Oil resources make up the bulk of the fuel supply materials of power plants, and are also widely used at gas stations, in the maintenance of technical equipment, and in the supply of electrical equipment. This infrastructure includes facilities for storage, pumping and filtering, while each of them, to one degree or another, leaves raw waste that is harmful to the environment. Accordingly, there is a need for timely disposal of petroleum products that cannot be used in industry or transportation services. According to experts, the total waste in the form of oil pollution accumulated at individual facilities in the volume reaches hundreds of thousands of cubic meters.
Tasks of oil waste disposal points
The main direction in the overall set of tasks for the disposal of various kinds of petroleum products is the cleaning of funds for pumping, storage and transportation of material. Only in this case can the proper quality and fuel safety be ensured. As a rule, for such purposes, they use detergents, sumps, spray guns and even sandblasting machines, which remove stagnant traces of technical oils. The direction of emergency response in the form of oil spills is also popular. Contamination of the soil with chemically hazardous substances can threaten environmental disaster. In the process of utilizing soil contaminated with oil products, methods of intensification, biochemical treatment, pyrolysis and traditional landfill are used. Now it is worth considering the current methods and technologies for the disposal of petroleum products in more detail.
Means of mechanical processing of sludge
Several utilization techniques are used in complex at once, including centrifugal separation, sedimentation, hydrological processing, etc. The main tasks are to separate oil sludge into different fractions depending on size and density. More modern techniques allow the materials to be automatically separated by toxicity levels. The centrifugal method, coupled with sedimentation technology, separates the oil emulsions from the water layer.
In the future, determining the degree of concentration of the target elements, it is possible to filter out significant fractions of impurities. Direct disposal of sludge from petroleum products is carried out at the final station of mechanical processing on the lower layers of sedimentation tanks, where about 75-80% of heavy suspensions are concentrated. Hydroprocessing generally offers the same separation principles, but the separation process is more intense due to the desorption of petroleum products - additional technological operations are connected in the form of heating and mixing.
Biochemical disposal method
This technique is based on the principle of decomposition of microorganisms by oxidation. In practice, this method is often used in the rehabilitation of soils and other contaminated materials. For example, the biochemical disposal of sawdust contaminated with oil products involves the activation of the metabolism of the natural microflora of raw materials. Different cleaning modes are used, differing in humidity indicators, intensity of aeration effect, inclusion of nutrients and other parameters. At a high level of pollution, active biological substances are used that have the effect of oxidizing petroleum microorganisms. But the biochemical method also has a number of disadvantages, which include the risk of disruption of the natural biocenosis.
Physico-chemical method of disposal
This is an extensive group of methods for the processing and purification of undesirable oil-containing products, the most popular methods of which include extraction and flotation. So, extraction methods are based on the principles of dissolution of polar compounds against the background of heat exposure. As a result, solid and liquid media of the target material are formed, which can be easily separated. As for the disposal of petroleum products through flotation, this technique is implemented with the support of hot air mixtures that separate the concentrates of the main substance and mechanical impurities. Physicochemical methods include the so-called oil gathering. When performing this technique, slurry tanks and drum separators are used. But as a regular means of disposal, this method is used infrequently. Oil gathering is mainly involved in eliminating the consequences of accidents with oil spills on the surfaces of water bodies.
Thermal method for the disposal of petroleum products
This method is based on the process of thermal decomposition, which can be subjected to various petroleum products. The most effective is complete decomposition when two media are formed during the destruction - based on carbon dioxide and water. Depending on the conditions of the conduct, several types of thermal processing are distinguished:
- Sludge incineration in kiln units where a fluidized bed is present.
- Burning (decomposition by heat) in an oxygen-free environment.
- Pyrolysis.
The most common and somewhat universal method is the disposal of petroleum waste in furnaces according to the "fluidized bed" principle. In this case, under the influence of hot air currents, recreational chambers provide mixed suspensions at the outlet.
Oil Product Recovery Technologies
Organic and water-based lubricating oils are often used in industry and the transportation sector to service machinery. Conventionally, engine fluids are divided into two groups - amenable and non-amenable regeneration. In order to save consumables, cleaning and recovery technology can be applied, due to which the oil product acquires lost operational qualities. The technical oils of this group include anticorrosive fluids from circulating plants, lubricants from mud storage tanks, etc. At the basic collection stage, the disposal of used oils and oil products can also be performed, but part of the product is passed through a filter press. Further, the procedures for restoring the physical properties of the liquid are carried out through the action of “deaf” steam with heating to 90 ° C. The thermally treated oil is mixed with compressed air and left to stand for 30 minutes.
Tar Cleaning Technologies
Sulfuric acid purification of tars is used in cases when it is necessary to eliminate tarry, nitrogenous and sulfur-containing, as well as unsaturated compounds, causing a low level of stability of the oil product during storage. Acid tars are characterized by the presence of highly viscous gummy masses, which include water, organic impurities and sulfur compounds. The cleaning process involves different means depending on the target layer. So, the disposal of spent petroleum products based on acid tars can be performed in relation to the following levels:
- Upper. Acidic oily liquid. It does not require special processing and is eliminated by basic biochemical methods.
- Average. Acidic water environment. Consists of sulfuric acid and precipitation. It is subjected to chemical-thermal treatment, and in some cases it is separated and transferred in parts to regeneration.
- Lower. Pasty mixtures of acid tar and concentrated sulfuric acid. Today, the best way to use tar sludge is to process it into industrial bitumen.
Combined Disposal Methods
Universal methods for refining petroleum products that can be applied to materials with different physicochemical properties. The most effective method of this kind can be called a combination of mechanical disposal with separation techniques, cleaning and physico-chemical exposure. In practice, these operations are not performed simultaneously, but in stages. The primary disposal of petroleum products in a combined way involves the separation of emulsions from sludge, followed by filtration of the water emulsion layer, neutralization of residues and processing of the sedimentary layer.
Russian oil waste utilization companies
Domestic enterprises have extensive experience in this area, offering a wide range of comprehensive services for the processing of oil waste. The leading positions in the segment are occupied by the VZTU and Lukoil-VNP companies. Research facilities are regularly held at their facilities, and the range of technologies aimed at solving cleaning problems is expanding. High-quality utilization of petroleum products in Moscow is provided by the Ecoinvest company, which offers the processing of machine oils, emulsions, organic substances and contaminated materials. As for the unique Russian processing facilities, we can note the Insteb equipment, which is used for the efficient utilization and neutralization of oil-containing materials, and a wide range of sorbents - for example, Econaft and Modifier preparations deserve attention.
Oil Disposal Issues
Despite the increase in the technological level of methods for the disposal of oily waste, there are still a number of economic and logistical difficulties that cause organizational problems of processing. Adds difficulties and the fact that modern technical fluids are increasingly being alloyed and modified by making various additives. This complicates the technological process of processing this type of waste. And even new methods of regeneration with the possibility of recycling materials require the connection of considerable capacities and resources when performing recovery operations. Therefore, we can draw conclusions about the cost of disposal and processing of oil waste, not to mention the persistence of environmental risks to the environment.
Conclusion
Petrochemical industry technologists regularly increase the efficiency of fuel and lubricant processing methods. Today, the most promising direction is the development of methods for the disposal of waste petroleum products through microbiological treatment with sorbents. Again, these are not cheap technologies, but in areas where foci of pollution regularly appear, they fully justify themselves. In addition, in some production processes with large volumes of oil used, microbiological disposal, coupled with traditional methods, gives considerable savings in the organization of processing.