FNA- Iranian researchers at Kermanshah oil refinery could produce different types of catalysts to be injected into the petroleum sludge, making the country as the only producer of the product in the world.

Petroleum sludge is a complex mixture containing different quantities of waste oil, waste water, sand and mineral matter.

Petroleum industries are responsible for the generation of large quantities of sludge, which is a major source of environmental pollution.

Injection of the low-price catalysts, produced in Kermanshah refinery in Western Iran, into the petroleum sludge decreases the environmental pollution, turns oil wastes into valuable products and reduces the time needed for building installations and implementing projects.

Oil sludge, an inevitable by-product, is generated wherever exploitation, transportation and refining occurs in petroleum industry. It is a complex mixture of petroleum hydrocarbons and water with solid mineral admixture.

Both the oil field sludge and the oil tank sludge comprise abundant of toxic substances from the most carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic to heavy metal, and even to radioactive material. Most of them pose the potential risks for human health and the environment.