Pyrolysis of oil sludge from the offshore petroleum industry: influence of different mesoporous zeolites catalysts to obtain paraffinic products

ABSTRACT

Pyrolysis of oil sludge from the petroleum industry in contact with three mesoporous zeolite catalysts (CBV 720, 760 and 780) was carried out at 450°C to obtain oil rich in paraffin. The properties of the catalysts were characterized by XRD, XRF, NH₃-TPD, FT-IR, TGA and nitrogen ad/desorption isotherms, while the pyrolysis oil was analysed by GC-MS. The products obtained in the presence of mesoporous zeolites showed selectivity for conversion of light hydrocarbons with decreased content of aromatic compounds. The homogeneous porosity distribution of the CBV 780 was the determining factor in catalytic pyrolysis. The residue could be treated by pyrolysis using mesoporous zeolite. The use of this catalyst produced 56% oil fraction with the highest yield of light hydrocarbons (96%). Compared with the thermal pyrolysis of this waste, the use of mesoporous zeolitic catalysts increased the production of light hydrocarbons and reduced the production of aromatic compounds in the pyrolysis oil from sludge.

GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT

KEYWORDS:

• Oil sludge
• paraffinic product
• oil residue
• pyrolysis
• waste treatment

Acknowledgements

We thank the Mineral Technology Center (CETEM) for X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray fluorescence (XRF) catalysts; Federal Rural University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRRJ) for NH₃-TPD. We also thank Zeolyst International for donating zeolites. Finally, we express our thanks to Petrobras for donating samples and standards.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.