This document summarizes an in-situ treatment project of an oilfield sludge/reserve pit located at Naval Petroleum Reserve #3 in Teapot Dome, Wyoming. The project demonstrated treating produced waters containing hydrocarbons and then using the treated water to remediate the sludge pit. Various techniques were used including aeration, hot water injection, and mechanical mixing to desorb and degrade oil from the sludge. Photos document the process under freezing conditions over time, showing the desorbed oil changing color and decreasing at the surface as treatment progressed.

1. First In-Situ treatment in the US of a Sludge/Reserve Pit.
Project performed at Naval Petroleum Reserve # 3 in Teapot Dome
Wyoming by Rocky Mountain Oilfield Testing Center owned and
operated by the Unites States Department of Energy.
In this project two treatments in one was demonstrated, we first treated
produced waters containing TPH and BTEX and then used the treated
produced waters from the oilfield to treat the sludge/reserve pit. Aeration
and hot produced waters were used. Some mechanical mixing with a
backhoe was also used to mix better the sludge with the ECOSAFE®
Environmental Management System and accelerate the desorption of the
oil to the water matrix.

2. View of the Sludge/Reserve pit at NPR # 3 Teapot Dome Wyoming (RMOTC/USDOE
Test site)

3. View of the Sludge/Reserve pit at NPR # 3 Teapot Dome Wyoming (RMOTC/USDOE Test
site)

4. View of the Sludge/Reserve pit at NPR # 3 Teapot Dome Wyoming (RMOTC/USDOE
Test site)

5. View of the Sludge/Reserve pit at NPR # 3 Teapot Dome Wyoming (RMOTC/USDOE Test
site)

6. Trying to figure out how to place the injection wells with different equipment's.

7. Backhoe could not enter because the sludge pit was to soft and it started sinking in
the pit.

8. Tried using a Bobcat to try to drill the injection wells and the sludge pit started
swallowing the equipment.

9. Bobcat being swallowed by the Sludge Pit, Venezuelan idea that almost lost the Bobcat. Had
to get rid of the Venezuelan Engineer, he did not observe safety rules and tried to do it by
himself without any supervision, see what happens when safety rules are not followed!

10. Two inch steel pipe injection wells with holes for product and air application.

11. Decided to use the back arm of the Backhoe to hammer in the injection wells from the
outside of the pit.

12. Using the Backhoe to set the injection wells in place. From the outside of the pit.

13. Setting in place the injection wells following the string line placed to have the wells aligned in
a straight line.

14. View of the injection wells set in place in a straight line. Seven injection wells per line.

15. View of the manifold system set in place to feed the three lines of injection wells. 21 total
injection wells were placed inside the pit

16. View of the Frac Tanks where we treated the produced waters containing TPH And BTEX.

17. RMOTC/USDOE Test Site sign for the pilot project.

18. View of the Air Compressor connection for the delivery system of compressed air using the
Injection wells.

19. View of the 200 GPM injection pump to inject the ECOSAFE® Solution.

20. View of the pump injection system connected to both Frac Tanks and manifold distribution
for injection purposes.

21. Side view of the pump injection system connected to both Frac Tanks and manifold
distribution for injection purposes.

22. View of the whole injection system and manifold distribution. Three lines of seven injection
wells set in place for a total of 21 injection wells.

23. During our project there was various injection of the ECOSAFE solution , desorbing events and
surface treatments of the oil. Se here another event where the desorbed oil was degraded in
the water matrix and the white foam appears as an indicator of low presence of oil .

24. Notice how there are few dark oil patches floating on the water and they are being degraded,
we know this fact because you can see the brown foam around the darker spots of oil.

25. Abundance of white foam indicating low concentration of oil in the water matrix. This is one of
our visual indicators that there is hardly any presence of oil in the water.

26. Oil being desorbed and starting to degrade on the surface. Notice how the oil is not round in
shape and there is color change.

