Biodegradation of total organic carbons (TOC) in Jordanian petroleum sludge

Characterizing properties and environmental behaviors of organic matter in sludge using liquid chromatography organic carbon detection and organic nitrogen detection: A mini-review

The presence of organic matter in sludge plays a significant role in sludge dewatering, anaerobic sludge digestion, resource (i.e., protein) recovery and pollutants removal (i.e., heavy metals) from sludge, as well as post-application of sludge liquid and solid digestate. This study summarized the current knowledge on using liquid chromatography organic carbon detection and organic nitrogen detection (LC-OCD-OND) for characterization and quantification of organic matter in sludge samples related with sludge treatment processes by fractionating organic matter into biopolymers, building blocks, humic substances, low molecular weight (LMW) acids, low LMW neutrals, and inorganic colloids. In addition, the fate, interaction, removal, and degradation of these fractions in different sludge treatment processes were summarized. A standardized extraction procedure for organic components in different extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) layers prior to the LC-OCD-OND analysis is highly recommended for future studies. The analysis of humic substances using the LC-OCD-OND analysis in sludge samples should be carefully conducted. In conclusion, this study not only provides a theoretical foundation and technical guidance for future experiments and practices in characterizing sludge organic matter using LC-OCD-OND, but also serves as a valuable resource for consulting engineers and other professionals involved in sludge treatment.

Impact of artisanal refining activities on bacterial diversity in a Niger Delta fallow land

Hydrocarbon pollution is a major ecological problem facing oil-producing countries, especially in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. In this study, a site that had been previously polluted by artisanal refining activity was investigated using 16S rRNA Illumina high-throughput sequencing technology and bioinformatics tools. These were used to investigate the bacterial diversity in soil with varying degrees of contamination, determined with a gas chromatography-flame ionization detector (GC-FID). Soil samples were collected from a heavily polluted (HP), mildly polluted (MP), and unpolluted (control sample, CS) portion of the study site. DNA was extracted using the Zymo Research (ZR) Fungi/Bacteria DNA MiniPrep kit, followed by PCR amplification and agarose gel electrophoresis. The microbiome was characterized based on the V3 and V4 hypervariable regions of the 16S rRNA gene. QIIME (Quantitative Insights Into Microbial Ecology) 2 software was used to analyse the sequence data. The final data set covered 20,640 demultiplexed high-quality reads and a total of 160 filtered bacterial OTUs. Proteobacteria dominated samples HP and CS, while Actinobacteria dominated sample MP. Denitratisoma, Pseudorhodoplanes, and Spirilospora were the leading genera in samples HP, CS, and MP respectively. Diversity analysis indicated that CS [with 25.98 ppm of total petroleum hydrocarbon (TPH)] is more diverse than HP (with 490,630 ppm of TPH) and MP (with 5398 ppm of TPH). A functional prediction study revealed that six functional modules dominated the dataset, with metabolism covering up to 70%, and 11 metabolic pathways. This study demonstrates that a higher hydrocarbon concentration in soil adversely impacts microbial diversity, creating a narrow bacterial diversity dominated by hydrocarbon-degrading species, in addition to the obvious land and ecosystem degradation caused by artisanal refining activities. Overall, the artisanal refining business is significantly driving ecosystem services losses in the Niger Delta, which calls for urgent intervention, with focus on bioremediation.

Assessment of oily sludge biodegradation in lab scale composting and slurry bioreactor by bacterial consortium

The present study aimed to investigate biodegradability of oily sludge in lab scale composting and slurry bioreactor using a potential bacterial consortium isolated from petroleum-contaminated sites. The consortium used in the study consisted of bacterial genera, including Enterobacter, Bacillus, Microbacterium, Alcaligenes Pseudomonas, Ochrobactrum, Micrococcus, and Shinella which were obtained after rigorous screening using different hydrocarbons. The meticulously designed lab scale composting experiments were carried out and showed that the combination of 10% oily sludge (A1) exhibited the highest total carbon (TC) removal, which was 40.33% within 90 days. To assess the composting experiments' efficiency, the first (k₁) and second (k₂) order rate constants were evaluated and was found to be 0.0004-0.0067 per day and second (k₂) 0.0000008-0.00005 g/kg. day respectively. To further enhance the biodegradation rate of A1 combination, a slurry bioreactor was used. The maximum total petroleum hydrocarbon (TPH) removals in a slurry bioreactor for cycle-I and -II were 48.8% and 46.5%, respectively, on the 78th and 140th days of the treatment. The results obtained in the study will be a technological platform for the development of slurry phase treatment of petroleum waste in a sustainable and eco-friendly manner.

Feasibility study of porous media for treating oily sludge with self-sustaining treatment for active remediation technology

Oil sludge is the primary pollutant produced by the petroleum industry, which is characterized by large quantities, difficult disposal, and high toxicity. Improper treatment of oil sludge will pose a severe threat to the human living environment. Self-sustaining treatment for active remediation (STAR) technology has a specific potential for treating oil sludge, with low energy consumption, short remediation time, and high removal efficiency. Given the low smoldering porosity, poor air permeability, and poor repair effect of oil sludge, this paper considered coarse river sand as the porous medium, built a smoldering reaction device, conducted a comparative study on smoldering experiments of oil sludge with and without river sand, and studied the key factors affecting smoldering of oil sludge. The study shows that the repair effect is greatly improved by adding river sand, increasing the pore, and improving air permeability, and the total petroleum hydrocarbon removal rate reaches more than 98%, which meets the requirements of oil sludge treatment. When the mass ratio of oil sludge to river sand (sludge-sand ratio) is 2:1, the flow velocity is 5.39 cm/s, and the particle size of the medium is 2-4 mm. In addition, the best conditions for smoldering occur. The average peak temperature, average propagation speed, and average removal efficiency are relatively high. The peak temperature occurs in a short time; the heating time is also short, and the heat loss is low. Moreover, the generation of toxic and harmful gases is reduced, and secondary pollution is hindered. The experiment indicates that the porous media play a crucial role in the smoldering combustion of oil sludge.

