Techno-Environmental Modeling Framework Designed to Valorize Hazardous Artisanal Petroleum Sludge through Thermal Co-Processing with Regional Waste Lubricating Oils

Abstract

The Niger Delta region hosts between 2,000 and 5,000 active artisanal crude oil distillation units that generate roughly 200,000 to 500,000 tons of highly aromatic bottom sludge annually, posing severe ecological risks to aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. Consequently, the objective of this paper was to predict techno-environmental modeling framework designed to valorize hazardous artisanal petroleum sludge (APS) through thermal co-processing with regional waste lubricating oils (WLO). Utilizing empirical thermolysis and gasification kinetics validated for multi-component heavy aromatic matrices under moderate conversion depths of 60 L_gas/L_feed, we model the structural consolidation and yield metrics of disordered turbostratic carbons. The predictive regression model, , demonstrates that blending high-asphaltene APS with paraffinic-naphthenic WLO optimizes liquid-phase radical condensation pathways, shifting the microstructural morphology from an unaligned amorphous state down to a uniform carbon matrix. This strategy offers a scalable method to turn a critical regional environmental liability into a functional carbon material for localized manufacturing industries.