Refinery environment

Spierenburg, T.J., G.J. De Graaf, and A.J. Baars. 1988. Cadmium, zinc, lead, and copper in livers and kidneys of cattle in the neighbourhood of zinc refineries. Environ. Monitor. Assess. 11 107-114. 

There is extta emphasis on welding controls due to welding being more prevalent in a refinery environment. 

NACE Standard RP0472. Methods and Controls to Prevent In-Service Cracking of Carbon Steel (P-1) Welds in Corrosive Petroleum Refinery Environments. Houston, TX NACE, latest revision. 

IMULSIONS OF OIL AND WATER are one of many problems directly associated with the petroleum industry, in both oil-field production and refinery environments. Whether these emulsions are created inadvertently or are unavoidable, as in the oil-field production area, or are deliberately induced, as in refinery desalting operations, the economic necessity to eliminate emulsions or maximize oil-water separation is present. Furthermore, the economics of oil-water separation dictate the labor, resources, and monies dedicated to this issue. Before we describe the methods and economics of emulsion breaking at commercial facilities, we will restate several key concepts concerning emulsions and the petroleum industry. 

Schweitzer, Philip A., ed. 1996. Corrosion Engineering Handbook. New York Marcel Dekker. Caplan, F. 1975. Is Your Water Scaling or Corrosive Chemical Engineering September 1 29. NACE International. Current edition. Methods and Controls to Prevent In-Service Environmental Cracking of Carbon Steel Weldments in Corrosive Petroleum Refinery Environments. NACE RP0472. Houston, TX NACE International. 

S. Ahmad, M.L. Mehta, S.K. Saraf, and I. Saraswat, Stress Corrosion Cracking of Sensitized 304 Austenitic Stainless Steel in Petroleum Refinery Environment, Corrosion, Vol 38, 1982, p 347-353... 

Figure 97. Shell gasification proces.s in the refinery environment...

Yu J, Chen LX (2008) The greenhouse gas emissions and fossil energy requirements of bioplastics from cradle to gate a biomass refinery. Environ Sci Tecnol 42 6961-6966 Yu J, Stahl H (2008) Microbial utihzation and hiopolyester synthesis of bagasse hydrolysates. Bioresour Technol 99 8042-8048... 

The FDD chromatograms show a great similarity to the classical FID detector and offers comparable performance without the use of a flame, radioactive emitter or combustible gases. The FDD in helium photoionization mode is an excellent replacement for FIDs in petrochemical or refinery environments, where the flame and use of hydrogen can be problematic. In addition, when the helium discharge gas is doped with a suitable noble gas, such as argon, krypton or xenon (depending on the desired cut-off point), the FDD can function as a specific photoionization detector for selective determination of aliphatics, aromatics, amines, as well as other species. 

Based on laboratory tests in boiling 42% magnesium chloride solution, austenitic stainless steel and nickel alloys are subject to chloride SCC if their nickel content is less than about 45%. The heat treatment of an alloy was found to have no effect on its resistance to chloride SCC. In practice, however, stainless steel and nickel alloys containing greater than 30% Ni will be immune in most refinery environments. Figure 2.2 shows typical chloride-induced SCC. 

Dove D, Messer B, Phillips T, An Anstenitic Stainless Steel, Resistant to High Temperature Creep and Naphthenic Acid Attack in Refinery Environments , Corrosion... 

To allow objectivity of the findings, ElA s are usually carried out by independent specialists or organisations. It will involve not only scientific experts, but also require consultation with official and representative bodies such as the government ministries for the environment, fisheries, food, agriculture, and local water authorities. In activities which may impact on local population (terminals, refineries, access roads, land developments) local representatives of the inhabitants may be consulted, and the public affairs function... 

