Oil recovery from oily sludge using amidinium bicarbonate‐based CO2‐responsive microemulsion

• DOI: 10.1002/jsde.12848
• Publication Date: 2025-03-12T05:32:34Z
• Authors: Sihang Ma; Yuanyuan Wang; Qingfeng Hou; Yifeng Liu; Xiaoling Yi; Zhuoyan Zhu; Zhidong Chang

AbstractIn the petroleum and petrochemical industries, oil sludge is a common contaminant that causes environmental pollution and resource wastage. Currently, recovering crude oil from oily sludge presents a significant challenge during processing. In this study, an amidinium bicarbonate‐based CO2‐responsive microemulsion was developed to effectively treat sludge and recover crude oil. The microemulsion system demonstrates a strong capability for oil solubilization. After the microemulsion treatment, the residual oil contents in the sludge can be reduced to as low as 2.93% (ME‐1, n‐butanol as cosurfactant) and 1.44% (ME‐2, n‐hexanol as cosurfactant). Complete oil/water phase separation can be achieved by introducing N2 at 65°C.