Petroleum sludge formation and its treatment methodologies: a review

• Published in: Environmental science and pollution research international Vol. 31; no. 6; pp. 8369 - 8386
• Main Authors: Hasan, Abdulraheim M. A., Kamal, Rasha S., Farag, Reem K., Abdel-raouf, Manar E.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 01.02.2024; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Aquatic Pollution; Atmospheric Protection/Air Quality Control/Air Pollution; Barrels; China; Corrosion products; Earth and Environmental Science; Economic impact; Economics; Ecotoxicology; Environment; Environmental Chemistry; Environmental Health; Environmental impact; Environmental regulations; Oils; Petrochemicals; Petrochemicals industry; Petroleum; Petroleum - analysis; Production scheduling; Refineries; Review; Review Article; Sewage; Sludge; Solvents; Storage tanks; Waste Water Technology; Water Management; Water Pollution Control; China; United States > US; Residual tank deposits; Profitability decline; Crude oil reclamation; Physical treatment
• ISSN: 1614-7499; 0944-1344; 1614-7499
• DOI: 10.1007/s11356-023-31674-3

Different petroleum operations produce huge amount of oil sludge annually. For instance, US EPA estimates the annual sludge production of each US refinery of 30,000 tons, while the average oily sludge produced from petrochemical industries in China is estimated about 3 million tons per year. In the last year, our center could recover about 30,206 barrels of raw oil from 32,786 barrels of tank bottom sludge (TBS) for different petroleum companies. This sludge causes huge economic losses besides its negative environmental impacts. The accumulation of sludge in the tanks results in reducing the tanks’ capacity for storing liquid crude, accelerating the corrosion of the tanks, delay in the production schedule, and disturbing the whole production operation. There are diverse treatment methodologies such as solvent treatment, addition of certain chemicals, and centrifuging. Of course, the environmental regulations and the overall cost limitations are very important in deciding the preferred applicable method(s). Although several works handled the problem of sludge deposition and treatment from different aspects, we intend to introduce a different work. First, composition, formation, types, and properties of TBS were reviewed. Then, environmental and economic problems caused by TBS were revised. At last, different methodologies applied for treatment of oily TBS to recover oil and safe disposal of hazardous remains were investigated focusing on the most straightforward and environmentally friendly protocols. It is expected that this review attracts the experts in petroleum chemistry, and other relevant fields and provides a comprehensive understanding of current sludge control and treatment research. Graphical abstract