PLANT SELECTION FOR DEWATERING AND RECLAMATION OF TAILINGS

摘要

A two-phase greenhouse experiment was conducted to identify the most suitable species for dewatering and reclamation of Composite Tailings (CT) from Alberta oil sands operated by Syncrude Canada Ltd. and Copper Mine Tailings (CMT) from the Kennecott site in Utah. A total of 15 and 9 plant species were selected for testing in CT and CMT, respectively. In Phase 1, distilled water was added weekly to simulate local precipitation. The initial solids contents were 80% and 76% and the electrical conductivities were 1.1 dS/m and 3.2 dS/m for CT and CMT, respectively. All plants survived after a ten-week period. In Phase 2 only process water was added weekly to provide a worst case scenario of no precipitation and water recharge due only to process water being released from within the tailings. The initial solids contents were 65% and 76% for CT and CMT, respectively. Surface (0 - 3") salinity increased dramatically due to the application of process water only: at the end of Phase 2 it had reached toxic levels of approximately 18.9 dS/m and 35.0 dS/m in CT and CMT, respectively. Many plants showed signs of stress due to the high salinity level. The plants which performed the best under both phases in Composite Tailings were creeping foxtail (Alopecurus arundinaceus), reed canarygrass (Phalaris arundinacea), Altai wildrye (Elymus angustus), and red top (Agrostis stolonifera); and in Copper Mine Tailings were Altai wildrye, smooth bromegrass (Bromus inermis) and creeping foxtail.