1 research outputs found
Profiling Oil Sands Mixtures from Industrial Developments and Natural Groundwaters for Source Identification
The
objective of this study was to identify chemical components
that could distinguish chemical mixtures in oil sands process-affected
water (OSPW) that had potentially migrated to groundwater in the oil
sands development area of northern Alberta, Canada. In the first part
of the study, OSPW samples from two different tailings ponds and a
broad range of natural groundwater samples were assessed with historically
employed techniques as Level-1 analyses, including geochemistry, total
concentrations of naphthenic acids (NAs) and synchronous fluorescence spectroscopy (SFS).
While these analyses did not allow for reliable source differentiation,
they did identify samples containing significant concentrations of
oil sands acid-extractable organics (AEOs). In applying Level-2 profiling
analyses using electrospray ionization high resolution mass spectrometry (ESI-HRMS)
and comprehensive multidimensional gas chromatography time-of-flight
mass spectrometry (GC × GC-TOF/MS) to samples containing appreciable
AEO concentrations, differentiation of natural from OSPW sources was
apparent through measurements of O<sub>2</sub>:O<sub>4</sub> ion class
ratios (ESI-HRMS) and diagnostic ions for two families of suspected monoaromatic
acids (GC × GC-TOF/MS). The resemblance between the AEO profiles from OSPW and from 6 groundwater samples adjacent to two tailings ponds implies a common source, supporting the use of these complimentary analyses for source identification. These samples included two of upward flowing groundwater collected <1 m beneath the Athabasca River, suggesting OSPW-affected groundwater is reaching the river system