Oxidative degradation of organic compounds from sludge by ozonation

Abstract

This study investigates the performance of the ozonation process in the treatment of petroleum sludge from an offshore production platform situated in Brazil. The effect of operating conditions is studied such as the phase to be treated and the sludge/water ratio. Total organic carbon content increased in O2 and O3 experiments, mainly because of the mixing factor. The decrease of sludge mass was observed in a situation of forced mixing and with only ozone flow. The liquid phase indicated a high TOC value, but very low radioactive activities, whereas the solid phase did not present detectable TOC amounts but significant values of radioactive activity. More experiments and analyzes will be carried out to obtain more relevant results for future discussion.