University of Technology

Chemical Engineering Department

Branch Industrial and Environmental Pollution

Report About petroleum industry pollution &

control

Prepared by;
Hussein Maytham saied
Name of the supervisor:
Asst.prof.Dr.Laith.S.Sabri

Type of study

Morning

Abstract
There is global environmental concern about the pollution from industries and
other organizations that should not only be controlled but also prevented. Many
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alternatives are available to those in charge of environmental protection, but
they should be able to draw on a systematic procedure to help implement
prevention and control measures. At present, there are three immediate tasks:
defining the objective of any environmental study, identifying the potential
pollution sources, and selecting alternatives to these sources. However, it is
necessary to evaluate these alternatives by using as large a number of criteria as
possible and making them cumulative so as to enable the classification and
selection of the best available techniques for each pollution source. The
petroleum refining industry plays an important role in the developed economies
and also has a potential for pollution generation that must be controlled. The
best solution for all (i.e., petroleum companies, the public, and the environment)
is pollution prevention, because this option will protect all of them and will also
reduce costs in terms of lower raw materials consumption as well as reducing
potential fi

Table of contents
Subject Page
1-Introduction 4

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2-Industry Description and Hazards 5
2-1:Description 6
2-2: Environmental hazards of petroleum refineries
3- environmental impact of the petroleum industry 7
8
9
4-CONTROL OF WASTES IN THE PETROLEUM INDUSTRY 9
4-1: Environmental Protection Options 10
4-2: Waste-Management Plans: 11
5- Control and Treatment of Air Emissions 11
5-1: Air Pollution Control Methods Usedat Refineries for 12
Control of Particulate Emissions:
6- petroleum industry Wastewater Treatment 12
13
7- petroleum industry Solid Waste-control 13
8-Discution 14
9-Conclution 15
10-Recommendation 15
11-Refferance 16

1-Introduction:
The petroleum industry refines crude petroleum and processes natural gas into a
multitude of products. It is also involved in the distribution and marketing of
petroleum-derived products. The primary family of pollutants emitted from
these activities is volatile organic compounds (VOCs) arising from leakage,
venting, and the evaporation of raw materials and finished products. The air
emissions comprise point, fugitive, and area sources. The upstream petroleum
industry, which conducts all exploration and production activities, provides
essential petroleum products that are used for transportation fuels, electrical

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power generation, space heating, medicine, and petrochemicals. These uses of
petroleum are major contributors to our present standard of living. The
activities of finding and producing petroleum, however, can impact the
environment, and the greatest impact arises from the release of wastes into the
environment in concentrations that are not naturally found. These wastes
include hydrocarbons, solids contaminated with hydrocarbons, water
contaminated with a variety of dissolved and suspended solids, and a wide
variety of chemicals. While some of these wastes can have significant adverse
effects on the environment, some have little impact, and others are actually
beneficial. In virtually all cases, the adverse impact can be minimized or
eliminated through the implementation of proper waste management. The most
important steps in minimizing adverse environmental impact are for the
industry to take a proactive approach to managing operations and become
educated about those activities that can potentially harm the environment. The
proactive approach involves adopting an attitude of environmental
responsibility not just to comply with regulations but to actually protect the
environment while doing business.

2-Industry Description and Hazards

2-1:Description
The petroleum industry is organized into four broad sectors: exploration and
production of crude oil and natural gas; transport; refining; and marketing and
distribution. This document addresses only petroleum refining. Crude oil is
fractionated into liquefied petroleum gas, naphtha (used to produce gasoline by
blending with octane boosters), kerosene/aviation turbine fuel, diesel oil, and
residual fuel oil. Catalytic cracking and reforming, thermal cracking, and other
secondary processes are used to achieve the desired product specifications.

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Certain refineries also produce feedstocks for the manufacture of lubricating
oils and bitumens. Some refineries also manufacture coke.

2-2: Environmental hazards of petroleum refineries

Refineries are generally considered a major source o pollutants in areas where
they are located and are regulated by a number of environmental laws related to
air, land and water. Here is a breakdown of the air, water, and soil hazards
posed by refineries:

 Air pollution hazards: Petroleum refineries are a major source of

hazardous and toxic air pollutants such as BTEX compounds (benzene,
toluene, ethyl benzene, and xylene). They are also a major source of
criteria air pollutants: particulate matter (PM), nitrogen oxides (NOx),
carbon monoxide (CO), hydrogen sulfide (H2S), and sulfur dioxide
(SO2)….etc. Air emissions can come from a number of sources within a
petroleum refinery including: equipment leaks (from valves or other
devices); high-temperature combustion processes in the actual burning of
fuels for electricity generation; the heating of steam and process fluids;
and the transfer of products.

