Abstract:
Typically, API separator sludge can be handled via combustion and/or recycling into reusable oils. However, it has been found that such methods cause secondary pollutants. Recently, pyrolysis has been proven to be an alternative for disposal of this sludge. In this study, we investigated the API separator sludge obtained from an oil company in Thailand. Experiments were carried out by means of thermogravimetric analysis at different heating rates of 5, 10 and 20Cmin-1. The weight loss data were then scrutinized for kinetic analysis. Results showed that typical derivative curves of the sludge consist of two major peaks. The first peak was found between 230-270C while the other was found between 400-415C. The former was resulted from the volatilization of free light volatile compounds existing in the sludge and the latter was attributed to the volatilization and main pyrolysis. The pyrolyzed peofucts were confirmed by the mass spectroscopy results. Hydrogen and acetylene were found to be the main species in the pyrolysis products. The pseudo bi-component model showed a good fit with the experimental data.
