Characterization of oil component and solid particle of oily sludge treated by surfactant-assisted ultrasonication

The ultrasonic technique has been demonstrated to be a promising method for the disposal of hazardous oily sludge.However,the separation of oil from the surfaces of the solid particles is still difficult due to the strong interaction between the oil and solid particle.In this study,three types of surfactants were used to assist the ultrasonic treatment of oily sludge.The oil component,surface composition,and structure of the solid particle were determined.The results showed that different surfactants had different oil removal abilities.In the three surfactant-assisted sonication systems,the oil removal rate increased during the starting reaction period and then decreased with longer sonication time.The results of four components analysis suggested that surfactant easy to be ionized in water posed a better removal effect on resins,while the amphiphilic surfactant preferred saturates,aromatics and asphaltenes.The morphology analysis indicated that particle size was shattered into smaller ones by the ultrasonic process,and the wettability of the solid surface also changed during this treatment.The characterization of the oil component and solid particle during surfactant-assisted ultrasonication treatment will help to better understand the separation of oil from oily sludge and improve the oil recovery efficiency from oily sludge.

Application of hydrophobic ionic liquid [Bmmim][PF6] in solvent extraction for oily sludge

In this study, an ionic liquid(IL), 1-butyl-2,3-dimmmethylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate([Bmmim][PF6]),was used in combination with a composite solvent of methyl acetate and n-heptane to enhance the oil extraction from oily sludge. The oil recovery increased by approximately 15% compared with that of solvent extraction without [Bmmim][PF6] at the optimal ratios of IL to sludge and solvents to sludge, which were at 2:5(M/M) and 4:1(V/M), respectively. The saturate, aromatic, resin and asphaltene(SARA) analysis revealed that the recovery of resins and asphaltenes was increased by 14% and 38%, respectively, in the solvent extraction with the addition of [Bmmim][PF6]. [Bmmim][PF6] maintained a good performance after its reuse four times. The addition of[Bmmim][PF6] changed the adhesion forces between oil and soil. The IL-assisted solvent extraction procedure followed the pseudo second-order kinetic model, while the unassisted solvent extraction procedure followed the pseudo first-order kinetic model. The results also demonstrated that [Bmmim][PF6] decreased the solvent consumption by approximately 60% each time. Additionally, [Bmmim][PF6] can be easily separated. The results suggested that enhancing the solvent extraction with this IL is a promising way to recover oil from oily sludge with a higher oil recovery rate and lower organic solvent consumption than those with the unassisted solvent extraction method.