Understanding biochemical defense and phytoremediation potential of Leucas aspera in crude oil polluted soil

The phytoremediation potential and enzymatic defense of a medicinal herb Leucas aspera was studied in the crude oil contaminated soil. The productivity, antioxidants, and phytochemical and functional group profiles of the plant species in stress conditions were investigated. Besides, changes in enzymes, beneficial bacterial population, and physico-chemical and total oil and grease (TOG) profiles in the contaminated soil were also studied. The results showed improvement in physico-chemical conditions, increase in beneficial bacterial population (4.1-5.4 folds), and decrease in TOG (31.3%) level of the contaminated soil by end of the experimental trials. The L. aspera treated contaminated soil showed enhancement in dehydrogenase (32.3%), urease (102.8%), alkaline phosphatase (174.4%), catalase (68.5%), amylase (76.16%), and cellulase (23.6%) activities by end of the experimental trials. Furthermore, there were significant variations in leaf area index, chlorophyll, and biomass contents of the experimental plant as against the initial level and control. Besides, the significant reduction in IC₅₀ values (24-27.4%) of L. aspera samples grown in contaminated soil confirms the strong antioxidant enzymatic defense of the plant species against the crude oil associated abiotic stress. The Fourier-transform infrared (FT-IR) analysis confirmed the uptake and metabolism of aliphatic hydrocarbons, aldehydes, alkyl halides, and nitro compounds by the experimental plant from the contaminated soil.

Study on the thermal washing of oily sludge used by rhamnolipid/sophorolipid binary mixed bio-surfactant systems

Demulsification and crude oil desorption are usually a necessary step for the treatment of oily sludge in the petroleum industry. In this study a binary mixed bio-surfactant (rhamnolipid / sophorolipid, RL/SL) was used to strengthen the removing oil efficiency for oily sludge by thermal washing method. Surface tension values of the single and the mixed surfactants were carried out to investigate the effect of mixing systems on reducing critical micelle concentrations (CMC) value. The models proposed by Clint, Rubingh and Gibbs et al. had been employed to interpret the formation of mixed micelles and synergism and found out in case of the mass ratios of 4:6 the synergism was the strongest in RL and SL mixed surfactant systems, which was selected as the washing agents to treat the oily sludge produced from Huabei oilfield. Through the optimization of oil washing process parameters, the oil removal rate reached the maximum value (95.66%, residual oil rate 1.98%) at the condition of heating temperature of 45 °C, detergents concentration of 500 mg/L, washing time of 3 h, liquid/solid mass ratio of 1:4, stirring speed of 300 r/min, and washing 4 times. The factors affecting the oil washing effect were analyzed from the composition and performance characteristics of oily sludge samples, washing oil system and washing process parameters. The results showed that low oil content of oily sludge, small specific surface area, strong wetting and solubilization of the oil-washing system all can increase the oil-washing effect and the washing time and temperature had a great influence on the oil-washing effect. Compared with the results of other researchers, the oil washing temperature and the concentration of oil washing agent were significantly lower and high oil removal rate and low residual oil rate were obtained in this study. It was confirmed that thermal oil washing method using RT/SL binary bio-surfactant mixing system was proved to a high-efficiency, low-consumption and wide range of applications technology.

Effects of Different Heat Treatment Methods on Organic Pollutants and Heavy Metal Content in Oil Sludge Waste and Ecotoxicological Evaluation

The discharge of large amounts of oily sludge heat treatment residues constitutes a severe threat to the environment. However, little is known about the toxicity of these heat-treated residues. Current research has mainly focused on the toxic effects of single heavy metals or single hydrocarbons on plants, whereas the phytotoxic effects of hydrocarbon–metal mixtures have remained largely unexplored. In this study, pot experiments were conducted to evaluate the effects of different proportions of heat treatment residues (pyrolysis, heat-washing, and high-temperature oxidation residues) from three kinds of oily sludge on the physiological and biochemical parameters of mung bean plants. Higher proportions of residues decreased the germination rates and enzyme activity of mung beans compared to uncontaminated soil. When pyrolysis residue, hot-washing residue, and high-temperature thermal oxidation residue are used in green planting soil, their content must be lower than 30%, 90%, and 70%, respectively. Additionally, our findings indicated that the accumulation level of pollutants in oily sludge heat treatment residues was not high. However, the three kinds of residues exhibited different degrees of plant toxicity. The pyrolysis residue still exhibited strong ecotoxicity, even at low concentrations. In contrast, the toxicity of the hot-washing residue was much lower than that of the pyrolysis residue and the high-temperature thermal oxidation residue. Our findings indicated that mung bean is highly tolerant of contaminated soil and is therefore well suited for phytoremediation applications.

Optimization of Cement-Based Mortar Containing Oily Sludge Ash by Response Surface Methodology

In the industries of petroleum extraction, a large volume of oily sludge is being generated. This waste is usually considered difficult to dispose of, causing environmental and economic issues. This study presented the novel experimental method of manufacturing mortar used in civil construction by cement and oily sludge ash (OSA). The defined method was described with a logical experimental study conducted to examine a feasible manufacturing method for casting cement-based mortars by partially replacing cement with OSA. Replacement concentrations for OSA ranged from 0 to 20 percent by cement weight, while the water-to-cement (w/c) ratio was varied from 0.4 to 0.8, and the amount of sand was kept constant. The strengths and absorption rate of the mortar were monitored for 28 days. The OSA contains a crystalline structure with packs of angular grains. Because of OSA in the cement-based mortar mixtures and water-to-cement ratios, the mechanical strength was improved significantly. However, the water absorption trend increased linearly. Using variance analysis, the influence of OSA and w/c ratio on the behavior of mortar was acquired. The developed models were significant for all p-value reactions of <5%. Numerical optimization results showed that the best mixture can be obtained by replacing 8.19 percent cement with OSA and 0.52 as a ratio of w/c.

