Tratamento de areia contaminada com petróleo via pirólise

Abstract

The oil spill, which occurred in 2019, reached the Brazilian coast and affected the coastal strip of 4,334 km across 11 states in the Northeast and Southeast regions, 130 municipalities, and 1,009 locations. Moreover, contaminants from the oil spill comprise the vast majority of organic compounds and byproducts classified as priority environmental pollutants. Therefore, it is necessary to seek alternatives for mitigating the impacts generated, and among them is pyrolysis. Accordingly, studies have shown that the use of the pyrolytic process for oil decomposition and remediation of contaminated areas is promising. In this regard, pyrolysis tests were conducted in the present work to promote studies on the removal of oil from contaminated sand, according to the central composite design. The process parameters studied were temperature, vacuum, and heating rate, and the response variable was the percentage of oil removal. The process evaluation was performed through statistical and sensitivity analyses, as well as thermogravimetric and immediate analyses. Thus, through the established problem, the conduct of experimental tests for contaminant removal, and analyses to validate the pyrolysis technology, it was possible to obtain 99.85% oil removal. Finally, it was possible to demonstrate the efficiency of the pyrolysis process in mitigating the impacts resulting from the generation of oily waste collected on the Alagoas coast.