An examination of historical air pollutant emissions from us petroleum refineries

Abstract

Criteria and hazardous air pollutant emissions from petroleum refineries in the US have decreased over the last 20 yr despite increasing crude density, changes in sulfur concentrations, increasingly stringent product specifications, and overall increase of refinery production of major fuel types. Refinery emissions of criteria air pollutants have decreased as much as 80% from 1990 to 2010. Emissions of hazardous air pollutants and their associated toxicity hazard potential have decreased nearly 70%. Furthermore, the emissions are not correlated with changes in crude oil sulfur content or density. Trends in annual criteria and hazardous air pollutant emissions and in crude oil density and sulfur content are compared to assess potential relationships between crude quality and refinery emissions. The potential toxicity of hazardous air pollutant emissions is evaluated using USEPAderived toxicity criteria and then trended to demonstrate the overall reduction in toxicity hazard potential that has occurred.

Cancer Incidence and Mortality among Petroleum Industry Workers and Residents Living in Oil Producing Communities: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

“…Petroleum (crude oil) is the origin of many complex mixtures such as petrol and diesel fuel and is, via chemical processes, used to produce plastics and other useful materials such as textiles [ 2 ], pesticides, cosmetics, paints, and insulating materials [ 3 ]. Workers in the petroleum industry are exposed to a variety of known or potentially harmful substances [ 4 ] and emissions from oil and gas extractions are among the major sources of air pollution in environments and communities where such facilities are situated and operate [ 5 , 6 , 7 ]. These potential harmful exposures include, among others, heavy metals and hydrocarbons such as benzene which is up to 4 g/L in crude oil [ 8 ].…”

Criteria Air Pollutant and Greenhouse Gases Emissions from U.S. Refineries Allocated to Refinery Products

“…The difference might be caused by the changes in refinery operations and practices in the past decades, as the catalyst coke EF in AP-42 reflects refinery practices in 1960s–1970s, while the results from the present study reflect U.S. refinery practice in 2014. A study by Nelson and Nguyen shows that U.S. refinery CAP emissions decreased by 46–91% from 1990 to 2013 with the application of emission control technologies. Another factor that could contribute to catalyst coke SO 2 reduction is the increased application of gas oil hydrotreating, which reduces the sulfur content of FCC unit feedstock.…”

“…One study conducted for the American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers organization by Nelson and Nguyen shows that NO x pollutant per crude input in refineries decreased to 100 g NO x /m 3 crude in 2011. The present study shows NOx emission of 2.32 g/MJ (84 g/m 3 ) crude in 2014, comparable with the results from the Nelson and Nguyen study.…”

“…However, refineries have succeeded in reducing air emissions significantly (especially for NO x and SO x ) in the past several decades, owing to the adoption of emission control technologies [e.g., selective catalytic reduction (SCR) and ultralow NO x burner] technology . It is likely that refineries will continue to curb air emissions (along with other environmental releases), driven by tightening regulations , and economic gains from more efficient fuels use.…”

Photo-degradation of P-Nitro Toluene Using Modified Risk Assessment of Gasoline Storage Unit of National Iranian Oil Product Distribution Company using PHAST Software

“…Such an events are causing more concern and people are thinking about the consequences and effects of process accidents in industrial activitie [7]. A study conducted in the field of energy in recent years [8][9][10][11] indicated that accidents caused by explosions and fires in the oil industry accounted for 25% of the total economic losses. It is in the second place, after nuclear energy.…”