Petroleum sludge treatment and disposal: A review

Petroleum industry produces one of the popular hazardous waste known as Petroleum Sludge. The treatment and disposal of petroleum sludge has created a major challenge in recent years. This review provides insights into various approaches involved in the treatment, and disposal of petroleum sludge. Various methods used in the treatment and disposal of petroleum sludge such as incineration, stabilization/solidification, oxidation, and bio-degradation are explained fully and other techniques utilized in oil recovery from petroleum sludge such as solvent extraction, centrifugation, surfactant EOR, freeze/thaw, pyrolysis, microwave irradiation, electro-kinetic method, ultrasonic irradiation and froth flotation were discussed. The pros and cons of these methods were critically considered and a recommendation for economically useful alternatives to disposal of this unfriendly material was presented. Keywords: Hazardous waste, Petroleum sludge, Sludge disposal, Waste management