Assessment of composting for bioremediation of pit sludges and weathered crude oil
- and others
Numerous waste oil pits and large volumes of soil contaminated with hydrocarbons have resulted from various activities in production areas, often remote, worldwide. A series of three studies conducted at Amoco`s Tulsa Research Center addressed the effect of composting on weathered crude oil from long-term production areas, as well as the use of respirometry and bench-scale laboratory reactors to establish operating parameters and predict the outcome of composting trials. Respirometry was found to be a sensitive and reliable method of measuring limitations due to small sample size, short-term the ability to measure only complete mineralization of organic matter to dioxide. The method was used to determine optimal ranges for various operating parameters which were tested at bench and pilot scale. Bench-scale PVC pipe reactors were filled with pit sludge or soil contaminated with weathered crude oil, inorganic nutrients, water, and bulking agent and incubated in a temperature-controlled chamber. Pilot-scale systems consisted of a static pile (16 x 16 x 8 ft) and a windrow (20 x 5 x 4 ft) treating weathered crude oil contaminated soil. Compost piles quickly self-heated under cold ambient conditions due to readily degradable organics in the straw bulking agent. Heating was not well correlated with the steady reduction in hydrocarbons, measured as oil and grease (O&G), of approximately 8% and 20% by -weight in the static pile and windrow systems, respectively, over the entire test period of 121 days. In each case, {open_quotes}fingerprint{close_quote} analyses of compost extracts by gas chromatography showed significant attenuation of the higher boiling point hydrocarbon fractions (C31 and higher). Conversion rates were found to be slow, and complete mineralization of weathered crude oil may not be readily achieved with composting.
- Research Organization:
- US Department of Energy (USDOE), Washington DC (United States); Amoco Production Co., Houston, TX (United States); Conoco, Inc., Stamford, CT (United States)
- OSTI ID:
- 377191
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-9509296-; ON: DE96001221; TRN: 96:004054-0026
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: 2. international petroleum environmental conference: environmental issues and solutions in petroleum exploration, production, and refining, New Orleans, LA (United States), 25-27 Sep 1995; Other Information: PBD: 1995; Related Information: Is Part Of Environmental issues and solutions in petroleum exploration, production and refining; Sublette, K.L. [ed.]; PB: 1078 p.
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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