Study on the difference between in-situ and ex-situ catalytic pyrolysis of oily sludge

In-situ catalytic pyrolysis has simple process configuration and low cost. Ex-situ catalytic pyrolysis can optimize the pyrolysis capacity and upgrade catalysis, and the catalytic can be reused. But there have been few studies researched on compare in-situ and ex-situ catalytic pyrolysis of the OS performed in similar reactor with two kinds of catalytic. This paper study the pyrolysis of oily sludge (OS) uses CaO and oily pyrolysis char as catalytic at 700 °C. Through analysis the pyrolysis oil (PO), pyrolysis solid (PS) and pyrolysis gas (PG) during pyrolysis procedure to research the difference between in-situ and ex-situ catalytic pyrolysis. The gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) results show that CaO was conducive to the synthesis of aromatics, which content more than aliphatics and heterocyclics in CaO-i (i: in-situ) and CaO-e (e: ex-situ) groups. However, char greatly inhibits the production of aromatic compounds and promotes the production of aliphatic compounds. Gas chromatography (GC) results present that the char and CaO can greatly increase the content of combustible gas and the content reach to 85.85%, the pyrolysis gas (PG) keep at the highest combustion performance in char-CaO-i group. Meanwhile, compared with uncatalyzed groups, the content of CH₄ and CO increased about 2.05% and 3.93%, respectively. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) show that char and CaO reduce the function groups number of pyrolysis solid (PS), and it shows that the pyrolysis reaction is more complete. This research is expecting to provide theory support for catalytic pyrolysis of OS.

A review of the interfacial stability mechanism of aging oily sludge: Heavy components, inorganic particles, and their synergism

Oily sludge is widely produced in the processes of petroleum exploitation, storage, transportation, and refining, and becomes more stable during aging. The interfacial stability of aging oily sludge hinders the recovery and disposal of oil resources. This review summarizes the interfacial film stability of aging oily sludge, which occurs through the formation of viscoelastic and rigid bilayer interfacial films between heavy components (asphaltenes and resins) and inorganic particles. The bilayer interfacial films enhance interfacial film strength and hinder the aggregation of droplets, contributing to the formation of a stable and high-viscosity oil-water-solid three-phase mixture. Recent demulsification technologies for reducing the stability of interfacial films have been classified as follows: removing heavy components, changing asphaltene aggregate structure, and reducing inorganic particle content. More efficient demulsification technologies are expected to be developed by deeply analyzing the microstructure and interfacial properties of asphaltenes and resins, as well as comprehensively studying the complex interactions among various components. This review constructs a bridge between the stability mechanism and the corresponding destabilization methods, which would promote future studies in aging oily sludge treatment.

Method of smoldering combustion for refinery oil sludge treatment

Refinery oil sludge is a type of hazardous waste generated during petroleum refining. Smoldering combustion has been studied in waste treatment but has not been applied to refinery oil sludge treatment. This work verified the feasibility of smoldering combustion for refinery oil sludge treatment through bench-scale experiments. Experimental result showed that the solid residue that remained from smoldering combustion of oil sludge was odorless, granular, and brick-red. The mass and volume of the residue were much smaller than those of the original oil sludge. The typical substances in the oil sludge (i.e., petroleum hydrocarbons [C₁₀-C₄₀]) were not found in the residue, thereby indicating the good performance of smoldering combustion in treating oil sludge. Water and oil were recovered by condensing the off-gas. The composition of the recovered oil was similar to coking diesel. The calorific value of the recovered oil was higher than that of kerosene, thereby demonstrating the possibility of reutilization. The components of noncondensable off-gas contained a small amount of SO₂ and NO_x and a large amount of H₂, CO, and H₂S, which need to be further purified. Three factors influencing the smoldering performance of oil sludge, including moisture content, filler to oil sludge ratio, and airflow rate, were explored.

Comprehensive characterization of an oily sludge from a petrol refinery: A step forward for its valorization within the circular economy strategy

Refinery treatment plants produce large quantities of oily sludge during the petroleum refining processes. The hazardousness associated with the disposal of these wastes, make necessary the development of innovative technologies to handle it adequately, linked to the concepts of circular economy and environmental sustainability. This work provides for the first time a methodology for the deep characterization of this kind of wastes and consequently new insights regarding its valorization. A review of works dealing with the characterization of this type of wastes has been addressed evidencing the complexity and variability of these effluents. The oily sludge under study contains a high concentration of Chemical Oxygen Demand of 196 g COD/L, a Total Kjeldahl Nitrogen of 2.8 g TKN/kg, a phosphorous content as PO₄^3- of 7 g/kg, as well as a great presence of heavy metals in a different range of concentrations. This sludge is composed of three different phases: oily, aqueous and solid. The oily and the solid phases present high percentages of carbon content (84 and 26%, respectively), related to the presence of alkanes ranged from n-C₉ to n-C₄₄. Therefore, it could be possible their valorization by the synthesis of catalyst and/or adsorbents. A dark fermentation process could be also proposed for the oily phase to obtain H₂ as an alternative energy source. Finally, the aqueous phase contains low carbon and nutrients concentration. A previous thermal pre-treatment applied to the oily sludge might increase nutrient and organic loading in the aqueous phase due to solid destruction, making this aqueous effluent suitable for a further conventional biological treatment.

