US-based BioLargo has been selected by the Canadian Government to develop water treatment solutions, as its new founding member for its Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC).
The NSERC was formed to solve the contaminated water and tailings ponds problems associated with the oil sands industry.
The new Industrial Research Chair will initially develop proactive water management strategies to reduce the footprint and environmental impact of existing tailings ponds operations.
Oil extraction from the Canadian oil sands creates high volumes of contaminated water, which is currently discharged in tailings ponds, sometimes for years, to separate the solids from the liquids for eventual recycling or safe discharge into the environment.
The NSERC Industrial Research Chair on oil sands tailings water treatment was led by University of Alberta Professor Mohamed Gamal-El Din and funded by the Canadian Government, through the University of Alberta's Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering.
The Industrial Research Chair is also sponsored by a number of related researchers and industry stakeholders, including oil companies and the regional water district for the Alberta Province.
BioLargo CTO Ken Code said the chair's objectives are perfectly aligned with the company's intention to improve the quality of life for people globally, while the firm work to protect the environment and produce positive economic results for its customers, partners and stockholders.
With Canadian oil production estimated to increase from 1.9 million to more than six million barrels of oil a day over the next 20 years, the released water from oil sands operations is estimated to reach one billion cubic meters in the Athabasca oils sands region by 2025.
BioLargo is a developer of patented iodine technology, which works by combining micro-nutrient salts with liquid from any source to deliver free-iodine on demand, in controlled dosages, in order to balance efficacy of performance with concerns about toxicity.
Caption: The Canadian NSERC research chair was formed to solve the contaminated water and tailings ponds problems associated with the oil sands industry.
