scope:

INTRODUCTION & OBJECTIVE

Petroleum refining operations generate-hydrocarbon contaminated waste sludges which accumulate principally in the refinery waste water treatment systems and in tankage as BS&W. Historically, these wastes have been handled using sever.

o landfills & dumps

o ocean dumping

o lagoons

o landfarming

o incineration & landfills

Under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) , passed in 1976 and currently being implemented, disposal alternatives for these wastes will become very limited. Landfarming (also called landspreading, oil farming, soil incorporation, etc.), has been found acceptable with certain limitations, by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for disposal of petroleum oily wastes.

Although the technique has been studied and applied by petroleum refiners for many years, to date, no data have been published concerning the extent of hydrocarbon emissions to the atmosphere from oily waste landspreading activities. Since both the Clean Air Act and RCRA exercise potential control over such emissions, the need for data in this area is apparent. With this study, Suntech, under sponsorship of the American Petroleum Institute (API), has carried out an initial attempt to quantify these volatile organic carbon (VOC) emissions from two refinery wastes (API separator sludge and a centrifuge sludge).