A new perspective towards in-situ cold plasma remediation of polluted sites: Direct generation of micro-discharges within contaminated medium

The in-situ treatment of solid wastes might be regarded as cost-effective and minimum environmental fingerprint solution, particularly with reference to contaminated soils, offering several benefits compared to ex-situ methods. In this short communication it is described the study of a lab-scale coaxial dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma reactor simulating the in-situ soil remediation conditions for the first time. In this conceptual design, the contaminated medium is handled as a part of the electrical discharge, while the plasma discharges are produced directly within the contaminated porous medium under treatment, thus scattering reactive species directly in the air contained inside its interconnected pores. The in-situ cold plasma setup was used to remediate bauxite samples highly contaminated by oil sludge contaminants. A very high TOC removal (∼70%) was achieved after 30 min of plasma treatment time with the corresponding energy consumption being 0.53 kWh kg^-1. Carbon balance analysis of the exhaust gases revealed that 61% of the removed pollutant was converted to CO₂, 19% was decomposed to CO, and 20% was emitted as VOCs. The scale-up of the presented in-situ cold plasma approach could lead to a promising alternative for the fast, cost-effective, and green in-situ remediation of granular porous, heavily contaminated with hydrocarbons contaminated sites.

Hydrothermal treatment combined with in-situ mechanical compression for floated oily sludge dewatering

Due to the high moisture content of the oily sludge, the conventional use of oily sludge treatment presents poor feasibility in industrial applications. Hence, finding an efficient and energy-saving technology is still an urgent need for the dewatering of oily sludge. In this paper, an innovative method combining hydrothermal treatment (HT) and in-situ mechanical compression (MC) for dewatering of floated oily sludge (FOS) was proposed. Series of experiments on HT&MC were conducted to verify the method. 77-96 wt% of water can directly be separated from FOS by the HT&MC treatment under the temperature of 120-240 °C and residence times of 10-60 min. The bound water content in raw and HT&MT treated FOS were measured by employing the differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) to evaluate the dewatering ability. The result of DSC illustrates the freezing peaks shifted from -11.1 °C to -21.2 °C as the diameter of water droplets reduced. Meanwhile, the comprehensive characterization analysis of products, including chemical oxygen demand (COD), NH4⁺-N, and gas chromatograph (GC) were conducted. All results indicated that HT&MC is advisable for dewatering of oily sludge.

Enzymatic defense of Cyperus brevifolius in hydrocarbons stress environment and changes in soil properties

Hydrocarbons or crude oil contamination of soil is still a burning problem around the globe. The herbs competent that are to survive in hydrocarbons contaminated habitats have some adaptive advantages to cope up with the adverse situations prevailing in that environment. In the present study, the adaptive response of Cyperus brevifolius in the heavily polluted soil with crude oil has been investigated in terms of survivability, changes in productivity, antioxidants, phytochemicals and functional group pro files of the plant species. Besides, changes in enzymes, beneficial bacterial population and physico-chemical conditions of contaminated soil were also studied during 60 days of experimental trials. The results showed significant enhancement in activities of soil dehydrogenase, urease, alkaline phosphatase, catalase, and amylase whereas reduction in cellulase, polyphenol oxidase and peroxidase activities. There was a significant increase in nitrogen fixing, phosphate and potassium solubilizing bacterial population, improvement in physico-chemical conditions and a decrease in total oil and grease (TOG) levels. Besides there was significant variations in the productivity parameters and antioxidant profiles of Cyperus brevifolius in hydrocarbons stress condition suggesting enzymatic defense of the herb. The fourier-transform infrared (FT-IR) analysis indicated uptake and metabolism of some hydrocarbon components by the experimental plant from the hydrocarbons polluted soil.

Reverse osmosis performance on stripped phenolic sour water treatment - A study on the effect of oil and grease and osmotic pressure

Technologies for water recycling within oil refineries have been gaining interest at an extensive rate due to the large volume of wastewater generated, high dependency of water and the progressive scarcity of this valuable resource. Phenols are part of a specific class of organic pollutants that have been contributing to a low-quality effluent in oil refineries due to their hazardous nature and strict environmental legislation associated. The reuse of stripped sour water within refineries is often blocked due to its rich phenolic content. This study evaluates the retention of phenols in refinery wastewater through reverse osmosis (RO) at its major source of emission, for water reclamation. The RO membrane selected exhibited rejections of up to 98% of phenols and 99% of both chemical oxygen demand (COD) and total organic carbon (TOC). Permeate quality remained intact despite flux decline caused by phenolic and hydrocarbon adsorption when the oil content, in the feed, reached 771 ppm. The effluent's low conductivity due to lack of salts led to minor osmotic pressure differences (less than 2.5 bar at a volume concentration factor of 3), therefore, showing appealing performances of reverse osmosis filtration. Characterization of all permeates obtained from cross-flow filtration experiments showed COD levels in line with water reuse quality standards for make-up water in cooling processes.

Progress in ultrasonic oil-contaminated sand cleaning: a fundamental review

Steady efforts in using ultrasonic energy to treat oil-contaminated sand started in the early 2000s until today, although pilot studies on the area can be traced to even earlier dates. Owing to the unique characteristics of the acoustic means, the separation of oil from sand has been showing good results in laboratories. This review provides the compilation of researches and insights into the mechanism of separation thus far. Related topics in the areas of oil-contaminated sand characterizations, fundamental ultrasonic cleaning, and cavitation effects are also addressed. Nevertheless, many of the documented works are only at laboratory or pilot-scale level, and the comprehensive interaction between ultrasonic parameters towards cleaning efficiencies may not have been fully unveiled. Gaps and opportunities are also presented at the end of this article.