 Water pollution hazards: Refineries are also potential major contributors

to ground water and surface water contamination. Some refineries use
deep-injection wells to dispose of wastewater generated inside the plants,
and some of these wastes end up in aquifers and groundwater.
Wastewater in refineries may be highly contaminated given the number
of sources it can come into contact with during the refinery process (such
as equipment leaks and spills and the desalting of crude oil)
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  Soil pollution hazards: Contamination of soils from the refining processes
is generally a less significant problem when compared to contamination
of air and water. Past production practices may have led to spills on the
refinery property that now need to be cleaned up. Natural bacteria that
may use the petroleum products as food are often effective at cleaning up
petroleum spills and leaks compared to many other pollutants. Many
residuals are produced during the refining processes, and some of them
are recycled through other stages in the process. Other residuals are
collected and disposed of in landfills, or they may be recovered by other
facilities. Soil contamination including some hazardous wastes, spent
catalysts or coke dust, tank bottoms, and sludges from the treatment
processes can occur from leaks as well as accidents or spills on or off site
during the transport process.

 Noise Pollution: Soil, water, and air pollution are the most commonly
thought of side effects from spills in the petroleum and chemical
industries. However, noise pollution is also considered a factor in
deciding best practices.

3- environmental impact of the petroleum industry:

Petroleum has many uses, and the environmental
impact of the petroleum industry is
correspondingly extensive and expansive. Crude
oil and natural gas are primary energy and raw
material sources that enable numerous aspects of
modern daily life and the world economy. Their
supply has grown quickly over the last 150 years
to meet the demands of rapidly increasing human
population, creativity, and consumerism.
General Issues is:

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 Toxic compounds: Petroleum is a complex mixture of many components .
These components include straight chained, branched, cyclic, monocyclic
aromatic and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. The toxicity of oils can be
understood using the toxic potential or the toxicity of each individual
component of oil at the water solubility of that component. Different oils and
petroleum-related products have different levels of toxicity. Levels of
toxicity are influenced by many factors such as weathering, solubility, as
well as chemical properties such as persistence. Increased weathering tends
to decrease levels of toxicity as more soluble and lower molecular weight
substances are removed. Highly soluble substances tend to have higher
levels of toxicity than substances that are not very soluble in water.Generally
oils that have longer carbon chains and with more benzene rings have higher
levels of toxicity. Benzene is the petroleum-related product with the highest
level of toxicity. Other substances other than benzene which are highly toxic
are toluene, methylbenzene and xylenes (BETX).Substances with the lowest
toxicity are crude oil and motor oil.
 Greenhouse Gas Emissions: Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are
produced when hydrocarbons, such as oil and natural gas, are burned. GHGs
include carbon dioxide (CO2), methane, nitrous oxide and ozone, all of
which contribute to climate change Oil and natural gas are burned for
electricity generation, industrial uses, transportation, and to heat homes and
commercial buildings. In fact, the majority of emissions are released at the
end-user stage when consumers use oil and natural gas for heat, electricity,
fuel and other important products.

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Figure 1 overview of greenhouse gas emissions

  Microplastics: Petroleum has enabled plastics to be used to create a wide
range and massive quantity of consumer items at extremely low
production costs. Single-use plastics and improper disposal are common.
The majority of plastic is not recycled, and it fragments into smaller and
smaller pieces over time. Microplastics are observable in air, water, and
soil samples gathered from nearly every location on earth's surface, and
also increasingly within biological samplings. Long-term effects from the
environmental buildup of plastic waste are under scientific evaluation but
thus far mostly unknown.
 Acid rain: Manufacturing, oil refineries and other industries is can
Causes Acid Rain. Acid rain results when sulfur dioxide (SO2) and
nitrogen oxides (NOX) are emitted into the atmosphere and transported
by wind and air currents. The SO2 and NOX react with water, oxygen
and other chemicals to form sulfuric and nitric acids. These then mix
with water and other materials before falling to the ground.

