Patent ID: 8197667

Claim:
A method to recover crude oil by separating and removing valuable hydrocarbon, water and solid components from sludge or an emulsion, the method comprising the steps of: receiving a sludge or an emulsion with added reagents of predefined ratio to form a mixture for treatment; processing the mixture to break a micelle structure of the sludge or the emulsion; agitating the mixture of the sludge or the emulsion with added reagents to allow homogenization of the mixture; centrifugating the processed mixture to separate hydrocarbons, water and solids from the sludge or the emulsion through a centrifuge; testing hydrocarbons separated from the sludge or the emulsion to ensure separated solids can be disposed of as environmentally safe materials; testing basis solids and water contents of separated hydrocarbons; filtering separated hydrocarbons; and storing the filtered hydrocarbons which is recovered crude oil.