Use biofilm to clean toxins during oil sludge recycling

Biologists work at the University of Calgary and engineers at the University of Alberta, Canada, as part of a research project to address water pollution (by toxins and metals) in the process. Exploitation and recycling of oil sands.

Researchers have used biofilms to clean up toxins from waste water after the oil sands treatment (a natural mixture of sand, clay and other minerals), into materials For refineries to produce gasoline and diesel. Oil sands are found with large reserves in Venezuela, America and Russia, of which the largest deposits of Athabasca oil are found in Alberta, Canada.

A team of researchers led by Professor Raymond Turner (University of Calgary), is actively developing biofilms and conducting tests in bioreactors, in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. Environment, University of Alberta, Canada.

"By changing development conditions and exposing biofilms to different levels of polluted water, researchers can select and manipulate biological membranes (with metabolic activity). and specifications meet requirements), " Turner said.

The ultimate goal is to build a wastewater treatment plant (in the final stage of oil sands recycling) before discharging into the river system in the wild.