Mahinpey, NaderPatel, Umang Kirtibhai2024-03-012024-03-012024-02-27Patel, U. K. (2024). Environmental remediation through tailings solvent recovery unit (TSRU) waste: synthesizing activated carbon-zeolite (ACZ) composites for enhanced carbon dioxide capture (Master's thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca.https://hdl.handle.net/1880/11823210.11575/PRISM/43076In Alberta, synthetic crude oil is produced from the oil sands. After oil extraction from the oil sands generated waste is dumped into the tailings ponds. It has been studied that the tailings ponds have an affinity to release carbon dioxide and methane into the environment due to the microbial biodegradation/fermentation of lost diluent. Currently, not enough studies have been done to reuse the oil sands tailings waste. This study introduces the treatment of tailings solvent recovery unit (TSRU) tailings waste. It is generated during the oil sands treatment process. In this research, TSRU tailings waste is converted into the activated carbon-zeolite (ACZ) composite. In this thesis two different methods used for the synthetization of the ACZ composite. Where, two-step method (activation followed by hydrothermal synthetization) and fusion-assisted methods have been studied in this report. TSRU tailings waste contains quartz and several heavy metals which are removed by the fusion treatment before the activation. Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) result showed that the fused sample had 236 m2/g of surface area, whereas the non-fused sample had 108 m2/g of surface area. The resulting composite, with the addition of potassium hydroxide for enhanced porosity, demonstrated a notable surface area of 430 m2/g. The increase in the surface area also showed an increase in the overall CO2 capture capacity. The utilization of the TSRU tailings for the synthetization of ACZ composite eliminates the source of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and the composite can be used for CO2 uptake. By converting TSRU tailings waste into valuable ACZ composites, the study not only addresses environmental concerns associated with tailings ponds but also presents a viable solution for carbon capture. The findings of this research have the potential to pave the way for a more sustainable and environmentally friendly approach to managing oil sands waste.enUniversity of Calgary graduate students retain copyright ownership and moral rights for their thesis. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission.Tailings solvent recovery unitsAsphaltenePhysiochemical approachActivated carbon-zeolite compositeCO2 captureEngineering--Chemicalmaster thesis