Suspension of mine tailings in a gelled fluid

Date

1992-12

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Abstract

It has been determined by tests conducted in the Rheology Testing Laboratory in the Department of Petroleum Engineering of Texas Tech University that mine tailings can be suspended in water with the addition of inexpensive gelling agents. The gels that were used to suspend the tailings are commonly used in the petroleum industry to drill for hydrocarbons. A gel comprised of 8 to 12 pounds of bentonite per barrel of fresh water can be used to suspend 500 to 1000 pounds per barrel of mine tailings. Tailing particle size and concentration are critical to the suspending process. The size distribution of the tailings is critical because the surface tension caused by the tailings dramatically improves the gel strength of the resultant mixture. Tailing size should be smaller than 9 to 116 mesh. Tailing sizes smaller than 115 mesh in large concentrations cause the viscosity to become too high, and the mixture becomes unpumpable. This study has determined that mine tailings can be disposed of in an environmentally safe and inexpensive manner by the suspension of tailings in a gelled fluid.

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Keywords

Oil well cementing, Drilling muds -- Additives, Bentonite

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