Sintering Behavior of Vitrified Ceramic Tiles Incorporated with Petroleum Waste

The petroleum industry generates various types of oily sludges in its production chain [1]: i) extraction of crude oil from the ground; ii) transportation to refineries and product distribu‐ tion centers; iii) refining into finished products; and iv) marketing or sale of the products to consumers. These oily sludges are basically composed by hydrocarbons in the form of oil, water, solids, and traces of heavy metals in different proportions according to each area. For this reason, the oily sludges are considered as being hazardous waste materials. Thus, the petroleum industry is confronted with the environmental problem of the correct manage‐ ment of huge amounts of oily sludges produced worldwide.