AM-92-23 BIOREMEDIATION: IN-SITU AND EX-SITU APPLICATIONS FOR REFINERIES

Description:

Biological remediation of petroleum wastes and sludges is an effective low cost treatment alternative to incineration, excavation, or chemical treatment. There are several approaches to biotreating oily sludges and wastes of which two are described here. Biological land treatment of No. 2 fuel oil in soil (lO,OOO-20,000 mg oil/kg soil) was successfully remediated over three years (< 1,000 mg oil/kg soil). The treatment strategy was to supplement the soil with ammonia, phosphate, and oxygen. The second approach treated oily sludges from a petroleum storage tank which were treated in two 64 I bioreactors. Based on GC analysis, a 25% to 68% reduction in hydrocarbon content was observed. Based on these results, bioremediation should be considered as an effective method for clean-up of petroleum wastes.