Case study · Field project

Oil-based drilling mud plant — waste remediation

Years of plant operation had left oily mud and contaminated waste accumulated in the pits downstream of the facility. The project took that waste stream through four stages, from recovering the oil fraction to putting vegetation back on the ground.

A waste pit inside the plant area, its surface covered with petroleum material, banked by sandy spoil.

Contract record

Title as recorded in the contract

پاکسازی پسماندهای جامد و مایع آلوده به نفت کارخانه گل حفاری پایه روغنی شرکت ملی مناطق نفتخیز جنوب

Location (as recorded): کارخانه گل حفاری پایه روغنی، جنوب شرقی اهواز، کیلومتر 50 جاده اهواز–امیدیه
Contract period: 1391
Status: Completed
Project type: Field project
IEBCO’s role: Main contractor

The works on this project were executed jointly by Industrial and Environmental Biotechnology Company and ACECR Applied Sciences Research Institute.

The site problem

The waste stream was not one material. Part of it was recoverable oil, part was hydrocarbon-contaminated wastewater, and part was soil and sludge carrying hydrocarbons.

Each part needed a different treatment route, and the order mattered: until the recoverable oil fraction is separated out, biological treatment is being asked to work on a far larger volume than it has to.

Method

Four stages, in this order

The sequence starts by taking load off the waste stream and finishes by handing the ground back.

Oil recovery

Separating and recovering the usable oil fraction from the waste stream.
Wastewater bioremediation

Biological treatment of the hydrocarbon-contaminated water.
Solid-waste bioremediation

Biological breakdown of the hydrocarbons held in the contaminated soil and sludge.
Phytoremediation and restoration

Ground preparation, planting, and establishing vegetation across the restored area.

A hydrocarbon-degrading microbial powder was used in the remediation work. The source does not record a trade name for the material on this project, so none is attributed to it here.

Execution

From open pit to planted ground

These photographs come from this project’s own archive and follow the order of the work. Each caption describes what is visible in the frame.

Three microbial culture plates with colonies grown on the agar, against a blue background. — Laboratory work and microbial culture

A waste pit with its surface covered in petroleum material, banked by sandy spoil. — The pit and the contaminated waste, as found

A large yellow steel vessel with walkway railings and stairs, with a plant unit standing beside it. — Process equipment installed on site

An excavator lifting black oily sludge out of a cell dug into pale ground. — Excavation and handling of the waste

A wheel loader filling a dump truck in the works area, with a gas flare burning in the background. — Earthmoving across the works area

A dark bed of petroleum waste with a network of black pipework laid across its surface. — Preparing the treatment bed

A mound of mixed soil and waste with pipework running through it. — Biological treatment of the solid waste

A wide levelled and tilled bed on the floor of the excavated area, with no vegetation on it. — Ground preparation after treatment

Ploughed and furrowed ground ready for planting, with a loader and site buildings behind it. — Ground prepared for planting

Close view of two young seedlings breaking through the soil of the restored area. — Saplings taking hold

Saplings planted in rows across the restored works area, with site buildings behind. — Vegetation established on the restored area

Photographs from IEBCO’s project archive.

Measured results

What was recorded at the end of the project

These figures are this project’s results and belong to its joint execution. They are not IEBCO’s general performance — which is why both executing organisations are named under every one of them.

727 bbl

Clean oil recovered