SPE

Society of Petroleum Engineers

SPE 23379
The Treatment and Disposal of Oily Solids
A.A.D. Wright and B.A. Noordhuis, Brunei Shell Petroleum

Copyright 1991, Society of Petroleum Engineers, Inc.

This paper was prepared for presentation at the First International Conference on Health, Safety and Environment held in The Hague, The Netherlands, 10-14 November 1991.
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as presented, have not been reviewed by the Society of Petroleum Engineers and are sUbject to correction by the author(s). The material, as presented, does not necessarily reflect
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and Brunei Shell Petroleum (BSP) is

currently the sole producer. oil
production began in 1929 in a coastal
peat swamp area. Development of the
field entailed clearing the vegetation,
sand-filling the area, and building not
only the production facilities but also
the infrastructure necessary to support
a population of several thousand
people. In later years there have been
significant oil and gas discoveries
offshore such that the major producing
fields are offshore. All oil and water
is handled at a single coastal terminal
(Seria Terminal) and gas is routed to
the Brunei Liquified natural Gas (BLNG)
plant. Almost all the crude oil and gas
is exported. A small proportion is
retained for domestic consumption and
for this purpose there is a small
refinery located next to the Seria
terminal.

ABSTRACT
Oily solids are generated as a waste
product of Brunei Shell Petroleum's
drilling and production activities. The
main sources are waste oil based mUd,
tank bottom sludges, and oil
contaminated soil. The oily solids are
stored in a purpose built holding basin
which is gradually being filled up. The
need for appropriate treatment and an
acceptable means of final disposal of
the solids has been recognised as an
item for attention in the Company's
Environmental Management Plan. The
paper describes the reSUlting
feasibility study which is evaluating
the relative merits of processes such as
incineration, lime stabilisation, and
landfarming. The feasibility study is
considering the quantity and properties
of the solids, the environmental
conditions in Brunei, the availability
of treatment services in the country,
and the need to define a2ceptable
environmental criteria for the treatment
and disposal methods. The way in which
these factors influence the study are
discussed.

Oily solids are generated from a number

of sources in the exploration and
production process. Solids are produced
with the oil and water and these settle
out at sumps, oil catchers and in the
crude oil storage tanks. Another source
of oily solids is the flocculant
recovered from the water treatment
process. Oily solids are also produced
in the reconditioning of oil based mud
(OBM) for drilling purposes. oil
contaminated soil is a further source of
oily solids. At present all these
materials are disposed into a purpose
built holding basin which is being
gradually filled up. This is known as
the sungai Bera Holding Basin.

INTRODUCTION
Brunei Darussalam is situated on the
North west of Borneo. The basis of its
economy is oil and gas,

Reference and illustrations at end of

paper
521

THE TREATMENT AND DISPOSAL OF OILY SOLIDS

Given that there is a heterogeneous

mixture of oily solids and emulsion in
the northern basins, several samples
have been taken and analysed in order to
produce a better understanding of the
characteristics of the deposited
solids. The location of the samples is
shown in figure 1 and the results of
preliminary analyses (prior to the
present feasibility study) are presented
in Tables 1 and 2.

The need for appropriate treatment and

an acceptable means of final disposal of
the solids has been recognised as an
item for attention in the Company's
Environmental Management Plan. The
ultimate aim will not only be to treat
the future production of oily solids but
also the solids which have been stored
in the Sungai Bera Holding Basin in the
past, thereby catering for its eventual
rehabilitation. A feasibility study is
nearing completion which will provide
recommendations on the technique or
combination of techniques to be
employed.
CHARACTERISTICS OF

SPE 23379

The solids have a variable hydrocarbon

content (10 - 60%) and a high water
content. They have a relatively low
chloride content compared to sea water
and are at an approximately neutral pH.
In terms of nutrients, they are low in
nitrogen (particularly available
nitrogen) but are high in phosphorus.
The metals concentrations are generally
high, and those which may give
particular environmental concern are
mercury, cadmium, arsenic, molybdenum
and copper.

THE SOLIDS

The main sources of solids deposited in

the Sungai Bera Holding Basin at present
can be categorised as follows:Tank bottom sludges (1500 m3 /yr)
which consist primarily of water
which drains out of the basin. The
settled solid particles will have a
residual hydrocarbon and metals
content.

The characteristics of the solids will

change in the future once additional
solids are produced from new centrifuges
which will be installed to extract
sludge from fluids in the Seria
Terminal. Furthermore, the quantity of
oil based mud utilised is expected to
decrease in future.

waste oil Based Mud (800 m3 /yr)

which consists of a high proportion
of base oil mixed with minerals
such as barite, bentonite,
polymers, salts and emulsifiers.
The oil based mud will tend to form
an emulsion.

