“Microstructure Analysis of Polymer amended Fluid Fine Tailings Using Fiji-ImageJ Image analysis software”

Optimizing the flocculation process is crucial for improving the long-term dewatering behaviour of oil sands tailings. The objective of this research is to assess the long-term dewatering behaviour of the polymer amended Fluid Fine Tailings (FFTs) from reliable key indicators at an early stage of the production process, specifically, using optical microscopy images. The experiments include processing optical microscope images using an image analysis software, "Fiji-Image J", to generate quantitative metrics of floc morphology. Particle size distributions derived from the Image J based analyses show replicability, when multiple images from the same sample are analyzed. Preliminary correlations between image metrics and consolidation characteristics show some explanatory power, though further advanced statistical analyses will be required to properly assess the predictive power of the image-derived information.