Tankers, hydrogen-containing

Ammonia is the precursor for many other chemicals such as nitric acid, hydrazine, acrylonitrile, and hexamethylenediamine. Ammonia, having three hydrogen atoms per molecule, may be viewed as an energy source. It has been proposed that anhydrous liquid ammonia may be used as a clean fuel for the automotive industry. Compared with hydrogen, anhydrous ammonia is more manageable. It is stored in iron or steel containers and could be transported commercially via pipeline, railroad tanker cars, and highway tanker trucks. The oxidation reaction could be represented as ... 

The moist sulfide readily oxidises in air exothermally, and may reach incandescence. Grinding in a mortar hastens this [1]. The impure sulfide formed when steel processing equipment is used with materials containing hydrogen sulfide or volatile sulfur compounds is pyrophoric, and has caused many fires and explosions when such equipment is opened without effective purging. Various methods of purging are discussed [2], Formation of pyrophoric FeS in bitumen tanks is considered as a cause of spontaneous ignition and explosion in the head space [3], A detailed study of formation of possibly pyrophoric sulphides from rust in crude oil tankers has been made [4],... 

The produced fluids and gases are typically directed into separation vessels. Under the influence of gravity, pressure, heat, retention times, and sometimes electrical fields, separation of the various phases of gas, oil, and water occurs so that they can be drawn off in separate streams. Suspended solids such as sediment and salt will also be removed. Deadly hydrogen sulfide (H2S), is sometimes also encountered, which is extracted simultaneously with the petroleum production. Crude oil containing H2S can be shipped by pipeline and used as a refinery feed but it is undesirable for tanker or long pipeline transport. The normal commercial concentration of impurities in crude oil sales is usually less than 0.5% BS W (Basic Sediment and Water) and 10 Ptb (Pounds of salt per 1,000 barrels of oil). The produced liquids and gases are then transported to a gas plant or refinery by truck, railroad tank car, ship, or pipeline. Large oil field areas normally have direct outlets to major, common-carrier pipelines. 

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