Analysis of Acid Tars: Composition, Environmental Implications, and Possible Management Methods

摘要

Acid tars are historical waste generated during the processing of coal, petroleum, and petrochemicals. They have been dumped in lagoons in several parts of the world although there is little available information on their composition. This work attempts to characterize two samples of acid tars from the petroleum industry using an adaptation of two different methods: the USEPA Test Methods for Evaluating Solid Waste and the procedure for separating heavy oil into saturates, aromatics, resin and asphalthene (SARA separation). Results obtained show that both methods produce useful information on the composition of acid tars; however, SARA separation method gives more compositional information. Compositional results also reveal that the two acid tars are not exactly the same. GC/MS analysis of the aliphatic and aromatic fraction indicates that the studied acid tars contain toxic hydrocarbons including thiophenes, phenol derivatives, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Metal analysis also reveals the presence of heavy metals including lead and iron. This paper also discusses the environmental implication of acid tars and presents a review of some management methods using the waste management hierarchy.