Experimental investigation on waste heat recovery by refinery oil sludge incineration using fluidised-bed technique

This paper details the experimental investigation and the methodology of fluid bed incineration of three different oil sludge wastes from one of the major refineries of South India using the pilot plant facility at School of Energy, Bharathidasan University, Trichy. The trial runs conducted in the fluid bed incinerator system show that more than 98 % combustion efficiency and 99 % incineration efficiencies were achieved for all the three types of oil sludge wastes. Moreover the flue gas composition at the stack location, the scrubber sludge generated at the alkali wash water tank and the ash collected at the post combustion chamber indicate that fluidised bed incineration technique is safe and effective way of treating these refinery oil sludge wastes. It is also concluded that the above technique is not only successful in removing toxicity but also providing reduction in the volume of waste to be disposed. In addition, it results in waste heat recovery through optimum steam production at the gas cooler arrangement.