Methods of disposal of recovered oil and sludge

Abstract

This Chapter is concerned with the disposal of not just recovered oil, but also oily sludges accumulating in the bottom of storage tanks and separators. For a great many installations the problem can easily be solved by re-injecting recovered oil into crude oil lines, and by dumping sludges at approved landfill sites. However, disposal of oily wastes to landfill sites is becoming increasingly difficult in Europe and North America because of the restrictions now being imposed on such disposal methods. Provided the waste does not have to be transported over long distances, the landfill method is the most economic when compared with alternatives, such as incineration. Several CONCAWE reports^{[12.1–12.4]} and a later summary^[12.5] deal with this subject but relate largely to wastes recovered from land-based activities. The International Tanker Owners Pollution Federation Ltd,^[12.6] and Cormack^[12.7] have described the problems associated with recovered oil from spills.