Microbiological and bioinformatics investigation into acid rock drainage phenomenon in Alberta oil sands tailings
department or school: Applied Science, Faculty of
department or school: Engineering, School of (Okanagan)
data provider: DSpace
degree campus: UBCO
creator: TaghinezhadNamini, Masoud
issued: 2017-01-30T17:40:03Z
issued: 2017
related degree: Master of Applied Science - MASc
degree grantor: University of British Columbia
description: The Alberta oil sands have produced considerable revenue for Canada. However, the environmental effects associated with extracting the oil can be devastating if not understood and dealt with. One of the potential environmental hazards is acid rock drainage (ARD) from oil sand deposits. Acidification is a well-known destructive phenomenon from our mining industry that leads to the pollution of soil and surrounding water resources. Since microorganisms are major contributors in the onset and propagation of ARD, the successful approach to the problem should focus on the microorganisms. Five bacteria that are believed to be major contributors to ARD were isolated from raw and paraffinic thickened tailings at different temperatures. To gain a deeper insight into the isolated bacteria, their 16S rRNA genes were partially sequenced, Gram stains were performed, metabolic rates were determined using pH, sulfate, thiosulfate, ferric iron concentration changes. All of these were determined at 6 different temperatures 7, 12, 25, 30, 37 and 40°C. The results revealed that all of the isolates were capable of growth at 4°C but had maximum growth rates at 25 or 30°C. A significant attempt was made to isolate the phages capable of lysing isolated bacteria for the possibility of phage therapy. An in depth study was conducted regarding the CRISPR systems in the bacteria that are believed to be the major contributors to ARD. The results revealed that there is evidence of lytic viral infections in the bacterial population capable of reducing the pH in ARD environments. This reveals that lytic viruses could be isolated under the right circumstances.
aggregated CHO: https://circle.library.ubc.ca/rest/handle/2429/60440
note: MICROBIOLOGICAL AND BIOINFORMATICS INVESTIGATION INTO ACID ROCK DRAINAGE PHENOMENON IN ALBERTA OIL SANDS TAILINGS by Masoud TaghinezhadNamini A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF APPLIED SCIENCE in The College of Graduate Studies (Civil Engineering) THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA (Okanagan Campus) January 2017 © Masoud T.Namini, 2017 ii The undersigned certify that they have read, and recommend to the College of Graduate Studies for acceptance, a thesis entitled: MICROBIOLOGICAL AND BIOINFORMATICS INVESTIGATION INTO ACID ROCK DRAINAGE PHENOMENON IN ALBERTA OIL SANDS TAILINGS Submitted by Masoud TaghinezhadNamini in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of master of applied science. Deborah Roberts (School of Engineering / Faculty of Applied Science) Supervisor, Professor Curtis Suttle (Faculty of Science / Department of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences) Co-supervisor, Professor Sumi Siddiqua (School of Engineering / Faculty of Applied Science) Supervisory Committee member, Assistant Professor Miranda Hart (School of Arts and Sciences / Faculty of Biology) University Examiner, Assistant Professor January 20, 2017 iii Abstract The Alberta oil sands have produced considerable revenue for Canada. However, the environmental effects associated with extracting the oil can be devastating if not understood and dealt with. One of the potential environmental hazards is acid rock drainage (ARD) from oil sand deposits. Acidification is a well-known destructive phenomenon from our mining industry that leads to the pollution of soil and surrounding water resources. Since microorganisms are major contributors in the onset and propagation of ARD, the successful approach to the problem should focus on the microorganisms. Five bacteria that are believed to be major contributors to ARD were isolated from raw and paraffinic thickened tailings at different temperatures. To gain a deeper insight into the isolated…
has type: Thesis/Dissertation
date issued: 2017-02
is shown at: 10.14288/1.0340951
language: eng
degree discipline: Civil Engineering
provider: Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
publisher: University of British Columbia
rights: Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International
rights URI: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
scholar level: Graduate
type: Text
identifier URI: http://hdl.handle.net/2429/60440