The petrochemical industry produces some of the most complex and hazardous waste streams in the industrial landscape. Kirsten Kelly talks to Hugh Khumalo – EnviroServ’s national haztech and inland southern commercial manager – about petrochemical waste management that is safe, compliant and sustainable.

“In South Africa and much of Africa, the petrochemical sector is a strategic economic pillar — supporting national energy security, industrial development and export competitiveness. With this scale and importance comes significant responsibility, and robust waste management is indispensable in the petrochemical sector, where complex, high-risk waste streams demand specialised handling to avoid contamination and operational disruption,” explains Khumalo.

EnviroServ has spent more than two decades supporting the petrochemical sector with specialised, compliant and cost-effective waste solutions that prioritise environmental protection and circular-economy value. The company handles the full spectrum of petrochemical waste needs – from recycling and alternative processing to compliant disposal when required – ensuring safe, efficient and responsible outcomes.

Types of waste streams

Petrochemical operations generate a wide range of challenging wastes – from odorous organic and inorganic sludges to liquids, solids, alumina-rich by-products and high-calorific-value materials. These waste streams differ in viscosity, density and chemical behaviour, which determines how they must be pumped, transported and treated.

“The highly odorous and sometimes toxic waste streams are not suited for landfill disposal, especially since many landfills are located near residential communities. They may require odour-control treatment or must be directed to incineration,” states Khumalo.

High-calorific waste streams such as coal fines, coal riddling, crude tar sludge and dusty tar are often reused to fire onsite boilers or fed into clay brick manufacturing processes. Liquid calorific-rich streams are predominantly used as fuel in cement kilns. Some liquids – including tarry or oily wastes – can also be recycled and resold. Alumina-rich fractions are reclaimed for refractory lining, ceramic production and high-temperature insulation.

“EnviroServ has been a leading contributor to South Africa’s circular economy, pioneering waste-to-energy solutions long before they became mainstream. In 2017, the company successfully diverted odorous petrochemical waste to cement kilns as a coal replacement – a project that remains operational today. We continue to blend high-calorific waste streams as kiln feedstock, reducing coal reliance and lowering carbon footprints,” notes Khumalo.

Additional circular-economy initiatives include:

• Reusing hydrocarbon sludge in brickmaking
• Using stabilised sewage sludge as lawn-dressing material
• Supplying sludge and high-energy wastes to cement and clay industries as alternative fuel or raw material inputs

A comprehensive suite of petrochemical waste services

Central to managing complex petrochemical waste is Holfontein, South Africa’s largest hazardous waste landfill. Owned by EnviroServ, Holfontein is engineered to safely take Type 1 to Type 4 wastes, and is equipped with treatment processes capable of treating even Type 0 materials before disposal. With legislation tightening and waste streams becoming more chemically complex, this facility provides petrochemical clients with assurance that their most difficult waste is handled safely, legally and transparently.

EnviroServ also provides extensive industrial services, including tank and dam cleaning, desludging, high-pressure washing, vacuum truck operations, soil rehabilitation, asbestos removal and onsite bioremediation. These capabilities allow petrochemical customers to maintain operational continuity while ensuring their environmental responsibilities are met.

“One of EnviroServ’s standout innovations is its sludge dewatering technology – developed in partnership with specialised suppliers. The system extracts sludge from dams, separates solids from water, and returns up to 75% of the reclaimed water back to the client’s operations. This dramatically reduces disposal volumes, cuts transport emissions, and supports compliance by minimising disposal of liquid waste at landfills,” adds Khumalo.

EnviroServ provides online and offline dam cleaning services, allowing customers to recover capacity from sludge-laden ponds, avoid overflow risks, and reduce the carbon footprint associated with water-laden waste transport. Major petrochemical companies have used this technology to save millions in costs and restore dam functionality.

Ensuring compliance, safety and traceability

Because petrochemical waste carries significant environmental and safety risks, rigorous compliance with waste-management regulations is vital — and forms a cornerstone of EnviroServ’s service to the industry.

To ensure the traceability and safe transport of dangerous goods, EnviroServ incorporates advanced systems to track every load in real time, monitor route compliance, link manifests digitally and ensure full transparency from collection to destruction. This integrated approach reduces the risks of spills, misrouting and non-compliance.

Safety is reinforced by EnviroServ’s in-house hazmat specialists, technical assessors and an experienced SHEQ team that supports detailed risk assessments, potential deviation analyses and ongoing client audits. This approach is underpinned by certifications including ISO 45001, ISO 14001 and SABS accreditation.

EnviroServ places customers at the centre of its operations. To help customers better understand their waste streams and how these are managed, EnviroServ hosts open-door sessions at Holfontein, allowing clients to see treatment processes first-hand, ask questions and receive practical training – from landfill cell construction to compliance and waste-type disposal.

EnviroServ also welcomes technical discussions on alternative solutions and regularly shares industry best practice. Recently, the team introduced a pipe-hoisting system designed to minimise pinch-point injuries; after presenting it to a petrochemical client, it has now been adopted across the entire site as a new safety standard.

The future

When asked about the future of petrochemical waste management, Khumalo explains that the industry is shifting away from a disposal mindset toward one that views waste as a resource.

“As landfill restrictions tighten, EnviroServ anticipates growth in waste-to-energy infrastructure, alternative fuels, advanced stabilisation technologies, and onsite treatment systems that reduce the need for long-distance transport. The petrochemical sector is also investing more in research and development, sustainability and carbon reduction – and EnviroServ’s evolving technologies position it as a key partner in meeting these goals.”