Hydrocarbons disposal/destruction

Waste streams resulting from the inadvertent production of hexachlorobutadiene as a by product of certain chlorinated hydrocarbons typically contain 33-80% hexachlorobutadiene. These wastes are disposed of by various methods. Over the last decade, disposal practices have shifted from landfilling to incineration. Incineration, which is considered the preferred method of disposal, reportedly achieves greater than 99.9% destruction efficiency (EPA 1982d). In 1982, approximately 68% of an estimated 27 million pounds of hexachlorobutadiene wastes were disposed of by incineration, 32% by deep well injection, and less than 0.2% by hazardous waste landfill operations (EPA1982d). 

The contaminants of concern can be isolated and concentrated into a reduced volume which can be more easily handled. Another potential benefit of the concentration process is that additional destructive treatment alternatives may become feasible. For example, the concentration of hydrocarbons from a contaminated groundwater can produce a reduced volume waste with a high BTU value allowing for fuel blending as a disposal alternative. This not only reduces the quantity of groundwater that must be treated, but also produces a more easily treatable final waste product. As another example, heavy metals can be concentrated from an aqueous stream by membrane processes and immobilized by solidification/stabilization technologies. 

The hydrocarbon and chemical industries have traditionally been reluctant to immediately invest capital where direct return on the investment to the company is not obvious and apparent, as would any business enterprise. Additionally, fire losses in the petroleum and chemical industries were relatively small up to the 1950s. This was due to the small size of the facilities and the relatively low value of oil, gas, and chemicals to the volume of production. Until 1950, a fire or explosion loss of more than 5 million dollars had not occurred in the refining industry in the US. Also in this period, the capital-intensive offshore oil exploration and production industry was only just beginning. The use of gas was limited in the early 1900s. Typically production gas was immediately flared (i.e., disposed of by being burnt off) or the wall was capped and considered an uneconomical reservoir. Since gas development was limited, large vapor cloud explosions were relatively rare and catastrophic destruction from petroleum incidents was essentially unheard of The outlays for petroleum industry safety features... 

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