This image illustrates the pathway for acid rain in our environment: (1)
This image illustrates the pathway for acid rain in our environment: (1)
Emissions of SO2 and NOx are released into the air, where (2) the pollutants
Emissions of SO2 and NOx are released into the air, where (2) the
are transformed into acid particles that may be transported long distances. (3)
pollutants are transformed into acid particles that may be transported
These acid particles then fall to the earth as wet and dry deposition (dust, rain,
long distances. (3) These acid particles then fall to the earth as wet and
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dry deposition (dust, rain, snow, etc.) and (4) may cause harmful
lakes.
effects on soil, forests, streams, and lakes.
4-CONTROL OF WASTES IN THE PETROLEUM
INDUSTRY
In most cases, the environmental impact of released wastes would be minimal
if the wastes stayed at the point of release; unfortunately, most wastes migrate
from their release points to affect a wider area. The migration pathway most
often moves through groundwater along the local hydraulic gradient. For
releases at sea, wastes will follow the prevailing winds and currents. For air
emissions, the pollutants will follow the winds. Because migration spreads the
wastes over a wider area, the; local concentrations and toxicities at any location
will be reduced by dilution.

4-1: Environmental Protection Options

The term “environmental protection” generally refers to procedures and policies
toward protecting the natural environment from destruction or pollution This
practice can be done on individual, organizational, or governmental levels.
Environmental audits (EA), waste-management plans, waste-management
practices, certification of disposal processes, contingency plans, and employee
training are environmental protection options in the petroleum industry Waste-
management practices can be done by prevention (improved operations or
operating procedures), source reduction or waste minimization (material
elimination, inventory control and management, material substitution, process
and equipment modifications, and improved housekeeping), reuse,
recycling/recovery, treatment, and disposal.

4-2: Waste-Management Plans:

Waste-management plans play a major role in attaining sustainable waste
management in line with waste legislation. Their key purpose is to give an
overview of all waste generated and treatment options for this waste A waste-
management plan is usually a document that outlines the activities and methods

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of waste management from waste generation to final release to the receiving
environment or disposal The waste-management hierarchy is shown in Fig.
3.5. The incorporation of a hierarchy of waste-management practices in the
development of waste-management plans is an important part of waste
management. The waste hierarchy generally lays down a priority order of what
constitutes the best overall environmental opinion in waste legislation and
policy. The highest priority is given to waste prevention and source reduction,
followed by preparing for reuse, recycling, or other recovery (e.g., energy
recovery) and treatment. Optimum final disposal is at the bottom of this
hierarchy. The goal of implementing the waste hierarchy is to decouple
economic growth from negative environmental impacts of the use of natural
resources and to become a recycling society A waste-management plan can be
structured in many ways.

Figure 2 Waste management hierarchy

4-3: Source Reduction or Waste Minimization

When elimination of petroleum waste is not possible, source reduction or
generation of less petroleum waste should be investigated. Source reduction can
be done through more efficient practices such as:

• Inventory control and management;

• Material elimination;

• Material substitution;

• Process and equipment modifications; and

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• Improved housekeeping and maintenance

5- Control and Treatment of Air Emissions

As discussed earlier, a wide variety of air pollutants such as nitrogen oxides
(NOx), sulfur oxides (SOx), carbon monoxide (CO), volatile organic
compounds (VOCs), dust or particulates, etc., are generated and emitted from
operations in the petroleum industry The air pollution control methods used in
refineries are based on the same principles and (lie same unit processes used in
other industries. Their features are unique only in the technical details

of application and design. Removal of vapor-phase objectionable components

from gas streams generally falls into one of the following four categories:

 Absorption into a liquid

 Oxides of Nitrogen
 Oxides of Sulfur
 Malodorous Gases and Vapors
5-1: Air Pollution Control Methods Used at Refineries for
Control of Particulate Emissions:
(a) Filters

(b) Gravity-settling chambers

(c) Cyclone separators

(d) Mechanical centrifugal separators

(e) Electrostatic precipitators

(f) Sonic agglomerator

6- petroleum industry Wastewater Treatment

Oily wastewater treatment is necessary before discharging it into the
environment; otherwise, its high mineral and organic content may severely
pollute coastal waters, estuaries, rivers, groundwater, the seashore, and soil Oily
wastewater pollution can affect drinking water and groundwater resources and
crop production, endanger aquatic resources and human health, pollute the

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atmosphere, and destruct the natural landscape; even oil-burner safety issues
can arise due to coalescence According to the World Bank Group (1998),.
Effluent requirements are for direct discharge to surface waters. Discharge to an
offsite wastewater-treatment plant (WWTP) should meet applicable
pretreatment requirements.

