The Oil Sands Research and Information Network commissioned BGC Engineering Inc. to conduct a review of 34 oil sands tailings technology options. BGC's report provided an overview of oil sands processing and tailings characteristics and: summarized what is known and not known about each option; described the state of commercial readiness of the technology; and identified gaps in the knowledge. The 34 technologies fall into five main categories: Physical/Mechanical Processes, Natural Processes, Chemical/Biological Amendments, Mixtures/Co-disposal, and Permanent Storage. The review concluded that there is no single method of dewatering which works well for all tailings. Similarly, experience has shown that there is unlikely to be one unique solution to the problem of tailings disposal.
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