Model 2 : Disposal of Stabilized Oil Sludge

The Scenario

Let us imagine that we have 50 000 tonnes of liquid oil sludge in a storage somewhere and we must move this sludge about 600 km to the nearest disposal site that is willing to accept it. However, the disposal site will only accept it if it is a solid waste not as a liquid waste. There are several ways to proceed from here, but what is becoming increasingly relevant in today's world now is how much carbon footprint our treatment process incurs.

The Treatment Method

A method that is used to turn liquid sludge into a solid waste so that it is safer for disposal and accepted in more disposal sites is by stabilizing or fixing the waste. This is usually done by adding a stabilizing agent to the waste. The stabilizing agent obviously must be taken to the waste; it must be mixed at the site.  The stabilizing agent is usually a clay or perhaps sawdust, depending on the site location. This process increases the waste volume, but it does turn into a solid. Once solid, with no free liquid visible, the waste will have increased the total volume by a factor of three or four. This quantity then must be transported by truck to the disposal site, 600 km away, where it is safely and securely stored for eternity.

The SAS MIST Process

This is one way of doing it, but obviously, we are increasing the waste volume by a factor of three or four. It seems contra intuitive to create more waste just to treat the waste. Alternatively, what we can do is add a little bit of our SAS chemistry and put it through our SAS MIST process. What happens then is rather than adding stabilizers to the waste to turn it into a solid material, we actually remove the water and the oil, leaving only dry solids. The oil is recovered, and the water will be reused. We are left only with the dry solids that we then transport to the disposal site.

 The Advantage

That is a huge saving, rather than increasing the waste volume by 300% or 400 %. we are actually reducing the volume of the waste by about 90 % here, so the carbon footprint is going to be substantially smaller. In the case of this particular example, you're looking at over 20 000 tonnes of CO2 equivalent emissions for stabilizing the waste and transporting it or you're looking at about 1400 tonnes of CO2 equivalent emissions for the SAS MIST process and only transporting a much smaller fraction of the waste. The impact on the carbon footprint by actually treating at the site of storage or generation is absolutely massive.

Your Benefit

How will this help you? By decreasing treatment costs, reducing long-term exposure, making your processes more efficient and staying ahead of your competition by being part of a progressive and sustainable route to Zero Carbon.

Download the Companion Factsheet to the video to find out more.

Reduce carbon emissions and still perform

The oil industry operates within a wider society and provides a vital resource and service to society. Without Oil and Gas our current economy will not function. No doubt the future will bring big changes and the energy industry will play a key part in this. There are things the Oil industry can do to improve the environment and contribute to the growing energy needs of the planet.

"What are the available methods for the oil & gas industry to improve its environmental performance ?"

As an environmental technology provider and experts in the design and optimisation of oil waste treatment processes we have our views on what we can do to improve the industry’s performance. Let's look at the creation and treatment of drilling waste. Roughly separated into solid waste (drill cuttings) and liquid waste (slops) these materials are created in substantial volumes around the world.

A common treatment method is the use of some type of thermal system to heat the cuttings and so remove the oil and water from the solids. This leaves mostly dry cuttings and, depending on the process, mud and geology, provides some recovered oil and some emulsion slops waste. The CO2 production as a result of running a thermal system on diesel is substantial.

The SAS technology process is proven and robust and can alleviate this challenge by:

• Lower the CO2 emissions of cuttings treatment by up to 65% compared to traditional methods

• Lowering the environmental footprint of the MIST cuttings treatment process by making our unique chemistry from plant based and waste material derived green chemistry.

• Reducing the need for generators and logistics relating to diesel movement by providing support service in running the entire MIST process from mobile solar panel units.

Using new technology and using proven technology much of the drilling waste can be eliminated. We can prevent most liquid drilling waste, or slops waste, by using our chemistry in cleaning operations. This cuts waste by over 90% and reduces the need for waste transport by OSV and truck and removes the requirement for waste treatment and disposal.

There is a lot of low hanging fruit ready to be picked and I have no doubt others in the industry can see other areas where this is the case. Becoming more environmentally responsible while reducing operating costs makes sense. Now is the time to apply what we know we can do.