Comprehensive treatment of oil-contaminated soils using CO2-Responsive O/W microemulsions

Chen，Xiangyu1; Ma，Xinrui1; Yeung，Tony1; Sun，Dejun2; Xu，Zhenghe1,3

2022-03-20

10.1016/j.jclepro.2022.130857

Journal of Cleaner Production   影响因子和分区

0959-6526

1879-1786

In exploration of petroleum resources, a considerable amount of soils are inevitably contaminated, leading to many long-term environmental impacts. However, the treatment of oil-contaminated soils to reduce the residual oil for safe disposal at low energy intensity is a challenging task. In this study, a CO-responsive microemulsion was formulated to treat oil-contaminated soils effectively at ambient temperatures of low energy consumption. Such effective treatment reduced the oil level of the contaminated soils from ∼15 wt% to below the discharge limit of 1 wt%. Purging of CO through the spent microemulsions for 30 s caused a rapid dissociation of the superamphiphile in the microemulsions, leading to a complete phase separation with the cleaned soils settled to the bottom for safe disposal, followed by an aqueous phase in the middle for recycling and a value-added oil product on top. The rapid and deep cleaning of oil-contaminated soils was attributed to an ultra-low interfacial tension and high level solubilization of oily contaminants in the O/W microemulsions. Such approach leads to a zero-waste discharge operation of remediating oil-contaminated soils while recovering value-added oil. Compared with other treatment methods operated at high temperature and/or pressure conditions, treatment of oil-contaminated soils using CO-responsive microemulsions is easier to reach the discharge limit of residual oil while operating at ambient temperatures without any expensive equipment or extreme working conditions, making this microemulsion method a promising candidate for commercial applications of treating oil-contaminated soils in the oil field.

CO2-responsive O/W microemulsion Oil-contaminated soils Oil-water phase separation Rapid and deep cleaning

SCI ; EI

英语

通讯

Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) Industrial Research Chair Program in Oil Sands Engineering, National Natural Science Foundation of China[21938003] ; Leading Talents Program of Guangdong Province[K17253301] ; Shenzhen Science and Technology Innovation Com-mission[ZDSYS20200421111401738]

Science & Technology - Other Topics ; Engineering ; Environmental Sciences & Ecology

Green & Sustainable Science & Technology ; Engineering, Environmental ; Environmental Sciences

WOS:000771724400005

ELSEVIER SCI LTD

20220811678401

Contamination ; Energy utilization ; Oil fields ; Petroleum prospecting ; Phase separation ; Soil pollution ; Soils ; Temperature

Soils and Soil Mechanics:483.1 ; Oil Fields:512.1.1 ; Petroleum Deposits : Development Operations:512.1.2 ; Energy Utilization:525.3 ; Thermodynamics:641.1 ; Chemical Operations:802.3 ; Inorganic Compounds:804.2

2-s2.0-85124702241

Scopus

1.Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering,University of Alberta,Edmonton,T6G 1H9,Canada
2.Key Laboratory of Colloid and Interface Chemistry,Shandong University,Ministry of Education,Jinan,Shandong,250100,China
3.Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Interfacial Science and Engineering of Materials,Department of Materials Science and Engineering,Southern University of Science and Technology,Shenzhen,Guangdong,518055,China

Chen，Xiangyu,Ma，Xinrui,Yeung，Tony,et al. Comprehensive treatment of oil-contaminated soils using CO2-Responsive O/W microemulsions[J]. Journal of Cleaner Production,2022,341.

Chen，Xiangyu,Ma，Xinrui,Yeung，Tony,Sun，Dejun,&Xu，Zhenghe.(2022).Comprehensive treatment of oil-contaminated soils using CO2-Responsive O/W microemulsions.Journal of Cleaner Production,341.

Chen，Xiangyu,et al."Comprehensive treatment of oil-contaminated soils using CO2-Responsive O/W microemulsions".Journal of Cleaner Production 341(2022).