Turning Oil into Compost?
Scientists from Kazan State University and the Open Joint-Stock Company “Nizhnekamskneft” are doing just that. As an option to storing waste products from oil that can be potentially toxic, composting is being explored as a way to deal with nasty oil waste. This article claims that the resulting oil-compost is virtually non-toxic.
Solid waste of petrochemical production (oil-slimes) belongs to the most persistent environment pollutants. Oil-slimes consist of oil carbohydrates and products of their processing, including asphaltic-resinous substances, as well as phenols, xylols, styrene and multiple other toxic and carcinogenic substances. Of course, oil-refining plants possess slime storage and waste disposal plants, but they do not solve the problem. Therefore, biotechnological methods of oil-slime disposal, including composting, increasingly attract specialists.
This is exciting news for those of us interested in ecological technologies and green methods for dealing with potentially harmful substances.
