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Waste Management

Waste Management and Recycling

 
 
 

Reduce, reuse and recycle (3-R) is the guiding philosophy of Syncrude’s waste management program. We aim to minimize the amount of waste disposal in landfills, and maximize opportunities to create useful products and compounds from our waste streams. Over 15,000 tonnes and 93,000 cubic metres of various materials were sent for recycling or reuse in 2003. They include:

  • 5,948 tonnes of catalyst
  • 50 tonnes of lead acid batteries
  • 82 kg of lithium and ni-cad batteries
  • 92,240 cubic metres of waste oil
  • 65.3 tonnes of oil and fuel filters
  • 207 cubic metres of glycol
  • 4,000 kg of cleaning rags
  • 1,594 metal and plastic drums
  • 13.6 tonnes of electronic (eg: computer) waste
  • 354 tonnes of used conveyor belting
  • 11.6 tonnes of kitchen grease
  • 1,020 tonnes of large equipment tires
  • 7,840 tonnes of metal and metal parts
  • 681 cubic metres of waste hydrocarbons

Waste which is unsuitable for reuse or recycle is sent for treatment or destruction, or disposed of in our on-site industrial and sanitary landfills. Of this material: 68 tonnes and 4.5 cubic metres of hazardous waste was sent to approved hazardous waste treatment facilities; and 57,731 tonnes of non-hazardous waste was landfilled.

Syncrude waste reduction efforts are supported by over 20 organizations that process materials for recycle or reuse.

Mineral Recovery from Waste Tailings

In 2003, Syncrude entered into an agreement with Titanium Corporation Inc. and a major titanium oxide pigment producer to study the potential to create value from what is otherwise a waste material. Work conducted under this agreement will investigate the opportunity to extract titanium bearing minerals and zircon from Syncrude’s centrifuge plant tailings stream. A pilot processing facility is now under construction at the Saskatchewan Research Council. A successful pilot could further the prospects for a commercial-scale mineral sand operation.

Syncrude’s tailings stream is also rich in kaolin clay, which is used in the manufacture of paper and cement. Currently, kaolin for these needs comes from the mining of natural clay deposits. Toward identifying process steps for the viable recovery of commercial grade kaolin from Syncrude’s tailings, Syncrude and the Alberta Energy Research Institute are funding research by two Masters students at the University of Alberta.

A huge dragline that had been in operation at Syncrude for 22 years until its retirement will not be destined for the garbage heap. Instead, Mighty Samson, as the dragline is known, will be put to a new use working at an Australian coal mine. As a result, its working life will be extended for a further 20 years. The equipment became obsolete when Syncrude changed its mining method to truck and shovel technology. Syncrude conducted a global search to find the 6,000-tonne dragline its new home.

 

Syncrude’s current method for managing tailings, which are a mix of sand, clay, minerals and water, focuses on Composite Tailings (CT). Nearly seven million cubic metres of composite tailings were produced in 2003 to aid in the reclamation of Syncrude’s east mine. The material is comprised of coarse sand tailings and mature fine tailings mixed with gypsum as a binder. Composite tailings quickly release contained water and allow for more rapid reclamation of the regional landscape. The released water is recycled for use in Syncrude’s production processes.