COMBUSTION OF MODEL AND REAL OIL SLUDGE IN A FLUIDIZED BED OF CATALYST

Abstract

The relevance of the research is caused by generation of a huge amount of oil refinery waste (mainly oil sludge and acid tars). The development of technologies for processing such type of raw materials is an important area for many research teams. Despite the significant harm to the environment, refining waste contains a huge energy potential. Therefore, it is necessary to create technologies that will combine both environmentally friendly recycling and effective use of this potential. Now, there are many different ways of such materials utilization. The main one is direct combustion. However, almost all existing approaches are expensive and difficult in their implementation. In addition, most of them do not provide the required environmental safety of the process. The main aim of the research is to demonstrate the applicability of the fluidized bed combustion method for efficient refinery waste utilization. Objects of the research are the oil/water mixtures of various component ratio modeling waste resulting from refining processes (production, storage, processing into commodity products). In addition, samples of real oil refining waste (oil sludge of various origin) were investigated. Methods: analysis of literary sources in order to determine the main approaches to oil waste utilization; physical experiments to determine ash, moisture and volatile content in the samples; physical experiment on combustion of model and real oil waste. Results. The paper analyzes the existing methods of thermal processing with a sufficiently detailed consideration of individual methods used in practice. In addition, a series of physical experiments on combustion of both model oil/water mixtures in various ratios and real oil sludges of various origin was carried out. The authors showed that the combustion of both model and real sludge under conditions of a fluidized bed of catalyst provides a high environmental safety of the process – the content of harmful emissions (CO, NOx, SO2) does not exceed 100 ppm. In addition, the studies have shown the possibility of implementing the autothermal mode of combustion, which allows one to use their energy potential in most efficient way.

Keywords

• oil sludge
• combustion
• catalysis
• fluidized bed
• autothermic mode
• ecological safety