experiments, single-well response tests and the first field-scale tracer test conducted in a tailings sand aquifer.
Characterizing the hydraulic and transport properties of a constructed coarse tailings sand aquifer
Sutton, O. F., Kessel, E. D., Gharedaghloo, B., & Price, J. S. (2022). Characterizing the hydraulic and transport properties of a constructed coarse tailings sand aquifer. In Journal of Contaminant Hydrology (p. 104047). Elsevier BV. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jconhyd.2022.104047
Abstract:
Millions of tonnes of coarse tailings sand are produced every year as a byproduct of the bitumen extraction process in the Athabasca Oil Sands Region. These tailings materials contain residual quantities of mobile solutes, which can be transported through groundwater to downgradient terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. The anticipated ubiquity of coarse tailings sand on the post-mined landscape necessitates the characterization of its hydraulic and transport properties. Hydraulic conductivity and dispersivity was evaluated at multiple scales, and included the first field-scale tracer test conducted in a tailings sand aquifer. Average hydraulic conductivity derived using laboratory cores, single-well response tests, and the tracer test were 3.2 m d−1, 2.9 m d−1, and 3.4 m d−1, respectively. These measurements demonstrated close agreement and were consistent with expectations of a material that experiences some grain-size segregation and homogenization due to the oil sands process and the nature of deposition. The field-scale tracer test appeared to obtain the asymptotic dispersivity of the coarse tailings sand aquifer, reaching a maximum value of 0.5 m after 18 m of displacement. Coarse tailings in the oil sands that experience similar processes of segregation, settling, and deposition on the reclamation landscape could be expected to have similar hydraulic properties.