Disposal of refinery biotreatment sludges through land application is being strictly controlled and, in many cases, eliminated by regulatory constraint. An alternative to land application of sludges is incineration. This paper discusses fluidized‐bed incineration pilot studies conducted on refinery sludges obtained from two different refineries. Destruction of hazardous organic constituents, as well as the fate of inorganic metals, is discussed. Metal emissions are examined and the impact of the new EPA metals emissions limits is investigated. Installation of a waste heat recuperator to preheat combustion air is explored as an alternative to a high‐pressure sludge dewatering process. Copyright © 1990 American Institute of Chemical Engineers