27. Just a view of the extreme temperature it was -20º F. See how the treatment pit did not freeze!

28. You can appreciate here how a desorbed sludge is being degraded by the formulation, notice
that foam exist between the floating sludge, and brown foam is all around it, also notice how
the sludge is not all agglutinated as any oil would exist in water.

29. ECOSAFE product attacking and degrading the sludge, notice the brown foam in streaks
coming out of the contact between the foam and the desorbed floating sludge.

30. Same explanation as before but here you can notice the brown foam dissolving the floating
sludge and with its typical brown foam that only appears brown when in contact with the
sludge.

31. Notice the ice on top if the desorbed sludge, notice the foam closer to the sludge is brown
color, an indication that is degrading the floating sludge under extreme low temperatures.

32. Produces waters in freezing temperature comes out as steam and its being applied to add heat
to the Sludge pit treatment.

33. View of the treatment of the pit in very low temperatures. The floating desorbed oil is hardly
present.

34. See the emulsion streaks of degradation under low temperature. Notice the snow on the right

35. Even with frozen and under extreme low temperature you see the foam attacking and
degrading the floating oil, appreciate the brown foam as an indicator and that ice is on top of
the floating oil.

36. See the same effect of foam degrading the crud floating on the surface water. Notice that the
floating crud is surrounded by the foam that is degrading the oil.

37. Notice on the left that the product foam is degrading the desorbed oil and you can see the
difference in color of the foam around the floating sludge. That brown foam is the same sludge
but being treated.

38. Notice the color of the water in the pit with the color of free un-contaminated finer particles in
a colloidal suspension. You still see some oil on the surface. The reason for this picture is to
show how even the finer particles like silt is present in the water. All of you know that the finer
particles are always adsorbing oil and clump up.

39. Surface of the sludge pit free of desorbed oil during low temperatures.

40. Notice how from a dark color of desorbed oil changes to lighter colors of the foam, The foam
was dark in color and it transforms to a lighter color then to a white foam.

41. Notice partially frozen desorbed oil being treated during winter, The foam keeps degrading the
borders of the desorbed oil and notice the foam color that has a beige color. All this treatment

42. View of the treatment pit after surface treatment of the desorbed oil that was in the surface.
Notice how the oil interphase that was covering the whole pit is almost completely non-
present after surface treatment.

43. Desorbed oil is being treated by the product foam formation.

44. Oil being desorbed during the injection stage and surfacing to the top of the pit in the
water matrix.

45. Produced waters being applied to the pit in order to heat the water solution, the temperature
was so low that steam came out of the vacu-truck used to apply the hot produced waters

46. Notice the different emulsion of the degradation of the oil.

47. To accelerate the system ( to accelerate the desorb process we applied in a few occasions
mechanical mixing by the use of a Backhoe). We used a backhoe to help mix the contaminated
sludge matrix with the ECOSAFE solution in the pit.

48. View of total surface saturation of desorbed oil on the surface of the pit before air application.
Notice the snow, as long as we used produced waters we could continue the process. The
produce waters had temperatures between 130 º F to 150 º F. That is why we were able to
continue our treatment during harsh winter time in Wyoming.

49. View of the clean water surface without oil and the end of a treatment cycle. Next stage was
the removal of the water, passed to the frac tank and re-injected to the pit for more
desorption.

50. Oil being desorbed by the injection of hot treated produced waters by ECOSAFE. These water
contained also TPH and BTEX, so we performed two treatments in one. Treated the produced
waters and then used them to treat the sludge/reserve pit.

51. Notice the color change using injection of treated produced waters with ECOSAFE and how the
desorbed oil changes color. A combination of temperature and the products effect on the oil.
The lighter interphase of the oil.

52. Another view of the partially frozen supernatant of desorbed oil on the surface of the pit.

53. Vies of desorbed oil partially frozen on the surface before the air injection stage. We injected
treated produces waters. Then used the same treated produced waters to inject and desorb
the oil from the bottom of the pit. The produced waters where at a temperature of 135º F

54. Notice the desorbed oil partially frozen on the surface of the pit before air application. Notice
how the oil covers the whole area.

