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Title: Acid sludge utilization

Technical Report ·
OSTI ID:6881934

The Peak Oil Company of Tampa, Florida, in cooperation with the United States Department of Energy, has completed an initial study for the incorporation of acid-sludge derived from the rerefining of used lubricating oil into a useful and salable building material. Both bricks and paving materials have been produced using a formulation developed by Peak. Equipment has been designed and constructed for the specific purpose of preparing emulsions containing the acid-sludge, which is a vital ingredient in the final formulation. Testing of products obtained from these initial efforts shows that the acid in the sludge has been effectively neutralized and that heavy metals are not leached from the bricks or paving material in normal testing. While some properties of the building materials that incorporate the acid-sludge by-product are below standards for clay and shale brick, uses are defined for the product as is, and there is some promise of eventual production of building materials that meet all specifications for competitive materials. Initial cost estimations are encouraging, indicating that a profit can be derived by converting a hazardous and noxious by-product of rerefining to a construction material. Acid-sludge has presented a complex and costly disposal problem to the industry resulting in a serious depletion in the capacity for rerefining used lubricating oil.

Research Organization:
Peak Oil Co., Tampa, FL (USA)
DOE Contract Number:
AC19-79BC10089
OSTI ID:
6881934
Report Number(s):
DOE/BC/10089-1
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English