Turning Trash into Treasure: How Oil Refineries Can Clean Up and Power Up

Turning Waste into Energy: A Breakthrough in Biofuel Production

Oil refineries have a problem: they produce a lot of waste. But what if this waste could be turned into something useful? Researchers have been looking into this idea. They took two types of waste: oily sludge (OS) from refineries and algal biomass (AB) from wastewater treatment. The goal was to see if these wastes could be turned into a better solid biofuel.

The Process

1. Mixing the Wastes

   • The best mix was found to be 75% OS and 25% AB.
   • Before using this mix, they dried it to remove moisture.

2. Pyrolysis

   • They heated the mix to different temperatures (350, 450, and 550°C).
   • 450°C was the best temperature for producing the most char, a solid fuel.

3. Optimizing Heating Time
   • They tested different heating times at 450°C.
   • 75 minutes gave the best quality char.

The Results

• Heating Value Increase
• The heating value of the char increased by about 63.92%, from 4.85 MJ/kg to 7.95 MJ/kg.

• This means the char produced from the waste mix had more energy.

• Comparison with Single Feedstocks
• The char from the waste mix was better than char from single feedstocks.
• The char had more fixed carbon, making it more stable and better for burning.

The Implications

• Environmental and Energy Benefits
• Oil refineries could turn their waste into a valuable resource.

• They could clean up the environment and produce renewable energy at the same time.

• Future Research
• This is just one study.
• More research is needed to see if this process can be used on a large scale.