4th NEWSLETTER
The LIFE DIANA has reached its final year and new outcomes and findings just got released!
The 4th Newsletter reviews and highlights the operation of the two pilots of the project. So far, the project team has achieved to shed light on the Petroleum Refinery Sludge stabilization methodology and to define the optimum parameters combination, essential to produce Engineered Soil of high value. The Engineered Soil has been validated for compatibility with landfilling practices and hence the experimentation proceeded to bigger scale.
The implementation of the stabilization process has been started in both MOTOR OIL and Municipality of Rafina-Pikermi Pilot Units, located at MOTOR OIL Refinery and Attica Prefecture landfill respectively. Within the framework of the project those two Pilots will serve as demonstration sites of the Petroleum Refinery Sludges valorization process.
It is noteworthy that the project’s duration got extended by 6 months, until the 31st of December 2020. The additional signed-off 6-month period will further improve the reliability of the findings as it will allow the project team to run the tests at all weather conditions, providing with highly realistic final results.
MOTOR OIL Pilot construction and operation
MOTOR OIL pilot has been ready and fully operational since September 2019. The on-site works that included the construction assembly and configuration steps have been completed. To ensure a successful installation of the pilot unit, a stepwise procedure was followed in order to allow the determination of the optimum equipment combination for the chemical process (stabilization of Petroleum Refinery Sludges) and to achieve high operation efficiency and Engineered Soil yield.
The pilot equipment parts and components are highly customized to the materials of the process, to establish the righteous conditions during the chemical reaction. The equipment used to install the pilot unit is rather long but the key ones are: the mixer (for the mixing of Petroleum Refinery Sludges with the reagents), the two silos (to store zeolite and sludge) and the screw conveyors to facilitate transportation of the materials all across the pilot. The first trials aimed at setting up the equipment and the line in order to highlight areas of further configuration and fixing, when necessary. Next ones focused on the improving the operation efficiency.
Currently, the MOTOR OIL pilot is producing Engineered Soil which is within the acceptance limits for disposal at the landfill pilot site.
Photos showing the equipment of the pilot site are presented below.
Municipality of Rafina-Pikermi pilot construction and operation
Municipality of Rafina-Pikermi pilot is located in Attica Prefecture landfill at Fylli.
The produced engineered soil from MOTOR OIL pilot is transferred to Municipality of Rafina-Pikermi Pilot to be tested for its potential usage in landfilling sites. This is actually an important step as it is explored whether the Engineered Soil can be reused and re-introduced in the economy in an alternate morph.
More specifically, engineered soil tests aim to evaluate its use as
daily cover,
bottom liner,
top layer cover and
vegetating cover.
So far, significant quantities of engineered soil have been disposed at the pilot site. Next step is to monitor the performance of the Engineered Soil cover as a good alternate substitute of the current landfilling covers. It is expected to start when the sufficiently appropriate amount of Engineered Soil will be disposed and then evaluation will proceed in order to define whether this new material can substitute the current used soil in landfill construction and operation.
For the evaluation, leachates from the bottom of the pilot are collected and undergo a wide range of physical, chemical and biological analyses. Simultaneously, testing regarding the suitability of Engineered Soil as vegetating cover will follow.
Photos of the Municipality of Rafina-Pikermi pilot site preparation, construction and operation are provided below.
DISSEMINATION ACTIVITIES
LIFE DIANA website
The LIFE DIANA website (www.lifediana.eu) is being regularly updated with the most recent information regarding the tasks and deliverables that have been implemented or are in progress.
Twitter/LinkedIn
Twitter and LinkedIn accounts have been created and will facilitate the spread of LIFE DIANA project’s progress, ensure networking and share across all dissemination activities.
Perlite Institute Event (9/2019)
Perlite Institute constitutes an international organization that was established in 1949 by companies that were involved in mining and expansion of perlite (https://www.perlite.org/). The Institute’s Annual Meeting is held every fall at various locations near members throughout the world, where further to members, featured speakers are invited to make presentations.
One of the most important benefits of these meetings is the opportunity to meet informally with perliters from around the world to discuss subjects of common interest. In 2019, Perlite Institute Annual Meeting was held in Milan, Italy, and Dr. Panagiotis Angelopoulos from National technical University of Athens was invited to give a speech about perlite-related innovative projects that are implemented at Laboratory of Metallurgy (National technical University of Athens). Among others, the speaker presented the aim, objectives and preliminary lab-scale results of the novel Petroleum Refinery Sludges stabilization process that has been developed in the frame of the LIFE DIANA project.
TECHINICAL MEETINGS – VISITS
3rd NEEMO VISIT
The LIFE DIANA 3rd NEEMO Visit was organized by Motor Oil Hellas and held on the 14.11.2019 at Motor Oil Refineries in Corinth. All partners attended the meeting with the presence of NEEMO.
A fruitful discussion took place on the project’s technical and financial progress between NEEMO and all the partners. The highlight of the NEEMO Visit was the tour across both pilot sites where all participants had the opportunity to discuss on site about the operation phase and see the ongoing activities.
