Handling petroleum products

One of the hazards that must be guarded against in handling petroleum products is accidental ignition by static electricity. Tank car and tank tmck loading operations involving distillate products, under certain conditions, are particularly vulnerable to static ignition (as discussed in Chapter 15). 

John D. Bacha, Ph.D., Consulting Scientist, Chevron Products Company Member, ASTM (American Society for Testing and Materials), Committee D02 on Petroleum Products and Lubricants American Chemical Society International Association for Stability and Handling of Liquid Fuels, Steering Committee (Section 27, Energy Resources, Conversion, and Utilization)... 

From the viewpoint of safety, information about the flash point is of most significance at or slightly above the maximum temperatures [30 to 60°C (86 to 140°F)] that may be encountered in storage, transportation, and use of liquid petroleum products, in either closed or open containers. In this temperature range the relative fire and explosion hazard can be estimated from the flash point. For products with flash points below 40°C (104°F), special precautions are necessary for safe handling. Flash points above 60°C (140°F) gradually lose their safety significance until they become indirect measures of some other quality. 

There is also a category of petroleum products known as white oil that generally falls into two classes (1) technical white oil, which is employed for cosmetics, textile lubrication, insecticide vehicles, and paper impregnation, and (2) pharmaceutical white oil, which may is employed medicinally (e.g., as a laxative) or for the lubrication of food-handling machinery. 

In the method (ASTM D287), the API gravity is determined using a glass hydrometer for petroleum and petroleum products that are normally handled as liquids and that have a Reid vapor pressure of 26 psi (180 kPa) or less. The API gravity is determined at 15.6°C (60°F), or converted to values at 60°F, by means of standard tables. These tables are not applicable to nonhydrocarbons or essentially pure hydrocarbons such as the aromatics. 

Having defined the process products and emission (Chapters 3 and 4), pollution prevention is the operational guideline for refinery operators, process engineers, process chemists, and for that matter, anyone who handles petroleum and/or petroleum products. It is in this area that environmental analysis plays a major role (EPA, 2004). 

Because fuel and oil weights vary per standard volume, they should always be handled and sold on a weight basis, not volume basis. If sold on a volume basis, the volume should always be corrected to 60°F (15.5°C) by utilizing API volume reduction tables. These tables are used to standardize all volumes of petroleum products to a 60°F (15.5°C) volume. Standard API volume correction tables for petroleum products are contained in APPENDIX 3. 

Information is sometimes needed about the human and environmental hazards associated with handling and shipping various petroleum products. This information can often be obtained by utilizing the physical property values and product safety data information compiled for hazardous materials. This chapter contains valuable safety and hazard information for common fuels, oils and solvents. 

Proper description of the material being shipped is the first step which must be taken to ensure that fuels and oils are handled, shipped, stored, and used properly. A listing of the most commonly accepted names for a variety of petroleum products is provided in TABLE 10-1. 

It has been estimated that a specific conductivity of 103 picomho m-1 would provide an ample margin of safety against electrokinetic explosions for the handling of refined petroleum products. These authors also measured the concentrations of various additives needed to reach... 

Radioisotopes also are used for detection of interfaces in pipelines. Since some pipelines handle many different stocks, ranging from crude oil to finished petroleum products to chemicals, etc., effective control requires a knowledge of the precise instant when the interface between two materials passes the control point, This is obtained by adding to the interface a radioactive nuclide, which emits a strong beam of radiation, such as 124Sb. The half-life of the radioisotope used must be quite short to insure that the activity will have decayed to a safe level before it reaches the ultimate user of the transported material,... 

Seaports handle large amounts of petroleum products and have facilities on site to store these products. At the Port of Los Angeles alone, for example, there are —500 above-ground storage tanks with a capacity to hold 500 million gallons (1.9X 10 L) of product (Rice, 1991). Despite this, the lasting effects of oil spills on the open seas may be less than the effect of the many subsurface leaks and spills of petroleum products or the atmospheric pollution caused by the use of petroleum products, oil spills on the open seas... 

JMULSIONS CAN BE FOUND IN ALMOST EVERY PART of the petroleum production and recovery process in reservoirs, produced at wellheads, in many parts of the refining process, and in transportation pipelines. In each case the presence and nature of emulsions can determine both the economic and technical successes of the industrial process concerned. This book is intended to provide an introduction to the nature, occurrence, handling, formation, and breaking of petroleum emulsions. The primary focus is on the applications of the principles and includes attention to practical emulsion problems. 

Petroleum hydrocarbons are commonly found environmental contaminants, though they are not usually classified as hazardous wastes. Many petroleum products are used in modern society, including those that are fundamental to our lives (i.e., transportation fuels, heating and power-generating fuels). The volume of crude oil or petroleum products that is used today dwarfs all other chemicals of environmental and health concern. Due to the numbers of facilities, individuals, and processes and the various ways the products are stored and handled, environmental contamination is potentially widespread. 

Although there are many methods for the determination of density because of the different nature of petroleum itself and the different products, one test method (ASTM D-5002) is used for the determination of the density or relative density of petroleum that can be handled in a normal fashion as liquids at test temperatures between 15 and 35 C (59 and 95 F). This test method applies to petroleum products with high vapor pressures... 

The volatihty of petroleum and petroleum products is an important aspect of safety and quality. It would be unsafe to attempt to store highly volatile materials in the open sunhght or in an enclosed space where temperature can rise to be in excess of 37.8°C (100°F). And yet, without any indications of when the material might vaporize and spontaneously ignite, there is no way of even considering the correct storage and handling conditions. 

Probably the most important concern about hydrocarbon levels in the oils and fats industry is in detection of contamination with petroleum products, which occasionally takes place during shipment or other handling of oils. 

To meet ERDA (formerly AEC) license requirements, the activity of each sample received was monitored with a radiation survey meter, and the personnel involved were supplied with radiation dosimeters. An excellent discussion of radiation safety and licensing requirements in handling reactor-activated petroleum products is available (49). 

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