Air Quality Impacts of Petroleum Refining and Petrochemical Industries

Ragothaman, Aiswarya; Anderson, William A.

doi:10.3390/environments4030066

Cited by 80 publications

(54 citation statements)

References 39 publications

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“…Because petroleum refining and petrochemical industries produce emissions at many stages of their operations—releasing pollutants such as volatile organic compounds, greenhouse gases, and particulate matter [34]—we believe that our findings are related with the CPC emissions, and these emissions can significantly lower the air quality and cause short-term and long-term health impacts for workers, and people living near the sites and in the same region.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 93%

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Association between the Occurrence of Primary Hypothyroidism and the Exposure of the Population Near to Industrial Pollutants in São Paulo State, Brazil

Zaccarelli-Marino

Alessi

Balderi

et al. 2019

IJERPH

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Background: Environmental agents interfere with thyroid function at multiple levels. This study was to investigate the association between pollutant concentrations and the primary hypothyroidism (PH) occurrence odds in residents living in the Capuava Petrochemical Complex (CPC) influence area. Methods: This area was evaluated with the combination of the AERMOD dispersion model with the Weather Research Forecast (WRF) meteorological model (2016). The concentration of atmospheric pollutants were analyzed in 2017 using meteorological data on the period from 2005 to 2009, correlating this data with the research done in 2003 to 2005. A home-based questionnaire was applied to evaluate 2004 residents, of both sexes, aged from 8 to 72 years, based on their proximity to the industrial areas; were select residents with PH. Results: Volatile organic compounds (VOCs), carbon monoxide (CO), and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) concentrations presented the highest correlations between the PH odds and pollutant concentrations. Conclusion: Air pollution associated with the presence of the CPC is an important environmental factor contributing to the development of PH in the nearby population. As the first study showing this association in Brazil, research should be continued to better understand the mechanisms and to find ways to compensate for or remedy to avoid health impacts in future populations.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 93%

“…It is important to know the atmospheric lifetime of VOCs to gain an understanding of the distances they might travel in air. A higher atmospheric lifetime indicates that the VOCs can travel a greater distance in the atmosphere, possibly leading to impacts much farther away from the emission source [34].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Association between the Occurrence of Primary Hypothyroidism and the Exposure of the Population Near to Industrial Pollutants in São Paulo State, Brazil

Zaccarelli-Marino

Alessi

Balderi

et al. 2019

IJERPH

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“…Despite our attempts, we acknowledge that residual confounding might exist in our study due to other unidentified environmental pollutants. Agents produced by refineries that affect air quality and may cause pulmonary morbidity include (but are not restricted to) hydrocarbons, secondary aerosols and so forth [32]. Should any causative agents be associated also with S02 peaks they act as confounders of the association between SO 2 and our outcomes of interest.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Panel Study on Lung Function and Bronchial Inflammation among Children Exposed to Ambient SO2 from an Oil Refinery

Barbone

Catelan

Pistelli

et al. 2019

IJERPH

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To determine the acute effects on respiratory function of children exposed to sulphur dioxide (SO2), we conducted two population-based longitudinal investigations near a major oil refinery. We enrolled 233 children, age 8–14, in Sarroch (Italy). The first study entailed five monthly spirometric visits (Panel 5). In a subgroup, children positive for history of respiratory symptoms were tested weekly (20 times) with spirometry and fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO) measurement (Panel 20). Baseline questionnaires and daily diaries were recorded. SO2, NO2, PM10 and O3 were measured by monitoring stations. Multiple regression models were fitted. Using a multipollutant model, we found that a 10 µg/m3 SO2 increase at lag0–2 days determined a percent variation (PV) of −3.37 (90% confidence interval, CI: −5.39; −1.30) for forced expiratory volume after one second (FEV1) in Panel 5 and a PV = −3.51 (90% CI: −4.77; −2.23) in Panel 20. We found a strong dose-response relation: 1-h SO2 peaks >200 µg/m3 at lag2 days = FEV1 PV −2.49. For FeNO, we found a PV = 38.12 (90% CI: 12.88; 69.01) for each 10 µg/m3 SO2 increase at 8-h time lag and a strong dose-response relation. Exposure to SO2 is strongly associated with reduction of lung function and an increase in airway inflammation. This new evidence of harmful effects of SO2 peaks should induce regulatory intervention.

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“…In contrast, although refineries satisfy society's energy demands, they can also affect air quality (Ragothaman & Anderson, 2017). The World Health Organization (WHO) has identified polluted air as the biggest health hazard and, thus, efforts are needed to maintain a good air quality (World Health Organization, 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Energy consumption and atmospheric emissions from refined petroleum in Mexico by 2030

Granados-Hernández

López-Andrade²,

Vega-Rangel

et al. 2021

iit

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One of the basic needs for a country’s economic development is to cover the major fuel demand, and both energy consumption and environmental impacts resulting from the production of such fuels need to be fast and reliable. The purpose of this paper is to contribute to an estimate of energy consumption and atmospheric emissions of some of the pollutant species reported by Pemex Refinacion under different projections. The predictive estimate model was applied considering four different gasoline demand scenarios, as well as different refining technology options to satisfy fuel consumption needs, based on production yields: four different types of refineries, three types of crude oils and eight different processes. Emission estimates were determined applying emission factors, both for the type of fossil fuel energy source used in the direct heating processes for vapor generation, as well by using electric energy. Results show that the equivalent energy consumption relative to the total processes crude is greater in complex refineries (full conversion); however, a greater conversion efficiency allows a smaller volume of crude consumption needed to satisfy the fuel demand with lower emissions relative to other types of technologies. Mexico’s possible refineries need to adapt themselves to different operation scenarios, such as changes in the crude’s yield, the quality of the product, variations in the prices of the crude and of the refined products. Therefore, is important to develop and apply perspectives than maximize productivity and minimize energy consumption, reducing air emissions, in constant change scenarios. Finally, the problem would then be evaluating which would be more convenient to obtain a greater socio-economic benefit: reduce emissions to the atmosphere or to lower operation costs of the refinery.

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Air Quality Impacts of Petroleum Refining and Petrochemical Industries

Cited by 80 publications

References 39 publications

Association between the Occurrence of Primary Hypothyroidism and the Exposure of the Population Near to Industrial Pollutants in São Paulo State, Brazil

Association between the Occurrence of Primary Hypothyroidism and the Exposure of the Population Near to Industrial Pollutants in São Paulo State, Brazil

A Panel Study on Lung Function and Bronchial Inflammation among Children Exposed to Ambient SO2 from an Oil Refinery

Energy consumption and atmospheric emissions from refined petroleum in Mexico by 2030

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