Estimation of Emission Factors for Hazardous Air Pollutants from Petroleum Refineries

Abstract

The hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) group is composed of 187 chemicals that are known to be potentially carcinogenic and dangerous for human health. Due to their toxicological impact, HAPs are an increasingly studied class of compounds. Of the different HAPs sources, refineries are one of the major sources. In order to obtain a preliminary assessment of the impact of a refinery in terms of emissions, a useful instrument is the determination of the emission factor (EF). For this reason, this work, focusing on the USA refining scenario, aims to provide evidence for a generic trend in refinery emissions to evaluate a correlation between the plant size and the amount of its emissions, in particular the HAPs emissions. Based on the analysis of the data collected from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA), a general trend in the emissions from refinery plants was established, showing a positive correlation between the HAPs emissions and the refinery size, represented by a value of the Pearson correlation coefficient r close to 1. Once this correlation was highlighted, a purpose of this work became the estimation of an organic HAPs emission factor (EF): from a whole refining plant, the EF of the total organic HAPs is equal to 10 g emitted for each ton of crude oil processed. Moreover, it was also possible to undertake the same evaluation for two specific HAP molecules: benzene and formaldehyde. The benzene and formaldehyde EFs are equal to, respectively, 0.8 g and 0.2 g for each ton of processed crude oil. This work provides a simple rule of thumb for the estimation of hazardous substances emitted from petroleum refineries in their mean operating conditions.

Environmental Impacts of Petroleum Emissions: an Exploration of TOR’s Exposures and Experiences

“…The indiscriminate release of CO 2 emissions into the atmosphere by petrochemical businesses is a contemporary issue that affects many developing countries (Seneviratne et al, 2016).The trend in such emissions has worsened with the rapid industrialization of many developing countries with attendant development and expansion in the petrochemical sector (Yoro et al, 2020). Among the key emissions from petrochemical industries that impact the environment are CO, CO 2 , SO 2 , NO X , CH 4 , particulates, and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) (Seinfeld, & Pandis, 2016;Polvara et al, 2021). It is important to mention that the continuous expansion of fossil fuel-based energy infrastructure can be one of the key obstacles to delivering the Paris Agreement goals (Lei et al, 2020).…”

Recent Advancements in the Treatment of Petroleum Refinery Wastewater

“…Besides the generation of PRWW containing the different compositions of contaminants (Figure 4b), the operations of petroleum refineries usually have the potential to contribute to the contamination of our environmental ecosystem which also affects the land and air quality (Figure 4a). The release of toxic air pollutants as well as sludge disposal in landfills are other major threads of environmental pollution [17,18]. Similarly, the general marine biodiversity can also be affected by thermal pollution because of the disposal of hot wastewater effluent from cooling operations which can increase the temperature of the receiving body of water.…”

Recent Advancement in the Treatment of Petroleum Refinery Wastewater

“…As a gigantic refining industry, there is associated potential pollution which affects the qualities of the atmosphere, water and land where the industry makes its operations. Toxic air pollutants such as particulate matter (PM), carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen oxides (NOx), Sulfide (SO2), hydrogen Sulfide (H2S), methane (CH4), BTEX, volatile organic compounds can be released during the petroleum refining process and constitute the major atmospheric pollutants (Polvara, et al 2021). Soil contamination during the petroleum refining process is usually less significant compared to air and water pollution.…”