Encapsulation of petroleum sludge in building blocks

•Examines the encapsulation of petroleum sludge in block production.•Evaluation of the physical and mechanical properties of blocks manufactured with petroleum sludge.•Provides an alternative to petroleum sludge disposal.•Confirm the environmental acceptability of petrovege block.

Petroleum sludge is one of the major solid wastes generated in the petroleum industry; cost-effective treatment and proper disposal has become a problem worldwide. The use of it as a raw material in the production of building blocks was investigated in this paper to find an alternative to dumping this environmentally unfriendly material into land fill. The petroleum sludge and aggregates were characterized in terms of their composition and grain sizes respectively. The block samples were prepared by adding 8%, 9%, 10%, 11%, 12%, and 13% liquid content of the mixture of vegetable oil and petroleum sludge as a binder. The mixtures were compacted in a cylindrical mold of 50 mm × 100 mm sizes with 75 blows using Marshall compacting machine, then were cured through oxidation in an oven at 160 °C for 48, 72, 96 and 120 h. The physical and mechanical properties were evaluated and the high compressive strength recorded compare to conventional building blocks has made it more feasible and interesting in the construction industry.