Thermal treatment of sludge

The production processes always have as a counterpart the production of what are generically defined as "production residues" which, in most cases, are destined for disposal as waste or can be transformed into "raw-secondary" materials that can be reused inside another production process; obviously, in both cases, the entire process is subject to current legislation.

S.E.A. Srl has always oriented its work on the research and development of technologies which aim to reduce the quantity of products for disposal (hydrocarbon sludge, tank sludge, oily residues, etc.) and maximize the recovery of raw materials such as, for example, good quality hydrocarbon components to be reintroduced into the production cycle.

The collaboration with leading companies in this sector began thanks to our constant search for the latest technologies and applications in this sector which led to an integrated and sustainable form of environmental and economic waste management aiming at reaching the ambitious "0 waste” goal, reducing disposa l costs and extracting value through full recovery from raw materials that can be reused in the production cycles of the plant.

A team of experts has developed a process called R1 and the corresponding plant, which makes it possible to recover and recycle valuable products from industrial residues. This plant represents the latest generation of a series of plants designed and built over the last 5 years.


The R1 process is based on the distillation and pyrolysis of residues through the administration of thermal energy in an inert atmosphere (absence of air and / or oxygen). The result of this process is the creation of 3 main products:

  • A condensable gas phase, which could be used in a generator to produce electricity;
  • A liquid condensable phase, which is normally made up of valuable materials (e.g. oils, solvents, etc. depending on the type of initial material) and water;
  • A dry solid phase consisting of char /black carbon and inorganic matter.

Summing up, the R1 process has been designed and built with the aim of recovering materials with their native value for industrial use; this process is relevant to numerous industrial productions, limiting the disposal of potentially dangerous substances and substantially reducing disposal costs and the dangerousness of waste.

The plant that carries out the R1 process is set up with the following equipment:

  • The "reactor", normally installed on a skid where the product is loaded and put through a thermal process;
  • A “process” skid where the vapours are recovered in the form of condensable products and the non-condensable gases are suitably treated;
  • Process and control unit.