Pollution characteristics of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in oily sludge from the Zhongyuan Oilfield and its peripheral soils

The purpose of this study is to determine the degree of contamination caused by polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in oily sludge and soils around it in the Zhongyuan Oilfield. The contents of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in oily sludge samples were determined with HPLC. The contents of PAHs of oily sludge from three different oil production plants vary from high to low in the order of the Wenming oily sludge dumping site of No. 3 Oil Production Plant (3W)>the Mazhai oily sludge dumping site of No. 3 Oil Production Plant (3M)>the Wen'er oily sludge dumping site of No. 4 Oil Production Plant (4W). Naphthalene, acenaphthylene, acenaphthene, fluorine and phenanthrene are the major pollutants of PAHs in oily sludge. The contents of PAHs in soil samples around the oily sludge dumping sites vary widely from 434.49 to 2408.8 ng/g. Naphthalene, acenaphthene, fluorine, phenanthrene and pyrene are the characteristic factors of PAHs in soil samples of 3M and 3W, and naphthalene, acenaphthene, fluorine and phenanthrene are the characteristic factors of PAHs in soil samples of 4W. According to these data and the ratios of Fl/Py, PAHs in oily sludge samples come mainly from petrogenic sources, and soil samples are divided into petrogenic soil samples and mixed-source soil samples, and both petrogenic and pyrogenic soil samples in terms of the sources of PAHs. The classification by Nemero index P indicates that soils around the oily sludge dumping sites have been seriously polluted. © Science Press, Institute of Geochemistry, CAS and Springer-Verlag GmbH 2009.