Recent advances in the application of silica nanostructures for highly improved water treatment: a review

The demand for high-quality safe and clean water supply has revolutionized water treatment technologies and become a most focused subject of environmental science. Water contamination generally marks the presence of numerous toxic and harmful substances. These contaminants such as heavy metals, organic and inorganic pollutants, oil wastes, and chemical dyes are discharged from various industrial effluents and domestic wastes. Among several water treatment technologies, the utilization of silica nanostructures has received considerable attention due to their stability, sustainability, and cost-effective properties. As such, this review outlines the latest innovative approaches for synthesis and application of silica nanostructures in water treatment, apart from exploring the gaps that limit their large-scale industrial application. In addition, future challenges for improved water remediation and water quality technologies are keenly discussed.

Biological Degradation and Transformation Characteristics of Total Petroleum Hydrocarbons by Oil Degradation Bacteria Adsorbed on Modified Straw

We report a simple and "green" method for the fabrication of polymer-modified straw-supported oil degradation bacteria (PMS-ODB) for biological degradation of total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPHs) in water. The modification of straw was achieved by in situ copolymerization of styrene and butyl methacrylate using methylene-bis-acrylamide as a cross-linker in an aqueous solution containing straw powders. Compared with the control group (ODB loaded on untreated straw), the results obtained from the experimental group show that the polymer-modified straw is beneficial to the growth of microorganisms. As a result, the degradation rate of TPHs reaches 90.12%, which is 50.54 and 7.08% higher than that of the blank group (ODB only) and the control group, respectively. A study on the transformation characteristics of PMS-ODB shows that the degradation rate of alkanes with low, medium, and high carbon number is higher than 90%. w(∑C_21-)/w(∑C₂₂₊) (the mass ratio of normal alkanes of high carbon/low carbon), w(pr)/w(ph) (the ratio of pristane/phytane), and OEP (the mass ratio of normal alkanes of odd carbon/even carbon) for TPHs in the experimental group were measured to be 0.6186, 0.7248, and 1.4356, respectively, all of which are the largest value among the blank group, control group, and experimental group. These findings indicate that compared with the control group, the modification of straw could enhance the comprehensive biological degradation performance for TPHs, even those highly stable organics, such as carbon n-alkanes and isoprenoid hydrocarbon, which may open a new possibility for degradation of oils or toxic organics in an enhanced biological manner.

Incineration Kinetic Analysis of Upstream Oily Sludge and Sectionalized Modeling in Differential/Integral Method

As the most significant solid residue generated in the oil production industry, upstream oily sludge was regarded as hazardous waste in China due to its toxicity and ignitability, and to date, the incineration process has been considered the most efficient method in practice. Due to the complicated components of oily sludge, a kinetic model of the incineration process was difficult to build, and is still absent in engineering use. In this study, multiple non-isothermal thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) analysis were applied for the kinetic analysis of upstream oily sludge in air conditions. A viewpoint regarding the rules to sectionalize the reaction stages was raised, and a differential integral method to obtain the incineration kinetic model was provided. The results showed that four stages that were divided based on the weight-loss regions in the TGA curves and the endothermic/exothermic sections in the DSC curves were suitable to obtain an incineration kinetic model of oily sludge. The integral method was beneficial for obtaining the average activation energy of each stage, and the differential method was suitable for gaining the nth-order reaction rate equation and the pre-exponential factor before the operating temperature became lower than 635.968 °C. The average activation energies of stages one, two, three, and four were 60.87 KJ/mol, 78.11 KJ/mol, 98.82 KJ/mol, and 15.96 KJ/mol, respectively. The nth-order reaction rate equations and pre-exponential factors of stages one, two, and three were 0.82, 3.50, and 2.50, and e 13.32 min - 1 , e 19.69 min - 1 , and e 21.00 min - 1 , respectively.

Petroleum sludge bioremediation and its toxicity removal by landfill in gunder semi-arid conditions

In this investigation, petroleum sludge landfilling was carried out in order to assess the biodegradation degree and the final product quality. The microbial analysis showed a good microorganism proliferation which reinforces the biodegradation process. The total mesophilic and thermophilic microflora evaluated symmetrically as they increased at the intermediate stage and decreased at the final. The C/N and NH₄⁺/NO₃^-ratios decreased while the polymerization degree increased at the end of the landfilling process. The total polyphenols and total petroleum C₆ to C₂₂hydrocarbons were removed by 71.6% and 73% respectively, and that affected the reduction of the phytotoxicity in a positive way. All these changes are in agreement with the efficiency of the biotransformation process and showed that petroleum sludge and filling reduced the toxic organic compounds and led to a stable final product.

Ultrasonic washing for oily sludge treatment in pilot scale

Ultrasonic technology is a promising tool for washing oily sludge to remove oil, however, little information has been provided on the pilot scale application of ultrasonic washing. In this study, the ultrasonic conditions were optimized based on the pilot trial of the effects of ultrasonic properties on oil removal from oily sludge. An ultrasonic power of 0.24 w/cm² was necessary to overcome the energy threshold for oil washing at the frequency of 25 kHz. The removal rate was changed from 46.0% to 60.7% with oily sludge content from 25.0% to 42.0%, respectively. The addition of surfactants could improve oil recovery, and the optimizing content for sodium petroleum sulfonate and Span 80 was 0.3% and 0.03%, respectively. A series of pilot scale test indicated that the oil removal rate could be 82-90% by ultrasound assistant with surfactants (Span 80). Thin-layer chromatographic flame ionization detection showed that the removal rate by ultrasonic wash was dropped with the increase of composition polarity. However, under the assistance of surfactants (Span 80), all compositions could be effectively removed. This pilot study will greatly improve the application of ultrasonic technology in oily sludge treatment.

