Environmental concerns petroleum

First there are the physical chemists, chemical engineers, and surface scientists, who study mainly nonpolar hydrocarbon reactions on clean and relatively clean metals and metal oxides. These have been the traditional studies formerly driven by the petroleum industry and now driven by environmental concerns. These workers typically treat the surface as a real entity composed of active sites (usually not identified, but believed in). These investigators typically, although not always, interpret mechanisms in terms of radical reactions on metals and in terms of acid-base reactions on metal oxides. 

Several refineries, tank farms, and other petroleum-handling facilities are included on the EPA National Priorities List (U.S. EPA, 1986) or are regulated under RCRA. These facilities presented several potential subsurface environmental concerns, including ... 

Arscott, R. L., 1989, New Directions in Environmental Protection in Oil and Gas Operations In Environmental Concerns in the Petroleum Industry (edited by S. M. Testa), Pacific Section American Association of Petroleum Geologists Symposium Volume, pp. 217-227. 

Recovery of spilled hydrocarbons has been occurring almost as long as petroleum has been refined. The earliest attempt reported was the use of pitcher pumps attached to shallow posthole depth wells along a breached pipeline. This pre-1900 effort was not driven by environmental concerns, but by its ease in recovery and the perceived economic value of the oil. Most recovery efforts were continued until the labor value exceeded the product value, and then stopped. Primitive equipment, coupled with a lack of understanding of the mechanics of product migration in the subsurface, and the relatively low value placed on the recovered product provided little incentive for the development of remedial technologies. 

Political events, oil supply and costs, technological breakthroughs, and environmental concerns have influenced, and will probably continue to influence, the petroleum and, therefore, the catalyst manufacturing industry. Thus efforts to understand possible trends in future catalyst activities and research directions must proceed with the understanding of the aforementioned factors. 

Gasoline and diesel fuels are used worldwide in enormous amounts and are produced by the petroleum industry by oil refining (see Chapter 2). Liquid transportation fuels are conveniently transported, distributed, and dispensed directly into our vehicles and aircraft. Increased environmental concerns did much to begin to assure cleaner burning of our fuels. In the United States, law requires significant reduction of emissions and resulted in lead-free and more recently reformulated gasoline... 

Hydrocarbons and their transformations play a major role in chemistry. Industrial applications, basic to our everyday life, face new challenges from diminishing petroleum supplies, regulatory problems, and environmental concerns. Chemists must find answers to these challenges. Understanding the involved chemistry and finding new approaches is a field of vigorous development. 

Because of environmental concerns, a new generation of biodegradable penetrants having sensitivity levels ranging from 1 to 4 has been developed. The new penetrants are water washable and. in most instances, can be directly discharged into sewers. They are free of petroleum-based solutions. 

Along with other alternative sources of energy during the energy crisis of the 1970s, considerable attention was devoted to the exploitation of tar sands. Once, it was predicted that deposits in Canada could yield a light synthetic crude oil to the extent of a million barrels per day, or about one-third of Canada s petroleum requirements. Later, when serious environmental concern over fossil fuels was indicated, research turned essentially elsewhere. It was estimated in the late 1970s that tar sands reserves hi the United States, mainly in Utah, would have the petroleum equivalent of 90 billion barrels. 

The impact of environmental issues is apparent within the majority of Encyclopedia articles having counterparts in previous editions. For example, the effect of environmental concerns on manufacturing and other processes is evident in articles such as Alkali and chlorine products, Electroplating, Mineral recovery and processing, and Petroleum. Concern about the environment has also played a role in the types and quantities of materials produced... 

The use of C02 circumvents the environmental concerns and the worker and consumer health issues associated with perc use. Carbon dioxide is nonflammable and thus does not have the site restrictions often encountered with petroleum. The controlled level of moisture in a C02 system does not damage hydrophilic fibers. And best of all, C02 cleaning leads to a high-quality finished product that is safer for clothes, workers, consumers, and the environment. 

It is very likely that the current rate of growth of electricity supply cannot be sustained as the costs of energy and environmental concerns escalate. The model results, based on a reduced business-as-usual growth rate in world consumption of electricity over the next 40 years, show a strong need to plan for a larger sustainable electricity supply, especially if the world converts to electric battery and/or hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles to reduce dependence on petroleum-based fuels for transportation. 

Another area of environmental concern is the products themselves. Petroleum refining in the last 10 years has been driven by requirements for the composition of gasoline and diesel fuel that are continuously changed by environmental demands. Such considerations will have even stronger impact in the future. There are similar problems in the chemical process industries. The search for an environmentally acceptable substitute for Freon is a prominent present example. Another problem is polyvinyl chloride (PVC), which causes difficulties in incinerators. The question is, should we continue to produce PVC or should we find a substitute that is easier to dispose of Can we modify polymers in such a way that they cause fewer problems of pollution than they cause now These are major challenges for the profession, in both academia and industry. 

Potential new uses for soy protein are driven primarily by environmental concerns and the search for new value-added uses for agricultural commodities. In addition, prices for petroleum-based polymers have increased relative to prices for... 

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