Dewatering oil sands tailings using the EKS-DT process will:
- Reduce the costs of tailings management,
- Increase investor confidence by reducing owner/operator ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) liabilities
- Reduce demand on fresh water sources by increasing the water available for reuse,
- Decrease the disturbed land footprint from tailings handling, storage, and disposal, and
- Reduce GHG and other air pollution emissions by rapidly consolidating the FFT, eliminating fugitive emissions and by reducing the use of heavy equipment and other machinery.
EKS has prepared a detailed quantitative life cycle analysis for its technology and used these results to compare its economic and environmental performance with other dewatering technologies. The EKS-DT process clearly out performs existing technologies. These results provide compelling evidence of the ability of the EKS-DT process to make a significant contribution to the long-term sustainability of Alberta’s oil sands industry.
The following benefits are quantitively supported by the previously mentioned detailed LCA, which can be provided upon request:
Environment
The EKS-DT process is clearly environmentally superior to current technologies on all counts:
- Less fugitive GHG emissions
- The process can be operated by renewables (i.e. no GHG emissions)
- Immediate progressive reclamation of tailings
- Immediate elimination of legacy tailings inventory
- No EPLs (End-pit Lakes)
- Less water use
Social Responsibility
The EKS-DT process is clearly socially superior to current technologies on all counts:
- Eliminates current environmental liabilities in the near term
- Prevents the build up of future environmental and economic liabilities
- Reduces the risk of long-term climate change
- Transfers tailings cleanup costs to present consumers
Governance
The EKS-DT process is clearly superior to current technologies on all counts from a regulatory perspective
- Allows the Lower Athabasca Region – Tailings Management Framework to be fully implemented as originally intended
- Eliminates the regulatory and technical uncertainty associated with end-pit lakes
- Allows immediate responses to more stringent future regulations
- Reduces greatly the risks associated with current technologies (e.g. offspec product)
- Reduces significantly the need for water withdrawals
Similar benefits are available by applying EKS-DT to other mining operations and industries where difficult-to-dewater slurries and/or unstable clay soil conditions are present.
EKS-DT Process Innovations
Following are some of the innovations developed by EKS:
- Patented power signature reduces energy consumption and extends life of anodes,
- Horizontal electrode arrays,
- Rapid and simple electrode array deployment system for large deposits,
- Automated control system that remotely regulates the process to maximise energy efficiency and dewatering reliability,
- Energy-recovery gas collection systems, and
- Solar-powered EKS-DT systems.