Refinery uses bioslurry process to treat RCRA wastes

Restrictions on land disposal of oily refinery wastes have forced the refining industry to develop cost-effective methods to treat these wastes before disposal. Valero Refining Company is using an onsite, tank-based biological treatment process to treat oily wastes at its Corpus Christi, Texas, refinery. This system consistently treats these wastes to RCRA universal treatment standards (UTS), thereby allowing direct disposal of the treated residue in a Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) permitted landfill. In selecting the biotreatment process, Valero used several criteria including environmental performance, equipment reliability and ability to be integrated into refinery operations and process safety. Capital investment, maintenance and operating costs also were important considerations. This case history shows how Valero successfully used the bioslurry process to treat oily wastes such as API separator sludge and slop-oil emulsion before landfill disposal.