Given the uncertainties in the future

composition of produced solids, and the
result of sampling the contents of the
Sungai Bera Holding Basin, several
options for treating and disposing of
solids are being evaluated. The
evaluation is also being done bearing in
mind other possible candidates for
treatment inclUding drilling cuttings
contam~nated with oil based mud
.
(400 m /yr) and waste lubricating oils
(800 m3 /yr).

Oil contaminated soil (550 m3 /yr)

which could have an oil content of
between 10 -30%.
The Sungai Bera Holding Basin is divided
into three portions as shown in
figure 1. The southern portion is an
emergency oil catching facility for
Seria Terminal effluent which is
discharged from the basin through an
underflow weir at the eastern end. Oily
solids are deposited into the two
northern portions from vacuum tankers,
tipper trucks, and a pipeline from the
Seria Terminal (for tank bottoms).

LANDFARHING
Landfarming involves ploughing oily
solids into the soil together with
fertiliser and allowing bacteria in the
soil to degrade the hydrocarbons
naturally. It is a simple and
relatively cheap process with which
there is considerable experience
worldwide, particularly at refinery
sites. Climatic condition in Brunei
would be favorable, but partiGular care
would need to be taken to contain and
treat leachate in this low lying area
with a high ground water water level.
This would require a specially
constructed landfarm.

A considerable quantity of water is

mixed with some of the solids as they
are discharged. In addition, the basin
is open to rainwater ingress. oil based
mud materials tend to form an emulsion,
but nonetheless, water and some floating
oil needs to be periodically drained
from the northern basins into the
southern basins, from where the water is
discharged and oil is recovered by a
skimming device at the underflow weir.

522

SPE 23379

R.A.D. WRIGHT & B.R. NOORDHUIS

been mixed with one propriety mixture of

additive primarily of lime. Typically
some 30% of additive was required to
produce a dry powdery material from the
Sungai Bera Holding Basin samples.

The soil in the landfarm would need to

be regularly changed as the metals
content would increase with repeated
applications of oily solids to levels
which would eventually pose an
environmental hazard.

One of these samples was artifical1y

"leached" by immersing in water in the
laboratory. From original hydrocarbon
contents of 35% and 28%, only some 83 mg
and 87 mg respectively of oil was
released into the water per kg of
sample. These results are indicative of
the good retention properties of the
treated solids.

The possibility of landfarming solids

from the Sungai Bera Holding Basin has
been investigated in a simple field
trial where various quadrats were loaded
with two ~pplication r~tes of solids
(1.5 kg/m and 15 kg/m ) with and
without the addition of fertiliser and
lime. The results showed that within
one year the oil c9ntent of the ploughed
soil decreased from 3-10% to < 1%, and
that the rate of decrease was quicker on
the quadrats treated with fertiliser.
The results of metals analyses in the
soil were inconclusive due to
variability in the data, but from the
characteristics of the solids it is
clear that metals content in the soil
would probably reach the limits.o~
acceptability after about 5 add1t10ns.

Lime stabilisation is now being

evaluated in detail as an option for
treating oily solids in Brunei. Several
proprietry additives are being compared
for effectiveness and the stabilised
product is being evaluated in
standardised leachate tests. Regardless
of its technical acceptability, the
feasibility of applying the process in
Brunei will depend principally upon the
cost of providing the large quantities
of additive material. The results of
the leachate tests also have to provide
sUfficient confidence that the
stabilised product can be acceptably
disposed to a landfill.

Despite the probability that landfarming

would be successful in reducing the
hydrocarbon content of the solids, the
feasibility of applying the technique
for the treatment of oily solids in
Brunei will depend mainly upon the area
required for landfarming, the logistics
involved, and the disposal of large
quantities of soil loaded with
relatively high levels of metals.

INCINERATIQH

Oily solids and sludges can also be

treated by incineration. This is common
practice in many large refineries.
Common types are rotary kiln and
f1uidised bed incinerators. Adequate
combustion of oily solids requires
sophisticated equipment and careful
operation. An important part of the
process is the control of flue gas
emissions such that they are within
internationally accepted norms. For
these reasons, incineration is likely to
be a high cost option for Brunei Shell
Petroleum, but there would to be an
advantage over other options in that
wastes besides oily solids could also
disposed of through the incinerator.

STABILISATION

Stabilisation is another option being

considered for treating oily solids in
Brunei. Stabilisation involves mixing a
solid additive material to the oily
solids in order to produce a matrix
within which the oil and metals are
"fixed" and will not leach out. There
is considerable experience worldwide in
using lime in this manner. The addition
of lime produces physical and chemical
changes in the matrix which allow for
adsorption of the hydrocarbons and
immobi1isation of the metals as
insoluble salts. The higher pH provided
by adding the lime is essential in this
process. Proprietry mixt~res ~f
additive are available Wh1Ch make the
resulting matrix hydrophobic, th~reby
preventing the matrix from becom1ng
acidic through the percolation of
rainfall.