Emerging trends in photodegradation of petrochemical wastes: a review

Various human activities like mining and extraction of mineral oils have been used for the modernization of society and well-beings. However, the by-products such as petrochemical wastes generated from such industries are carcinogenic and toxic, which had increased environmental pollution and risks to human health several folds. Various methods such as physical, chemical and biological methods have been used to degrade these pollutants from wastewater. Advance oxidation processes (AOPs) are evolving techniques for efficient sequestration of chemically stable and less biodegradable organic pollutants. In the present review, photocatalytic degradation of petrochemical wastes containing monoaromatic and poly-aromatic hydrocarbons has been studied using various heterogeneous photocatalysts (such as TiO₂, ZnO and CdS. The present article seeks to offer a scientific and technical overview of the current trend in the use of the photocatalyst for remediation and degradation of petrochemical waste depending upon the recent advances in photodegradation of petrochemical research using bibliometric analysis. We further outlined the effect of various heterogeneous catalysts and their ecotoxicity, various degradation pathways of petrochemical wastes, the key regulatory parameters and the reactors used. A critical analysis of the available literature revealed that TiO₂ is widely reported in the degradation processes along with other semiconductors/nanomaterials in visible and UV light irradiation. Further, various degradation studies have been carried out at laboratory scale in the presence of UV light. However, further elaborative research is needed for successful application of the laboratory scale techniques to pilot-scale operation and to develop environmental friendly catalysts which support the sustainable treatment technology with the "zero concept" of industrial wastewater. Nevertheless, there is a need to develop more effective methods which consume less energy and are more efficient in pilot scale for the demineralization of pollutant.

Phytoremediation of petroleum hydrocarbons by using a freshwater fern species Azolla filiculoides Lam

In this study, the phytoremediation capacity of Azolla filiculoides Lam. for the water resources contaminated with petroleum hydrocarbons was investigated. The plants were grown in nitrogen-free Hoagland nutrient solution containing 0.005%, 0.01%, 0.05%, 0.1%, 0.2%, 0.3%, 0.4%, and 0.5% crude oil under greenhouse conditions for 15 days. Although the growth rate of the plants were not negatively influenced by the presence of crude oil in the media for the concentration of 0.005% and 0.01% v/v, a gradual impeding effect of crude oil in the growth media has been observed at concentrations 0.05-0.1%. More than 0.1% crude oil in the growth medium ostensibly retarded the growth. For example, 0.2% oil in the media reduced growth approximately 50% relative to the control, and the presence of crude oil at concentrations 0.3% or more were lethal. The data about the percentage of plant growth, fresh weight increase and root growth clearly indicated that the tolerance level of A. filiculoides plants to crude oil ranges between 0.1% and 0.2%. In comparison to control samples, the biodegradation rate of total aliphatic and aromatic (phenathrene) hydrocarbons at 0.05-0.2% oil concentrations, was 94-73% and 81-77%, respectively. On the other hand, in case of further increases in oil concentration in media, i.e.; 0.3-0.5%, the biodegradation rate was still higher in the experimental samples, respectively 71-63% and 75-71%. The high biodegradation rates of petroleum hydrocarbons in the experimental samples suggested that A. filiculoides plants could be a promising candidate to be used for the phytoremediation of low crude oil contaminated precious freshwater resources.

Influence of ultrasonic waves on the removal of different oil components from oily sludge

Ultrasonic technology is a promising tool for washing oily sludge to recover oil. In this study, the influence of ultrasonic conditions on the removal of different oil components from oily sludge was investigated to optimize ultrasonic washing technology. Among the three frequencies (25, 50 and 100 kHz) applied, ultrasonic washing at 25 kHz exhibited the best performance in terms of oil extraction rate and efficiency. An ultrasonic intensity of 0.33 W/cm2 was necessary to overcome the energy threshold for oil washing. Application of a standing wave or dual frequencies did not improve the oil removal performance perceptibly. The optimum conditions for the removal of oil from oily sludge were an ultrasonic frequency of 25 kHz, intensity of 0.33 W/cm2 and sludge/water ratio of 1/2 (in volume). Thin-layer chromatographic flame ionization detection showed that ultrasonication could overcome high energy thresholds, resulting in an increase in the removal of asphaltenes and resins, with the removal of asphaltenes particularly affected by frequency. This study could provide valuable information for the application of ultrasonic technology in oily sludge treatment.

Characterization of oily sludge from a refinery and biodegradability assessment using various hydrocarbon degrading strains and reconstituted consortia

Oily sludge obtained from a refinery in India contained 10-11% oil associated with fine particulates. Along with Fe, Ca and Mg various toxic elements were associated with the sludge solids (Pb, Mn, Cu, Zn, As, Bi, Cd, Cr, Co, Ni and V). The oil contained 41-56% asphaltenes and the maltenes comprised of 49 ± 4%, 42 ± 2% and 4 ± 2%, aliphatic, aromatic and polar fractions, respectively. Biodegradation studies with the maltene fraction of oil provided as sole substrate revealed higher degradation by various 3-5 membered reconstituted consortia compared to pure bacterial strains and up to 42 ± 8% degradation could be achieved over 30 days. In contrast, over the same period up to 71.5 ± 2% oil degradation could be achieved using dried oily sludge (15% w/v) as sole substrate. Significant biodegradation observed in the un-inoculated controls indicated the presence of indigenous microorganisms in oily sludge. However, large variability in oil degradation was observed in the un-inoculated controls. Greater biodegradation of the maltene fraction led to significant enrichment of asphaltenes in residual oil associated with the sludge.

A new application of oily cold rolling mill sludge for preparing Fe2O3/graphene as anodes for lithium-ion batteries

A new application of oily cold rolling mill sludge for preparing Fe₂O₃/graphene as anodes for lithium-ion batteries.

