PETROLEUM SLUDGE AS AN ALTERNATIVE FOR GREEN CONSTRUCTION MATERIAL

Petroleum sludge is one of the major source of waste that is generated in the oil
and gas industry. Petroleum sludge is categorized as a hazardous waste material based on
the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) as the toxic materials contains
hazardous composition such as hydrocarbons, heavy metals, Polycyclic Aromatic
Hydrocarbon (PAH). An estimate of 50 tons of oil sludge is produced per day per 105 000
barrels per day production oil refinery. A cost-effective treatment of the petroleum sludge
with a concise disposal of the hazardous material has become a major problem globally.
This study discussed a suitable method of treating the petroleum sludge using stabilization
and solidification method onto the petroleum sludge. Prior to the treatment of the
petroleum sludge, characterization of the petroleum sludge was performed. Pozzolanic
material such as cement was used to stabilize and solidify the toxic material. The cement
portion of the construction block was replaced with petroleum sludge by 30%, 40% and
50% respectively. The compressive strength of each petroleum sludge construction block
was done on 3days, 7 days and 21 days after curing.