Nieuw project gestart: Worms II

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This project is an extension of DEL071 with focus from worms to worms plus vegetation. Accelerating the dewatering and consolidation process of fluid fine tailings and sediment management is a major challenge to the (oil sands) mining industry, as well as for optimization of beneficial use of sediments in the Netherlands. Previous and on-going research showed that worms and vegetation can separately improve dewatering of oil sands tailings, comparably or beyond chemical flocculants (DEL071). This work intends to build on these encouraging results by supporting the testing the coupled effect of plants and worms together. The effort will be placed on understanding the mechanism behind dewatering and consolidation in this complex biological system. This interdisciplinary project combines areas of expertise from numerous engineering and biological specializations including Deltares and Queen Mary University of London.
This project represents an excellent opportunity for cross-exchange of knowledge and experience between North America and Europe. The knowledge gained in this project will be instrumental in at least two pilot on-going projects in the Netherlands (Marker Wadden and Kleirijperij). Using natural processes provides an industry with alternative treatment of tailings and dredged sediment, that is environmentally friendly, costeffective and are aligned with other reclamation goals.

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