55. View of the rings of air injection process and how the desorbed oil behaves. The surface was
completely covered by the oil interphase and with time it disappears from the surface due to
the degradation of the oil.

56. See the frozen interphase in the left corner and how the technology keeps degrading under
low temperatures. Also notice snow on the left of the pit.

57. Notice how the desorbed oil covering the pit reduces in size during treatment and degradation.

58. You can notice here on the corner how water is frozen and the system still works degrading the
desorbed oil.

59. Oil desorbed from the bottom of the sludge pit, surfacing to the water phase as a supernatant,
air application starts the degradation process. Notice that even with partially frozen oil on the
surface its being degraded. We performed this project in winter time in Wyoming.

60. Foam formation that is an indication that oil is hardly present in the water matrix after it
degrades the floating oil.

61. Notice the brown color of the foam indicating oil degradation, Color change from black to
brown and light brown, ending in a white foam.

62. View of the sludge pit treatment system. Once the oil is desorbed by the formulation to the
surface, then aeration is applied finalizing in the complete degradation of the desorbed oil
contaminant to be treated on the surface of the water matrix present in the sludge/reserve pit.

63. Air application by the injection wells, compressed air is used to help emulsify the surface oil
and also to add Dissolved Oxygen to the water matrix in order for the oxidation of the PH
molecule to occur.

64. A closer view of the color change and degradation of an oil droplet. See the bubbles degrading
the oil droplet from the outside in.

65. Notice the color change and the unconventional shape of an oil droplet. As in any oil spill case ,
the oil is always attacked from the out side in and in this single case you can notice the effect of
degrading the surface oil from the outside in by the foam produced by the ECOSAFE®Solution.

66. Textbook example of the degradation of an oil droplet and the oxidation of the oil by the foam
of the ECOSAFE solution.

67. Notice the oil Droplets desorbing from the sludge matrix to the surface of the water phase and
the degradation of the droplets on the surface of the pit. Look at the color change of the
droplets. Also see how the color of the droplets change from the outside in.

68. You can notice here that from a black color of oil and how it changes to a lighter color ending in
a white foam, white foam indicates hardly any presence of oil.

69. More examples of the different emulsified oil interphase.

70. Notice the white foam effect degrading the oil supernatant and the boubles within the oil
interphase.

71. Notice different emulsion of crude oil on the surface of the pit. Oil loses all chemical
properties when in contact with the ECOSAFE treatment solution.

72. Notice how with time the emulsion changes color and turns from a black normal color to a
brownish color. Notice the foam present degrading the oil.

73. Notice the different color changes during the oil degradation process. Different emulsion colors
that end in a white foam formation. These different emulsion are in a foam interphase that
degrades the targeted oil.

74. Notice how the dark interphase keeps getting clearer and the oil disappears. Also notice the oil
losing its chemical properties loosing its cohesion properties. See the elongated shape of the
interphase oil.

75. Desorbed droplet of oil being degraded, appreciate the chemical change of the oil containing
bubbles of CO2 liberation as part of the REDOX Reaction.

76. View of a desorbed droplet of oil being floating on the surface being degraded from the outside
in. Notice the difference in color and bubbles inside of the droplet.

77. Notice how desorbed oil is being degraded in the surface of the pit by the ECOSAFE® solution.
Appreciate how the solution is degrading the oil and color change is seen in different emulsion
colors present.

78. View of clean soil after treatment. Notice how smooth is the soil surface is and appreciate the
color of the remaining water showing no contamination and the finer soil particles are in a
colloidal suspension within the water medium. If the finer particles are lose its due to the non
presence of contamination on the finer soil particles.

79. View of clean soil after treatment. Notice how smooth is the soil surface is and appreciate the
color of the remaining water showing no contamination and the finer soil particles are in a
colloidal suspension within the water medium. If the finer particles are lose its due to the non
presence of contamination on the finer soil particles.

80. Notice the clean compacted soil, this indicates sedimentation by clean particles, notice on the
surface bigger soil grain particles lose and clean on the surface.