Oily wastewater treatment can typically be classified as:

• Process wastewater pretreatment

• Primary treatment

• Secondary treatment

• Tertiary treatment or polishing

7- petroleum industry Solid Waste-control

The waste-management hierarchy is shown in Fig. 2. As discussed waste-
management practices include:

Prevention such as optimizing drilling operations, keeping hazardous and

nonhazardous wastes separate research efforts and design of new or modified
operations and processes and determination of sludge and water content for
feedstock

• Source reduction or waste minimization such as using of gravel packs and

screening for reduction of volume of solids/sludge generation in E&P sector,
proper operation of equipment, and process modifications

• Reuse such as use of hydrocarbon bearing soil for road mix or asphalt and
reuse of oily sludge in process units (e.g., coking) as part of the feed due to their
oil content

• Recycling/recovery such as recycling drilling muds, recycling scrap metal,

recycling paper and plastic, recycling batteries. recovery of oil from tank
bottoms via centrifuging and filtering removal of catalyst from slurry decant oil
from process units (e.g., FCC unit) prior to the reuse of it as a feedstock),
recovery of valuable metals from spent catalyst, recycling catalyst and coke
fines, and valuable product recovery from oily sludge with solvent extraction

• Treatment such as thermal, physical, chemical, and biological processes

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• Disposal such as incineration, biodegradation, composting, land spreading,
land farming, landfilling, etc.

8-Discusion
Q1: What is the environmental impact of the petroleum
industry?
A: The combustion process of petroleum , coal , and wood is responsible for
increased occurrence of acid rain. Combustion causes an increased amount of
nitrous oxide s, along with sulfur dioxide from the sulfur in the oil. These by-
products combine with water in the atmosphere to create acid rain

Q2: Is oil a pollution?

A: An oil spill is the release of a liquid petroleum hydrocarbon into the
environment, especially the marine ecosystem, due to human activity, and is a
form of pollution. The term is usually given to marine oil spills, where oil is
released into the ocean or coastal waters, but spills may also occur on land.

Q3: What is the main source of oil pollution?

A: How does petroleum (oil products) become a pollutant in the coastal and
marine environment? Accidental or deliberate, operational discharges and spills
of oil from ships, especially tankers, offshore platforms and pipelines, is the
most obvious and visible cause of oil pollution of the marine environment.

Q4:What is Pollution Control Technologies in petroleum

industry?
A: Pollution control technologies for remediation applications remove
chlorinated hydrocarbon compounds and emerging contaminants of concern
(COCs) including 1,4 Dioxane, and Per and Poly-Fluoroalkyl substances
(PFAS). Soil vapor extraction (SVE) systems can help remove volatile
contaminants from the soil subsurface and can be combined with other types of

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technologies, including thermal oxidizers, for further treatment. Other
equipment include Groundwater Treatment Air Strippers, Oil Water Separators,
and more.

9-Conclution:
The industry has demonstrated its sincere interest in abating and controlling air
pollution ,water pollution ,solid pollution….etc. As mentioned there is many
methods used in order to control this pollutions . This oil industry report
discusses these pollution problems of petroleum refineries and the control
methods being used; when new problems arise, the industry has well qualified
technical committees ready to cope with them.

10-Recommendation
In order for more understanding of petroleum industry pollution control
recommended the following:

 What is Hazardous Wastes Under the Resource Conservation

and Recovery Act and how to control it.
 |What is Fate of Oil in the Marine Environment
 Study with more details Methods Used at Refineries for Control of
Particulate Emissions
 Study with more details . Removal of vapor-phase objectionable
components from gas streams categories
 What is Environmental Sensitivity Index Maps

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11-Refferance
 www.environmental-expert.com/articles/petroleum-refining-industry-
pollution-prevention-guidelines-1399
 Koenigsberger MD (1986) “For Pollution Prevention and Industrial
Efficiency”, paper presented at Governor’s Conference on Pollution
Prevention Pays, Nashville, TN, March 1986
 American Petroleum Institute, Glossary of Terms Used in Petroleum
Refining, New York, American Petroleum Institute,
 Journal of the Air & Waste Management Association
 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Environmental_impact_of_the_petroleum_i
ndustry
 https://shipandshore.com/pollution-control-technologies-oil-gas-sector/
 https://www.environmental-expert.com/articles/petroleum-refining-
industry-pollution-prevention-guidelines-1399
 https://www.researchgate.net/publication/303364219_Control_of_polluti
on_in_the_petroleum_industry
 https://www.spoke.com/topics/environmental-impact-of-the-petroleum-
industry-509b63e53ae4b222ff005f40

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