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HomeRCRA CodesF ListF038
F List — Wastes From Non-Specific Sources Listed - toxic

RCRA Hazardous Waste Number

F038

Petroleum refinery secondary (emulsified) oil/water/solids separation sludge—Any sludge and/or float generated from the physical and/or chemical separation of oil/water/solids in process wastewaters and oily cooling wastewaters from petroleum refineries. Such wastes include, but are not limited to, all sludges and floats generated in: induced air flotation (IAF) units, tanks and impoundments, and all sludges generated in DAF units. Sludges generated in stormwater units that do not receive dry weather flow, sludges generated from non-contact once-through cooling waters segregated for treatment from other process or oily cooling waters, sludges and floats generated in aggressive biological treatment units as defined in § 261.31(b)(2) (including sludges and floats generated in one or more additional units after wastewaters have been treated in aggressive biological treatment units) and F037, K048, and K051 wastes are not included in this listing

Official source: 40 CFR Part 261 (eCFR)

Hazard Basis

Listed - toxic

Regulation

40 CFR Part 261

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Classification

See the full F list

Manufacturing process wastes that arise across many industries: spent solvents (F001-F005), electroplating and metal finishing wastes (F006-F019), and others. The code follows the process, not the industry.

How F038 is handled

01

F-listed wastes carry the code from the process that produced them, in any industry.

02

The mixture rule applies: mixing an F-listed waste into another stream generally makes the whole stream F-listed.

03

Spent solvent F codes (F001-F005) are among the most commonly recycled RCRA streams - solvent recovery and fuel blending are established routes.

Other F-list codes

F001The following spent halogenated solvents used in degreasing: Tetrachloroethylene, trichloroethylene, methylene chloride, 1,1,1-trichloroethane, carbon tetrachloride, and chlorinated fluorocarbons; all spent solvent mixtures/blends used in degreasing containing, before use, a total of ten percent or more (by volume) of one or more of the above halogenated solvents or those solvents listed in F002, F004, and F005; and still bottoms from the recovery of these spent solvents and spent solvent mixturesF002The following spent halogenated solvents: Tetrachloroethylene, methylene chloride, trichloroethylene, 1,1,1-trichloroethane, chlorobenzene, 1,1,2-trichloro-1,2,2-trifluoroethane, ortho-dichlorobenzene, trichlorofluoromethane, and 1,1,2-trichloroethane; all spent solvent mixtures/blends containing, before use, a total of ten percent or more (by volume) of one or more of the above halogenated solvents or those listed in F001, F004, or F005; and still bottoms from the recovery of these spent solvents and spent solvent mixturesF003The following spent non-halogenated solvents: Xylene, acetone, ethyl acetate, ethyl benzene, ethyl ether, methyl isobutyl ketone, n-butyl alcohol, cyclohexanone, and methanol; all spent solvent mixtures/blends containing, before use, only the above spent non-halogenated solvents; and all spent solvent mixtures/blends containing, before use, one or more of the above non-halogenated solvents, and, a total of ten percent or more (by volume) of one or more of those solvents listed in F001, F002, F004, and F005; and still bottoms from the recovery of these spent solvents and spent solvent mixturesF004The following spent non-halogenated solvents: Cresols and cresylic acid, and nitrobenzene; all spent solvent mixtures/blends containing, before use, a total of ten percent or more (by volume) of one or more of the above non-halogenated solvents or those solvents listed in F001, F002, and F005; and still bottoms from the recovery of these spent solvents and spent solvent mixturesF005The following spent non-halogenated solvents: Toluene, methyl ethyl ketone, carbon disulfide, isobutanol, pyridine, benzene, 2-ethoxyethanol, and 2-nitropropane; all spent solvent mixtures/blends containing, before use, a total of ten percent or more (by volume) of one or more of the above non-halogenated solvents or those solvents listed in F001, F002, or F004; and still bottoms from the recovery of these spent solvents and spent solvent mixturesF006Wastewater treatment sludges from electroplating operations except from the following processes: (1) Sulfuric acid anodizing of aluminum; (2) tin plating on carbon steel; (3) zinc plating (segregated basis) on carbon steel; (4) aluminum or zinc-aluminum plating on carbon steel; (5) cleaning/stripping associated with tin, zinc and aluminum plating on carbon steel; and (6) chemical etching and milling of aluminumF007Spent cyanide plating bath solutions from electroplating operationsF008Plating bath residues from the bottom of plating baths from electroplating operations where cyanides are used in the process
View the full F list →

Where can a F038 stream go?

Recognized recovery routes for this waste family, ranked by typical recovery tier. Which route fits depends on your specific stream — composition, volume and region.

Oil recovery via reinsertion into refining

High recovery

Oil-bearing separation sludges returned to the petroleum refining process for oil recovery are excluded from solid waste regulation — the highest-value route for these streams.

40 CFR 261.4(a)(12) — oil-bearing residues returned to refining

Fuel blending & energy recovery

Medium recovery

Organic-bearing streams with usable fuel value can be blended and burned for energy recovery in permitted boilers and industrial furnaces instead of being incinerated as pure disposal.

40 CFR Part 266 Subpart H — burning for energy recovery

These are the typical routes for the F list. Your stream's actual options depend on its composition and where it sits.

Get the ranked options for your stream

Get buyer contacts for RCRA F038

Leave your work email. Our industrial desk sends verified company contacts with location-specific pricing and contract minimums for petroleum refinery secondary (emulsified) oil/water/solids separation sludge—any sludge and/or float generated from the physical and/or chemical separation of oil/water/solids in process wastewaters and oily cooling wastewaters from petroleum refineries. such wastes include, but are not limited to, all sludges and floats generated in: induced air flotation (iaf) units, tanks and impoundments, and all sludges generated in daf units. sludges generated in stormwater units that do not receive dry weather flow, sludges generated from non-contact once-through cooling waters segregated for treatment from other process or oily cooling waters, sludges and floats generated in aggressive biological treatment units as defined in § 261.31(b)(2) (including sludges and floats generated in one or more additional units after wastewaters have been treated in aggressive biological treatment units) and f037, k048, and k051 wastes are not included in this listing — not generic benchmarks.

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