Numerical Study of the Effect of Moisture Content, Particle Diameter and Fuel Mass Loading on Combustion of Solid Fuel Derived from Refinery Oily-Sludge

A large amount of oil sludge is produced annually during the operation and process activities on crude oil. The burning of oil sludge can be considered as an approach in order to recover the energy as well as to control and mitigate risks of this hazardous waste. In the present study, the combustion of solid fuel derived from refinery oily-sludge is conducted numerically in a 2-D axisymmetric furnace. Investigating the effect of fuel particle diameter on the combustion process shows that with increasing particle diameter the maximum temperature reduces and the maximum temperature location 
A large amount of oil sludge is produced annually during the operation and process activities on crude oil. The burning of oil sludge can be considered as an approach in order to recover the energy as well as to control and mitigate risks of this hazardous waste. In the present study, the combustion of solid fuel derived from refinery oily-sludge is conducted numerically in a 2-D axisymmetric furnace. Investigating the effect of fuel particle diameter on the combustion process shows that with increasing particle diameter the maximum temperature reduces and the maximum temperature location goes farther from the furnace entrance. In order to investigate the effect of dewatering refinery oily-sludge on combustion properties, a study was conducted on the moisture content of fuel. The results show that an increase of 30% in moisture content in proximate fuel analysis reduces the maximum temperature by about 11%. Also, the effect of the fuel mass flow rate is investigated in the range of 0.15 gr/s to 0.29 gr/s. The results show that reducing the fuel mass load has a slight impact on maximum temperature of gas flow. However, CO and CO2 emissions experience a desirable decline.The study on combustion of solid fuels derived from oil-sludge shows that by making fuel preparation such as reducing the moisture content and using smaller particles, it is possible to exploit the heat value of oil sludge.