Pyrolysis of oil sludge in a fluidised bed reactor

The oil sludge of tanker cleaning was pyrolysed in fluidised bed reactors. Three experiments were conducted in a laboratory plant and two on a technical plant. Separation of oil from the solids and distribution of the oil products were investigated at temperatures from 460°C to 650°C. Between 70% and 84% of the oil could be separated from the solids. Distribution of the oil products depended on the feed material and the pyrolysis conditions. The higher the temperature the more the oil was cracked into low boiling compounds. Under the conditions of pyrolysis carbon reduced gridiron to iron. Thus some solid fractions were pyrophoric and oxidised with high heat generation. Therefore the solid products have to be turned into inert substances. The fluidised bed pyrolysis is an adequate process to recycle oil sludge with high yields.