Refinery Wastewater Treatment

Refinery wastewater is characterized by high

chemical oxygen demand (COD) and high
concentrations of phenol and phenolic derivatives [
The concentrations of these contaminants must be
reduced to acceptable limits before discharging the
water into the environment

Oil refineries often have on-site water treatment

plants to mitigate the environmental impact of their
waste effluents. These plants use a variety of
physical, chemical and biological processes to
remove pollutants from wastewater before
discharging it to waterways or reusing it elsewhere
in the refinery.

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The main sources of wastewater in petroleum refineries
are as follows:

Refrigeration of equipment and machinery.

Washing of tanks and other equipment.
Processing of crude oil and other materials.
Wastewater may also contain by-products of the
refining process, such as sludge, which require
further treatment and disposal.

The pollutants that appear in this type of discharges

usually contain important concentrations of
hydrocarbons, oils and greases, which produce a high
COD and, therefore, a deficit of O2 in the water.

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Wastewater treatment plants

Preliminary treatment: In this phase, solids and

oversized wastewater residues such as rocks, gravel and
large pieces of equipment are removed from the
wastewater. Screens, desanders and sedimentation tanks
are often used for this purpose.
Primary treatment: this phase consists of removing
suspended solids and part of the organic matter from the
wastewater. For this purpose, hydrocarbon separators,
dissolved air flotation (DAF) systems, or sedimentation
tanks, where the solids float to the surface to be
separated as sludge, are usually used.
Secondary treatment: consists of removing dissolved
organic matter and other pollutants from wastewater.
Biological treatment processes, such as activated sludge,
trickling filters, or MBR systems, which use
microorganisms to break down pollutants, are generally
used for this purpose.
Tertiary treatment: in this phase an advanced treatment
of the effluent is carried out, with the objective of
achieving the necessary quality to discharge or to be able
to reuse the water. This is where the most sophisticated
technologies are applied, such as filtration at different
levels (micro/ ultra/ nano), including reverse osmosis, ion
exchange resins, or evaporation for the most demanding
waters.

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Effluent sterilization: prior to final discharge,
effluents are usually subjected to sterilization
treatment, either by oxidizers or UV radiation.
Sludge treatment: Sludge generated in the various
stages of preliminary and primary treatment is
generally treated separately from the wastewater.
This sludge can be thickened and dewatered,
followed by further treatment such as digestion,
composting or incineration. Sludge from biological
treatment is usually treated separately (digestion,
mechanical or thermal drying).

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Physical Chemical Properties

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