The oily solids treatment and disposal

feasibility study includes a market
review of available incinerators which
could be adapted for Brunei conditions.
The environmental acceptability of flue
gas emissions and the disposal of
residue are also being evaluated.
Cost-effectiveness will be an important
consideration in comparing the
feasibility of incineration with other
options for oily solids treatment in
Brunei.

Some samples of oily solids from the

sungai Bera Holding Basin have already

523

THE TREATMENT AND DISPOSAL OF OILY SOLIDS

OTHER PROCESSES
The oily solids treatment and disposal
feasibility study is also evaluating the
benefits of using other innovative
processes either in isolation or in
combination with the above established
technologies. The processes being
considered are bioremediation, drying,
solvent extraction, vacuum extraction
and vitrification. Bioremediation would
involve adding bacteria and nutrients
and providing favourable conditions
within a reaction site (which could be
the Sungai Bera Holding Basin).
Vitrification would be considered as a
technique for rehabilitating the holding
basin. The other processes would be
considered as a sub-set of all the
established technologies.
SELECTION OF THE PREFERRED PROCESSES
The selection of the preferred treatment
and disposal methods will depend upon a
number of criteria. Firstly options to
be considered must be proven to be
technically capable of producing
products which can be disposed of in
environmentally acceptable manner in
Brunei. This includes solid products
which may be discharged to a landfill as
well as any effluents or emissions which
may be produced from the treatment
process. A full environmental impact
assessment is to be prepared as part of
the feasibility study.
The cost of environmentally acceptable
processes will then be compared to allow
the most cost-effective combination of
methods to be selected. Included in the
costs will be all aspects of
constructing and operating the facility
including the interfaces and logistics
involved in transporting solids from the
points of generation to the facility and
from the treatment facility to the
disposal site. It is likely that more
than one treatment technique will be
selected such that bulk non-hazardous
material is treated by a relatively
inexpensive method whereas a more
expensive method may be required for the
smaller quantity of material which is
more difficult to adequately treat.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The authors would like to thank the
management of Brunei Shell Petroleum and
H.M. Government's Petroleum Unit for
permission to pUblish this paper.

524

SPE 23379

SP

TABLE 1 PHYSICAL AND

WATER

SAMPLES

pH

CHEMICAL PROPERTIES OF OILY SOLIDS

~.O.C.

IIYDROCllRJlOH

cr-

rag/kg

rag/kg

rag/kg

N.W. Basin

S82

6.9

47.3

14.1

12.8

1780

238

6.9

50.5

20.4

20.3

3920

133

7225

7.0

59.0

22.7

16.3

1900

231

7116

S83

15197

30.7

S84

37.8

3298

SSl

11.2

3528

58.5

6141

6063

N.E. Basin

6.5

25.0

26.5

25.6

200

287

5.4

7.9

62.0

38.4

240

287

6131

6.5

9.8

60.0

32.1

140

168

9792

1365

TABLE 2 ELBHE!!!TAL ANALYSIS OF OILY SOLIDS

ELBIIEIlT
mq/kq

NORTH EAST BASIN

NORTH WEST BASIN

SBl

SBZ

SB3

SBC

Hq

4.1

13.9

52.8

36.1

59.3

9.1

13.7

Pb

1002

548

336.3

311.7

402.8

796

695

As
Se
P

Mo

258.1

295.0

314.0

494.6

509.8

511.7

6063

7225

7116

7159

5368

10090

62.4

68.8

75.0

Cd

<1

<1

31.8

25.3

40.3

<1

<1

Ni

<10

<10

74.8

205.5

381.9

<10

<10

5.4

38.4

54.1

153.4

773.6

944.0

17.3

196.2

282.3

424.2

526.4

1365

6131

9792

2845

11125

18165

47.1

74.6

<1

27.8

41.9

<1

7.0

118.5

297.0

Mn

231.3

221.8

230.1

62.7

217.9

362.9

Cr

<5

322

173.6

128.7

241.9

<5

182

46.3

183.6

273.7

<50

<50

35.0

40.1

37.8

<50

<50

8.1

21.8

658.7

1283

1822

3048

3215

709.4

16277

17281

19615

Zn

158

5840

1205

Al

Fe

28530

77332

21062

35567

Ba

10777

1160

2223

13648

CU
Na

1188

525

249.9

1317

297.0

1409

35.7
1865
2099

3833.( 13490

18732

186

246.2

853.0

1479

3711

SPE

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SG.BERA
HOLDING BASIN

,,
,,,
,,,
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TERMINAL
EFFLUENT
SECTION

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SOLID MATERIAL AT SURFACE

40

40

120

80

SAMPLE LOCATIONS AND NUMBERS

160

200

METRES

FIG. 1. Locations of Samples from Sungai Bera Holding Basin

526

240

23 31~