Sludge dewatering and conveying equipment expands wastewater treatment capabilities to solve refinery's oily waste problem

Twenty-four years ago, the Sun Refining and Marketing Company refinery in Tulsa, OK installed a large water collection basin to capture storm runoff. Since that time, the refinery has increased its daily capacity to 92,000 bbl - including 52,000 bbl of automotive fuels, 8000 bbl of lubricants, 23,000 bbl of heating oils and LPG products, 200 tons of petro-chemicals, and 110 tons of waxes - to become Oklahoma's second largest refinery. The expansion, coupled with gradual filling of the compartmentalized basin with sludges, required remedial action. In May, 1984, the oil laden basins caught fire. The flames, easily seen from downtown Tulsa (just across the river), were visible from a distance of approximately ten miles. At this point, there was an estimated 16 million gallons of oil sludge present in the 18 million gallon capacity basin complex. Composition was about 20% solids, 10% oil, and 70% water. The EPA immediately issued a cleanup order for the basins; Sun management responded quickly. Replacement of the original sludge treatment equipment, which was both old (installed in the mid-1940s) and too small to handle Sun's subsequent expansion, centered around two highly specialized continuous pressure belt filters and a three dimensional, 85' continuous pathmore » sludge transport conveyor. Oily waste from the collection basins is filtered and pumped to the new dewatering facility after an auger-equipped barge churns it into material suitable for pumping. The dewatering facility constructed for the cleanup operations will become the refinery's new sludge treatment plant and will replace the present facility that has been operating since 1945, giving the 73 year old refinery one of the most modern wastewater treatment plants of its type in the industry.« less