February 26 Brown Bag Lunch

“Microbes in Oil Sands Tailings Ponds?
 What a Gas!”

Presenters

• Dr. Julia Foght, Professor, Biological Sciences Dept., University of Alberta

Date

Friday, February 26, 2010, 12:00 – 1:00 p.m.

Location

Great West Life Building (9920 – 108 St) Boardroom 6A (6th floor)

Description

Extracting bitumen from oil sands ore produces large volumes of ‘tailings’, a slurry of water, silts and clays, unrecovered bitumen, and residual solvent used in extraction. Tailings are deposited into settling basins (tailings ponds) where the solids settle by gravity, forming denser mature fine tailings and producing process-affected water that can be re-used in bitumen extraction. Over time, several tailings ponds have become methanogenic. That is, microbes present in the ponds are producing methane gas that bubbles to the surface. Unexpectedly, this methane production is associated with faster settling of the tailings, which should be beneficial for eventual tailings reclamation and for current water re-use. Therefore, to better understand methane biogenesis, we have enumerated and characterized the indigenous microbial communities: they are surprisingly diverse. Advanced molecular biology techniques such as DNA pyrosequencing and functional gene screening are now being applied to oil sands tailings to more fully understand the dynamics of methanogenesis and biologically-accelerated tailings settling. This seminar will give an overview of collaborative research being conducted at the University of Alberta to characterize and manipulate tailings ponds microbes responsible for methanogenesis and densification.

Mark your Calendars for this Free Talk

Members and Non-Members Welcome– Bring Your Lunch!


Reminder to ASPB members: 
attending brown bag lunches is just one of the ways 
you can accumulate credits for the CCP!