COSIA: Low Energy Water Treatment Technology Challenge
Canada’s Oil Sands Innovation Alliance and the University of Alberta were looking for innovative solutions for the treatment of dissolved organic compounds present in Oil Sands Process Water.
Challenge Launch: November 2022
Increasing Sustainable Water Management in Alberta's Oil Sands
The Low Energy Water Treatment Technology Challenge, a collaboration between Canada’s Oil Sands Innovation Alliance (COSIA) and the University of Alberta, focuses on enhancing environmental performance in Canada's oil sands industry.
Jeosal Materials Research Corporation were selected as the Challenge Winner. They are developing and testing advanced materials for OSPW treatment that recycles fibre-reinforced plastic waste from end-of-life sources and manufacturing processes.
Read more about this Challenge below.
Challenge Statement & Opportunity
Challenge Statement: The Low Energy Treatment Technology Challenge sought improvement to existing or new technologies to treat dissolved organic compounds present in Oil Sands Process Water (OSPW), thereby improving environmental performance in the mineable oil sands industry. Technologies were not to produce any new residual streams requiring further treatment or disposal.
Technical criteria was outlined in this Program Guide.
Successful proposals would, at no cost, be able to work with Dr Mohamed Gamal El Din to test out their technology using real OSPW in his research facility at the University of Alberta and may also be eligible to receive funding from COSIA members to further develop and demonstrate the technology in an oil sands application. Multiple technologies may have been funded at the discretion of COSIA’s members.
Solution & Winner
Jeosal Materials Research Corporation was selected as the Challenge Winner. They are developing advanced materials from a process that recycles fibre-reinforced plastic waste from end-of-life sources and manufacturing processes. These advanced materials include fibrous and granular porous carbons used as adsorbent materials for water and wastewater treatment.
"We are confident that Jeosal’s recycling technology and repurposing of recycled fibres to create advanced materials for water treatment, will assist companies in the COSIA collaboration in providing more efficient, reusable, and affordable water treatment solutions, as well as diverting plastic composite waste from landfills."
Alice Senso COO, Jeosal Materials Research Corporation
The Partners
COSIA is a unique alliance of oil sands producers focused on accelerating environmental performance in Canada’s oil sands. COSIA enables collaboration and innovation between thinkers from industry, government, academia and the wider public to improve measurement, accountability and performance in the oil sands across four environmental priority areas of Greenhouse Gases, Land, Water, and Tailings. COSIA members search the world for solutions to our toughest problems. COSIA’s Water EPA aspires to be world leaders in water management, producing Canadian energy with no adverse impact on water.
Dr. Mohamed Gamal El-Din is the NSERC Senior Industrial Research Chair in Oil Sands Tailings Water Treatment and a Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Alberta. Dr. Gamal El-Din has an active research program in the area of oil sands tailings water treatment. The goal of this research area is to provide not only innovative treatment and reclamation approaches to protect environmental and public health, but also to facilitate water reuse and/or the safe discharge of treated process water into the receiving environment while ensuring the environment and human health are protected.
COSIA’s EPA and Dr. Gamal El-Din have formed a research partnership to reduce water use and increase water recycling rates within oil sands operations. Together, they have identified a need for low-energy technologies to treat dissolved organic compounds present in OSPW.
"The Water team at COSIA has been working for more than a decade to discover, develop, and test new and innovative low energy water treatment technologies that have a positive net environmental effect.
While we have identified a number of technologies that meet most of these requirements, we’re always interested in finding something better. Jeosal presents a unique opportunity to repurpose waste materials into an effective water treatment technology for the oil sands."
John Brogly Director, Water, COSIA
Challenge Background & Considerations
Canada has big plans to become an innovation leader and global pace-setter in the transition to a green economy. To achieve this, the COSIA focuses on enhancing the environmental performance of oil sands operations through collaboration and innovation. COSIA’s Water Environment Priority Area (EPA) aspires to be a world leader in water management, aiming to produce Canadian energy with no adverse impacts on water. This involves balancing improved water use with reduced greenhouse gas emissions.
Oil sands contain about 6% to 15% bitumen and 80% to 85% mineral solids, with the remaining portion being water. In surface mining operations, OSPW is heated and mixed with oil sands to separate bitumen from mineral solids.
This process, approximately 80% to 85% efficient, results in bitumen being floated while tailings—a mix of water, sand, silt, clay, and some unrecovered bitumen—are deposited in storage.
Despite over 50 years of operation, no treated OSPW has been released back into the Athabasca River. This has led to increasing inventories and higher salination levels of OSPW due to recycling and reduced water usage. Delaying the release of treated OSPW further hinders the reclamation of mine sites, highlighting the urgent need for innovative water treatment technologies.
Successful technologies needed to:
1
Work in a northern climate
2
Require little or no energy inputs, operator interaction or maintenance
3
Treat the dissolved organics such that the OSPW passes the acute bioassays
4
Be TRL 4 or above
Updates
July 2024: Current Status
Jeosal is developing advanced materials from a process that recycles fibre-reinforced plastic waste from end-of-life sources and manufacturing processes. Through this Challenge, these advanced materials will be tested as adsorbent materials for OSPW treatment.
As winners of this Challenge, Jeosal is currently working with Dr. Mohamed Gamal El-Din to test out their technology using real OSPW in his research facility at the University of Alberta, and may also be eligible to receive funding from COSIA members to further develop and demonstrate the technology in an oil sands application. Through this technology, they hope to have a major impact on the sustainability of Canada’s oil sands sector.
April 2023: Winner Announced
Jeosal Materials Research Corporation, who is developing advanced materials from a process that recycles fibre-reinforced plastic waste from end-of-life sources and manufacturing processes, was announced as the Challenge Winner. Their advanced materials include fibrous and granular porous carbons used as adsorbent materials for water and wastewater treatment.
November 2022: Challenge Launches
At Foresight, we truly believe that Canada can be the first G7 country to reach net zero. But, in order to achieve this, we need to focus on finding solutions that preserve and recycle our most precious natural resources, and drastically improve sustainability practices across all sectors.
I’m so excited that we had the opportunity to join forces with COSIA and the University Alberta to drive innovation and improve environmental performance in this critical space.
Our Partners
This Challenge is presented with support from COSIA and the University of Alberta.
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