Method of Processing Oil Sludge Generated at Oil Refineries in Turkmenistan

The paper presents the results of studying the chemical composition of some samples of oil sludge generated at oil refineries in Turkmenistan. The study of the composition of oil sludge from the Turkmenbashi Complex of Oil Refineries (TCOR) and the Seydi Oil Refinery (SOR) showed that the samples (TCOR) from the RVS-208, RVS-216, and RVS-246 tanks contained the following amount of mechanical impurities: 3.44, 4.41, 56.48%, respectively. The content of organic components of oil sludge (oil products) in these samples was, respectively, as follows, %: asphaltenes 38.08, 12.31, 2.36; resins 15.06, 31.18, 3.65; oils 43.41, 52.09, 37.51. Thus, the total content of oil products in the samples of the Turkmenbashi refinery is 96.55, 95.58, 43.52%, respectively. The composition of the oil sludge collected at SOR from the biological treatment facility (BTF) samples and from the mechanical treatment facility (MTF) samples contained 62.37–62.92 and 2.03% mechanical impurities, respectively. The content of chemical components of oil sludge in these samples was, respectively, as follows, %: asphaltenes 1.73–1.80 and 7.87; resins 15.96–16.24 and 17.58; oils 19.3–19.6 and 72.52. Thus, the total content of oil products in the BTF samples of SOR was 37.08–37.16%, and in the MTF samples, 97.97%. The method of processing TCOR and SOR oil sludge with gas condensate was studied and for comparison, straight-run gasoline and reformate, semi-finished products of the enterprises, were used as an extractant. Investigation result demonstrated that the gas condensate used at the refinery as supplementary feedstock can be successfully employed as a solvent for the oil sludge processing. However, multi-stage processing of oil products from oil sludge with a solvent is required for their more complete extraction.