An Evaluation of Solidification/Stabilization for Treatment of a Petroleum Hydrocarbon Contaminated Sludge from Fort Polk Army Installation, Louisiana.

In the course of normal operations and training, soldiers and civilian personnel operate many Army vehicles on a day-today basis. These vehicles must be cleaned before they can be returned to the motor pool area of an Army base. The cleaning of these vehicles bas posed a problem with the operation and maintenance of oilwater separators located at vehicle washrack facilities. An oily sludge forms in the oilwater separator and is hard to handle and cannot be disposed of in an ordinary manner. This study used solidificationstabilization to treat the oily sludge found in the vehicle washrack oilwater separators. Solidificationstabilization is usually used to treat soils and sludges that contain heavy metals. Organic compounds, such as petroleum hydrocarbons found in the sludge, interfere with the setting of the solidification binding materials and thus produce a material that is not desirable for a treatment alternative. This study incorporates the use of dicalcium silicate as an additive to the solidification process to increase the strength and reduce the leachability of the petroleum hydrocarbons found in the sludge. This study shows that dicalcium silicate improves the handling characteristics of the sludge and reduces the leachability of the contaminants from the washrack sludge.