The effect of flocculant on the sedimentation and consolidation of fine tailings

Mixing fine mine tailings with flocculant is a method for water retention and accelerated sedimentation in the oil sand industry. One of the known effects of adding flocculants to soil is the resulting porous structure, which leads to fast dewatering but could possibly have a lower final compaction. The objective of this paper is to study the consolidation effect of adding the flocculant, compared with the natural tailings, too figure out the structural difference in final compaction state. In this paper, a river clay is studied instead of fine mine tailings, to avoid the effect of location distinct chemicals. Column studies were performed in which sedimentation and consolidation of the clay mixture, with and without flocculant were examined. CT-scans of the columns after 26 days of consolidation were carried out to evaluate the effects of the flocculant. The results lead to a consistent conclusion: final consolidation of the natural clay is significant lower volume, compared with flocculant mixture. Further (literature) research in the reliability and density relation of the CT-scans is recommended.