Petroleum hydrocarbons production

The conventional methods of analysis for total petroleum hydrocarbons (Chapter 7) have been used widely to investigate sites that may be contaminated with petroleum hydrocarbon products (see also EPA 418.1) for the determination of petroleum hydrocarbons. The important advantage of this method is that excellent sample reproducibility can be obtained, but the disadvantages are that... 

As with other petroleum hydrocarbon products, management in most cases is symptomatic. Attention should be paid to possible aspiration pneumonitis after ingestion exposure vomiting should not be induced. Oral or high concentration vapor exposure may cause CNS depression the patient should be removed to fresh air. Liquid may cause skin or eye irritation contaminated clothing should be removed, and skin and eyes should be flushed with water. 

Many methods are available for analysis of petroleum hydrocarbon products, particularly in water and soil matrices. The current literature includes a number of studies that document the performance and limitations of the commonly used methods. Method modifications and new methods are being investigated to provide better information about the petroleum component content of environmental samples. However, the available analytical methodology alone may not provide adequate information for those who evaluate the movement of petroleum components in the environment or evaluate the health risks posed to humans (Heath et al. 1993a). 

Emulgator Mixtures of naphthenic acid, hydrocarbyl sulfonate, and petroleum hydrocarbon Products by petroleum hydrocarbon of fossil oil 3-10 % emulsion... 

Detergents are made by, for example, treating petroleum hydrocarbons with sulphuric acid, yielding sulphonated products which are water soluble. These can also solubilise fats and oils since, like the stearate ion, they have an oil-miscible hydrocarbon chain and a water-soluble ionic end. The calcium salts of these substances, however, are soiu u-ic in water and, therefore, remove hardness without scum formation. 

Rubbers. Plasticizers have been used in mbber processing and formulations for many years (8), although phthaHc and adipic esters have found Htde use since cheaper alternatives, eg, heavy petroleum oils, coal tars, and other predominandy hydrocarbon products, are available for many types of mbber. Esters, eg, DOA, DOP, and DOS, can be used with latex mbber to produce large reductions in T. It has been noted (9) that the more polar elastomers such as nitrile mbber and chloroprene are insufficiendy compatible with hydrocarbons and requite a more specialized type of plasticizer, eg, a phthalate or adipate ester. Approximately 50% of nitrile mbber used in Western Europe is plasticized at 10—15 phr (a total of 5000—6000 t/yr), and 25% of chloroprene at ca 10 phr (ca 2000 t/yr) is plasticized. Usage in other elastomers is very low although may increase due to toxicological concerns over polynuclear aromatic compounds (9). 

In the wood rosin process, rosin is isolated from aged pine stumps that have been left in fields cleared for farming or lumbering operations. The stumps are cut and shredded to pieces the size of matchsticks. The wood chips are then extracted with an appropriate solvent, eg, aUphatic or aromatic petroleum hydrocarbons or ketones. The extract is fractionally separated into nonvolatile cmde rosin, volatile extractibles, and recovered solvent. The dark rosin is usually refined further to lighter-colored products using selective solvents or absorption. 

The separation processes separate the constituents of crude-oil based on physical proper Conversion of one molecule into another greatly extends the usefulness of petroleum by extending [hi ige of hydrocarbon products. 

Crude oil is the source for over. 1,(1(1() petroleum-based products for both industrial and consumer applications. The technique of distillation, the first stage processing of petroleum, exploits the different boiling points of the various petroleum fractions to separate out and isolate for use the different portions of the crude. The type and proportions of hydrocarbons present in each fraction depends upon the type of crude oil used and the range of temperatures employed. The major products produced directly... 

Petroleum hydrocarbons are used as automotive fuels and as monomers for the production of a range of plastics. They provide the basis of the petrochemical industry and the halogenated derivatives, which are discussed in Part 2 of this chapter. 

Most hydraulic fluid preparations start as chemical mixtures. For instance, there is a considerable area of overlap in the specific petroleum hydrocarbon chemicals contained in the mineral oil and polyalphaolefin hydraulic fluids. For all classes of hydraulic fluids, there may be similarities with other original products intended for use as lubricants. The complications involved in documenting the environmental fate of mixtures increase under conditions encountered at many NPL sites, where it may be hard to determine the precise original product associated with chemicals identified at an area in need of remediation. In most instances, available peer-reviewed literature, supplemented with data obtained from manufacturers of particular formulations and information in trade magazines, can supply information about the original hydraulic fluid preparations. At NPL sites, site-specific evaluations of specific chemicals may be the only feasible way to address concerns over environmental fate and potential exposure risks. 