A combination of solvent extraction and freeze thaw for oil recovery from petroleum refinery wastewater treatment pond sludge

A combination of solvent extraction and freeze thaw was examined for recovering oil from the high-moisture petroleum refinery wastewater treatment pond sludge. Five solvents including cyclohexane (CHX), dichloromethane (DCM), methyl ethyl ketone (MEK), ethyl acetate (EA), and 2-propanol (2-Pro) were examined. It was found that these solvents except 2-Pro showed a promising oil recovery rate of about 40%, but the recycling of DCM solvent after oil extraction was quite low. Three solvents (CHX, MEK and EA) were then selected for examining the effect of freeze/thaw treatment on improving the quality of recovered oil. This treatment increased the total petroleum hydrocarbon (TPH) content in recovered oil from about 40% to 60% for both MEK and EA extractions, but little effect was observed for CHX extraction. Although the solid residue after oil recovery had a significantly decreased TPH content, a high concentration of heavy metals was observed, indicating that this residue may require proper management. In general, the combination of solvent extraction with freeze/thaw is effective for high-moisture oily hazardous waste treatment.

Recent development in the treatment of oily sludge from petroleum industry: a review

Oily sludge is one of the most significant solid wastes generated in the petroleum industry. It is a complex emulsion of various petroleum hydrocarbons (PHCs), water, heavy metals, and solid particles. Due to its hazardous nature and increased generation quantities around the world, the effective treatment of oily sludge has attracted widespread attention. In this review, the origin, characteristics, and environmental impacts of oily sludge were introduced. Many methods have been investigated for dealing with PHCs in oily sludge either through oil recovery or sludge disposal, but little attention has been paid to handle its various heavy metals. These methods were discussed by dividing them into oil recovery and sludge disposal approaches. It was recognized that no single specific process can be considered as a panacea since each method is associated with different advantages and limitations. Future efforts should focus on the improvement of current technologies and the combination of oil recovery with sludge disposal in order to comply with both resource reuse recommendations and environmental regulations. The comprehensive examination of oily sludge treatment methods will help researchers and practitioners to have a good understanding of both recent developments and future research directions.

Effects of soil organic matter and ageing on remediation of diesel-contaminated soil

Bioremediation of diesel-contaminated soil was investigated for the effects of soil organic matter (SOM) and ageing time in two sets of experiments (Batch I and II, respectively). This study examined degradation efficiency in soil artificially contaminated with diesel oil (maximum total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH) concentration of 9000 mg/kg soil). Batch I data showed that the values of the first-order degradation rate, k, were relatively high in the low-SOM soil batches. The quantity of SOM negatively correlated with the TPH degradation rates and with the total TPH degradation efficiency (%). Introduction of rhamnolipid to the soil proved to be a useful solution to resolve the problem of the residual TPH in the soil with high SOM. In Batch II, the k values decreased with the length of ageing time: 0.0245, 0.0128 and 0.0090 l/d in samples ST0 (freshly contaminated), ST38 (aged for 38 days) and ST101 (aged for 101 days), respectively. The TPH degradation efficiency (%) also decreased along with the ageing time. The research also applied molecular technology to analyse the bacterial community dynamics during the bioremediation course. Multivariate statistics based on terminal-restriction fragment length data indicated: 1) the soils with different SOM resulted in separate bacterial community structures, 2) ageing time created a variety of bacterial communities, 3) the bacterial community dynamics was associated with the hydrocarbon consumption. The SOM content in soils affected the TPH degradation rate and efficiency and the bacterial community structures. Aged soil is more difficult to remediate than freshly contaminated soil, and the resulting bacterial community was less dynamic and showed a lack of succession.

Carbon content reduction in a model reluctant clayey soil: slurry phase n-hexadecane bioremediation

Clayey soils contaminated with organic pollutants are nowadays one of the important environmental issues as they are highly reluctant to conventional bioremediation techniques. In this study, biodegradability of n-hexadecane as a model contaminant in oil polluted clayey soil by an indigenous bacterium was investigated. Maximal bacterial growth was achieved at 8% (v/v) n-hexadecane as sole carbon and energy sources in aqueous phase. The predominant n-hexadecane uptake mechanism was identified to be biosurfactant-mediated using bacterial adhesion to hydrocarbon (BATH) test and surface tension measurements. The effect of n-hexadecane concentration, soil to water ratio, inoculum concentration and pH on total organic carbon (TOC) reduction from kaolin soil in slurry phase was investigated at two levels in shake flasks using full factorial experimental design method where 10,000 (mg n-hexadecane)(kg soil)(-1), soil-water ratio of 1:3, 10% (v/w) inoculum and pH of 7 resulted in the highest TOC reduction of 70% within 20 days. Additionally, slurry bioreactor experiments were performed to study the effect of various aeration rates on n-hexadecane biodegradation during 9 days where 2.5 vvm was found as an appropriate aeration rate leading to 54% TOC reduction. Slurry phase bioremediation is shown to be a successful method for remediation of clayey reluctant soils.

Ex-situ bioremediation of crude oil in soil, a comparative kinetic analysis

Weathered crude oil (WCO) removals in shoreline sediment samples were monitored for 60 days in bioremediation experimentation. Experimental modeling was carried out using statistical design of experiments. At optimum conditions maximum of 83.13, 78.06 and 69.92% WCO removals were observed for 2, 16 and 30 g/kg initial oil concentrations, respectively. Significant variations in the crude oil degradation pattern were observed with respect to oil, nutrient and microorganism contents. Crude oil bioremediation were successfully described by a first-order kinetic model. The study indicated that the rate of hydrocarbon biodegradation increased with decrease of crude oil concentrations.

