Land Treatment of Produced Oily Sand: Field Results

Land treatment techniques successfully treated oily waste generated during the production of crude oil. Over 13 years of safe operations have demonstrated the environmental acceptability of the method. Natural biodegradation processes removed nearly 80% of the applied waste oil. The oily fraction of the waste had an average half-life in the soil of approximately 3 years, with significant variability between years. There was a slight increase in the proportion of heavy hydrocarbons (resins and asphaltenes) in the soil, suggesting the preferential degradation of the lighter constituents. Metals of environmental concern did not accumulate in, or migrate from, the plowzone of the soil. © 1997 ISWA