Performance of a hybrid pilot-scale constructed wetland system for treating oil sands process-affected water from the Athabasca oil sands

The Technology Horizon for Photocatalytic Water Treatment: Sunrise or Sunset?

“…Regions that lack access to clean water often lack energy infrastructure, justifying the need for solar-powered, household-based, water treatment interventions in developing regions . Several researchers have proposed using TiO 2 to enhance solar disinfection (SODIS), demonstrating its ability to disinfect and decontaminate water faster than SODIS alone. − Solar powered applications are intrinsically limited by the low-energy density of sunlight (<1000 W/m 2 ); yet when land area is not restricted and an effective light-harvesting strategy such as a compound parabolic collector is employed, photocatalysis can be an efficient method for the low-energy treatment of small-scale industrial waste streams. − Other solar-based applications have emerged for industrial off-grid treatment, including floating photocatalyst structures in oil sands tailing ponds, which are large in area and already operate over very long-time scales. , The use of solar-driven photocatalysis has been suggested as a possible means of detoxifying treated drinking waters containing residual algal toxins, but concerns remain regarding cost effectiveness and generation of toxic byproducts . At best, such technology might be utilized for this purpose in small, remote communities where piped supply is intermittent and volumes to be treated are small.…”

“…96−98 Other solar-based applications have emerged for industrial off-grid treatment, including floating photocatalyst structures in oil sands tailing ponds, which are large in area and already operate over very long-time scales. 99,100 The use of solar-driven photocatalysis has been suggested as a possible means of detoxifying treated drinking waters containing residual algal toxins, but concerns remain regarding cost effectiveness and generation of toxic byproducts. 101 At best, such technology might be utilized for this purpose in small, remote communities where piped supply is intermittent and volumes to be treated are small.…”

Overview of Existing Science to Inform Oil Sands Process Water Release: A Technical Workshop Summary

“…Classes of constituents include suspended solids (e.g., clay, silt), bitumen, dissolved organic compounds (e.g., organic acids and bases, polar organics, nonpolar organics), and dissolved inorganic materials (e.g., salts, trace elements, ammonia). Some components of OSPW are well understood: trace elements including metals, semimetals, and metalloids (Nix and Martin ; Siwik et al ; Bicalho et al ; Donner et al ), salts and ammonia (COSIA ), and suspended solids (El‐Din et al ; COSIA ; McQueen, Hendrikse et al ). However, the complexity of the organics in OSPW creates a practical challenge for determining treatment methods (Headley et al ; Pereira et al 2013; Goff et al ; Brown and Ulrich ; Quinlan and Tam ; Wilde et al ; Ajaero et al ), in addition to estimating potential risks (West et al ; Huang et al ).…”

Membrane Sampling Separates Naphthenic Acids from Biogenic Dissolved Organic Matter for Direct Analysis by Mass Spectrometry

“…Quantitative information is also possible when appropriate analytical standards are available or the target structure is known. However, traditional chromatographic methods are labor-intensive, time-consuming, and costly, limiting their utility in applications such as process monitoring, where rapidly screening a large number of samples and/or conditions is advantageous. ,, Direct analysis methods that obviate chromatographic separation can be prone to positive bias, particularly from naturally occurring DOM. − It is therefore highly desirable to develop direct sampling analytical methods that exclude DOM and enable high throughput screening and simple “on-line” workflows.…”