Sources of human exposure to formaldehyde are engine exhaust, tobacco smoke, natural gas, fossil fuels, waste incineration, and oil refineries (129). It is found as a natural component in fmits, vegetables, meats, and fish and is a normal body metaboHte (130,131). FaciUties that manufacture or consume formaldehyde must control workers exposure in accordance with the following workplace exposure limits in ppm action level, 0.5 TWA, 0.75 STEL, 2 (132). In other environments such as residences, offices, and schools, levels may reach 0.1 ppm HCHO due to use of particle board and urea—formaldehyde foam insulation in constmction. 

A knowledge of the molecular composition of a petroleum also allows environmentalists to consider the biological impact of environmental exposure. Increasingly, petroleum is being produced in and transported from remote areas of the world to refineries located closer to markets. Although only a minuscule fraction of that oil is released into the environment, the sheer volume involved has the potential for environmental damage. Molecular composition can not only identify the sources of contamination but also aids in understanding the fate and effects of the potentially hazardous components (7). 

In oil and gas refinery appHcations, titanium is used as protection in environments of H2S, SO2, CO2, NH, caustic solutions, steam, and cooling water. It is used in heat-exchanger condensers for the fractional condensation of cmde hydrocarbons, NH, propane, and desulfurization products using seawater or brackish water for cooling. 

For dust- and chemical-laden atmospheres as in cement plants, chemical industries and refineries and areas in alkaline and saline environments reduce the repreasing intervals by roughly 30%. 

As you continue to read, scan over the sidebar discussions. These provide a summary of the toxicity and fate data for the principal hazardous chemicals released by petroleum refinery operations. The sidebar discussions also provide descriptions of the most common routes by which these pollutants enter the environment as a result of common refinery practices and operations. 

These figures can be used for predictive purposes to extrapolate average major incident conditions to situations under study, provided the actual conditions under study correspond reasonably well with average major incident conditions. Such a condition may be broadly described as a spill of some tens of tons of a hydrocarbon in an environment with local concentrations of obstructions and/or partial confinement, for example, the site of an average refinery or chemical plant with dense process equipment or the site of a railroad marshaling yard with a large number of closely parked rail cars. It must be emphasized that the TNT equivalencies listed above should not be used in situations in which average major incident conditions do not apply. 

Eor most gas process environments-refineries, catalyst development sites, research and development and plant laboratories-a knowledge of the exact composition of the... 

Water which is used for cooling purposes in refineries and chemical plant can cause severe problems of corrosion and erosion. Ordinary cast irons usually fail in this type of environment due to graphitic corrosion or corrosion/ erosion. Ni-Resist irons however show better corrosion resistance, due to the nobility of the austenitic matrix, and are preferred for use in the more aggressive environments such as those containing appreciable amounts of carbon dioxide or polluted with chemical wastes or sea-water. 

Merrick, R. D., Refinery experiences with cracking in wet H2S environments. Materials Performance, 27, 30-36 (1988)... 

Although the corrosivity may not be high provided the condensed moisture remains uncontaminated, this rarely happens in practice, and in marine environments sea salts are naturally present not only from direct spray but also as wind-borne particles. Moreover, many marine environments are also contaminated by industrial pollution owing to the proximity of factories, port installations, refineries, power stations and densely populated areas, and in the case of ships or offshore installation superstructures by the discharge from funnels, exhausts or flares. In these circumstances any moisture will also contain S, C and N compounds. In addition, solid pollutants such as soot and dust are likely to be deposited and these can cause increased attack either directly because of their corrosive nature, or by forming a layer on the surface of the metal which can absorb and retain moisture. The hygroscopic nature of the various dissolved salts and solid pollutants can also prolong the time that the surface remains moist. 

Schechter MT, Spitzer WO, Hutcheon ME, et al. 1989. Cancer downwind from sour gas refineries The perception and the reality of an epidemic. Environ Health Perspect 79 283-290. 

It is important and beneficial for the environment to reduce the sulfur levels in refinery products, as well as in energy fuel (e.g. natural gas, LPG and heating oil) [1]. It has been previously reported that atmospheric emission of sulfur combustion products contributes to acid rain, ozone, and smog generation. 

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