Mineral Oil Hydraulic Fluids and Polyalphaolefin Hydraulic Fluids. Limited information about environmentally important physical and chemical properties is available for the mineral oil and water-in-oil emulsion hydraulic fluid products and components is presented in Tables 3-4, 3-5, and 3-7. Much of the available trade literature emphasizes properties desirable for the commercial end uses of the products as hydraulic fluids rather than the physical constants most useful in fate and transport analysis. Since the products are typically mixtures, the chief value of the trade literature is to identify specific chemical components, generally various petroleum hydrocarbons. Additional information on the properties of the various mineral oil formulations would make it easier to distinguish the toxicity and environmental effects and to trace the site contaminant s fate based on levels of distinguishing components. Improved information is especially needed on additives, some of which may be of more environmental and public health concern than the hydrocarbons that comprise the bulk of the mineral oil hydraulic fluids by weight. For the polyalphaolefin hydraulic fluids, basic physical and chemical properties related to assessing environmental fate and exposure risks are essentially unknown. Additional information for these types of hydraulic fluids is clearly needed. 

Mineral Oil Hydraulic Fluids and Polyalphaolefin Hydraulic Fluids. Very limited information is available concerning levels of these hydraulic fluids in environmental media. The only available study described concentrations at a spill site (Abdul et al. 1990). No other reports of mineral oil hydraulic fluid exposure levels in environmental media were found in the available literature. At NPL sites, it becomes difficult to decide which original products are associated with documentation of specific site contaminants. General research dealing with assessment techniques relevant to complex petroleum hydrocarbon mixtures would be helpful in deciding how to approach the environmental media exposure issues. 

Organic contaminants such as petroleum hydrocarbons or chlorinated solvents can be directly metabolized by proteins and enzymes, leading to the degradation, metabolism, or mineralization of the contaminants. Furthermore, many of these contaminants can be broken down into harmless products or converted into a source of food and energy for the plants or soil organisms.50... 

Brown and Huffman [85] reported an investigation of the concentration and composition of nonvolatile hydrocarbons in Atlantic Ocean and nearby waters. Sea water samples were taken at depths of 1 and 10 m and the nonvolatile hydrocarbons were identified by mass spectrometric techniques. The results show that the nonvolatile hydrocarbons in Atlantic and nearby waters contained aromatics at lower concentrations than would be expected if the source of the hydrocarbons were crude oil or petroleum refinery products. Hydrocarbons appeared to persist in the water to varying degrees, with the most persistent being the cycloparaffins, then isoparaffins, and finally the aromatics. 

MERICAT A process for removing mercaptans from petroleum fractions by a combination of catalytic oxidation and extraction with aqueous sodium hydroxide, using a proprietary contactor based on a bundle of hollow fibers. The sulfur products are disulfides, which remain in the hydrocarbon product. Developed by the Merichem Company, Houston, TX, and used in 61 plants as of 1991. Mericat II is a variation which includes a carbon bed too there were four installations as of 1991. See also Thiolex. 

In the United States, contamination of water wells and streams by petroleum hydrocarbons extends back to the turn of the century. In Marion, Indiana, local streams and the single source of groundwater involving 200 to 300 surface and rock wells were found to be contaminated by adjacent petroleum production activities. 

Henderson, T., 1989, Assessment of Risk to Ground Water Quality from Petroleum Product Spills In Proceedings of the National Water Well Association and American Petroleum Institute Conference on Petroleum Hydrocarbons and Organic Chemicals in Ground Water Prevention, Detection and Restoration, NWWA, Houston, TX, pp. 333-345. 

Current EPA analytical methods do not allow for the complete speciation of the various hydrocarbon compounds. EPA Methods 418.1 and 8015 provide the total amount of petroleum hydrocarbons present. However, only concentrations within a limited hydrocarbon range are applicable to those particular methods. Volatile compounds are usually lost, and samples are typically quantitated against a known hydrocarbon mixture and not the specific hydrocarbon compounds of concern or the petroleum product released. By conducting EPA Method 8015 (Modified) using a gas chromatograph fitted with a capillary column instead of the standard, hand-packed column, additional separation of various fuel-ranged hydrocarbons can be achieved. 

Parker, J. C., Kaluarachchi, J. J., and Katyal, A. K, 1987, Areal Simulations of Free Product Recovery from a Gasoline Storage Tank Leak In Proceedings of the National Water Well Conference on Petroleum Hydrocarbons and Organic Chemicals in Groundwater, November, 1988, pp. 315-332. 

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