Phytoremediation of oilfield sludge after prepared bed bioremediation treatment

A field-scale experiment was carried out to compare the effectiveness of five plant species in the remediation of oily sludge. Alfalfa, tall fescue, and soybean substantially increased the removal rate of oil and grease (O&G) after 120 days of remediation. Of these, soybean treatment showed the highest removal rate of 34.2% compared with only 13.7% in the unplanted control plot. In addition to assisting with phytoremediation, soybean can also be used for energy production, for example in the production of biodiesel. Furthermore, microbial counts and community level physiological profiling using Biolog sole carbon source utilization tests were used to investigate the effect of plants on the microbial community of oily sludge. Plants selectively increased microbial counts in the rhizosphere and O&G concentrations of the sludge were negatively correlated with counts of TPH (total petroleum hydrocarbon) degraders. The acute biotoxicity of the sludge was also tested by the bacterial luminescence method and alfalfa treatments decreased the biological toxicity of the sludge compared with the unplanted control.

Bioremediation of oily sludge-contaminated soil by stimulating indigenous microbes

In situ bioremediation of oily sludge-contaminated soil by biostimulation of indigenous microbes through adding manure was conducted at the Shengli oilfield in northern China. After bioremediation for 360 days, total petroleum hydrocarbon (TPH) content was reduced by 58.2% in the treated plots compared with only 15.6% in the control plot. Moreover, bioremediation significantly improved the physicochemical properties of the soil in the treated plot. Soil microbial counts and community-level physiological profiling were also examined. Manure addition increased TPH degraders and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) degraders in the contaminated soil by one to two orders of magnitude. The activity and biodiversity of soil microbial communities also increased markedly in the treated plot compared with that of the control. Finally, biotoxicity was used to evaluate the soils and a sharp increase in the EC50 of the soil after bioremediation was observed, indicating that bioremediation had reduced the toxicity of the soil.

Effects of sterilization treatments on the analysis of TOC in water samples

Decomposition experiments conducted with and without microbial processes are commonly used to study the effects of environmental microorganisms on the degradation of organic pollutants. However, the effects of biological pretreatment (sterilization) on organic matter often have a negative impact on such experiments. Based on the principle of water total organic carbon (TOC) analysis, the effects of physical sterilization treatments on determination of TOC and other water quality parameters were investigated. The results revealed that two conventional physical sterilization treatments, autoclaving and 60Co gamma-radiation sterilization, led to the direct decomposition of some organic pollutants, resulting in remarkable errors in the analysis of TOC in water samples. Furthermore, the extent of the errors varied with the intensity and the duration of sterilization treatments. Accordingly, a novel sterilization method for water samples, 0.45 microm micro-filtration coupled with ultraviolet radiation (MCUR), was developed in the present study. The results indicated that the MCUR method was capable of exerting a high bactericidal effect on the water sample while significantly decreasing the negative impact on the analysis of TOC and other water quality parameters. Before and after sterilization treatments, the relative errors of TOC determination could be controlled to lower than 3% for water samples with different categories and concentrations of organic pollutants by using MCUR.

Characteristics of oily sludge combustion in circulating fluidized beds

Incineration of oily sludge in circulating fluidized beds may be an effective way for its management in some cases. The objective of the present paper is to investigate combustion characteristics of oily sludge, which would be helpful and useful for the design and simulation of a circulating fluidized bed. Firstly, the pyrolysis and combustion of oily sludge were studied through some thermal analyses, which included the thermogravimetric (TG) analysis and the differential thermal analytical (DTA) analysis. It was found that the combustion of oily sludge might be the combustion of its pyrolysis products. Secondly, an experiment for measuring of main components of the volatile from oily sludge pyrolysis was carried out. Some mathematic correlations about the compositions of volatile from oily sludge devolatilization were achieved from the experimental results. Finally, the combustion characteristics of oily sludge was studied in a lab-scale circulating fluidized bed, which could obtain some information about the location of release and combustion of the volatiles.

Biodegradation of oil in oily sludges from steel mills

Lab-scale batch studies were conducted to determine the biodegradability of oil associated with oily sludge from a steel mill using two microbial cultures enriched in the laboratory. After 60 days of biodegradation the residual oil content in mill sludge was reduced from 4.5-5% to 2.7-3.0%, corresponding to 40-45% loss with respect to initial. The rate of degradation was different for the two enrichment cultures studied. Significant loss of oil was observed in the un-inoculated controls while loss in the azide killed controls was negligible. Bioavailability limitations and the presence of structurally complex high molecular weight hydrocarbons in lubricating oil are responsible for the slow rate of degradation. Significant loss of oil in un-inoculated controls indicated the presence of indigenous microorganisms in oily mill sludge. The association of biomass with sludge solids and presence of a high level of residual oil may adversely affect the recyclability of iron-fines associated with the sludge.

Prepared bed bioremediation of oily sludge in an oilfield in northern China

Field-scale bioremediation of oily sludge in prepared beds was studied at Shengli oilfield in northern China. The influence of manure, coarse sand, sawdust, a specialized microbial preparation and greenhouse conditions on the efficiency of removal of oil and grease was evaluated. After bioremediation for 230d, oil and grease content fell by 32-42gkg(-1)dry sludge in treated plots, indicating removal of 27-46% compared with only 15% in the control plot. Addition of manure, coarse sand, sawdust and greenhouse conditions significantly (p<0.05) increased the amount removed. Moreover, the physico-chemical properties of the sludge in all treated plots improved significantly after bioremediation. Microbial biomass in sludge and community-level physiological profiling examined using BIOLOG microplates was also studied. Total petroleum hydrocarbon degraders and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon degraders increased in all treated oily sludge. The activity of sludge microbial communities increased markedly in the treated plots compared with the control. Canonical correspondence analysis showed that differences in substrate utilization patterns were highly correlated (p<0.05) with sludge hydrolyzable N and oil and grease content. The biological toxicity of the oily sludge was lower following bioremediation in most of the treated plots as evaluated using Photobacterium phosphoreum T3.