Removal of heavy metals from oil sludge using ion exchange textiles

Development of a new simple and economic method for heavy-metal removal from oil sludge using ion exchange textiles was the main objective of this research. Three experimental stages were developed for this purpose using the bottom tank oil sludge from the Shell Canada refinery in Montreal, Canada. The first stage consisted of the direct application of ion exchange to oil sludge. The second stage included the pretreatment of oil sludge with organic solvents prior to the application of ion exchange process. The third stage included the pretreatment of oil sludge with an aqueous solution in order to extract heavy metals to the aqueous phase and then apply ion exchange textiles to the aqueous phase. Best results were obtained when acetone was used as an organic solvent leading to a total removal of vanadium while cadmium, zinc, nickel, iron, copper by 99%; 96%; 94%; 92% and 89%, respectively.