Experimental Studies of Odor Control at Whiting, Indiana

Identification of Petroleum Refinery Wastes in Surface Water

“…of their large volumes and high odor intensities (i6, 7, 17), the most significant pollution effect of petroleum refinery process water efHuents is the production of tastes and odors in receiving waters (1,5,6,15). Indicative of the nature of this problem is the active current research on pollution abatement and the development of necessary analytical procedures (8).…”

“…A large proportion of the odorous organic components is contained in the neutral group (17). Such compounds are resistant to biological and chemical action (1,5); consequently, the odor effects persist beyond the immediate vicinity of the waste discharge.…”

“…Even in instances where the petroleum odor in water is recognizable, it is seldom possible by nonsubjective methods to establish the presence of petroleum products. Gross pollution has been detected by the presence of an oil film on the incoming water basins (1) and by paper chromatography of oil recovered from harbor slicks (9,18). Melpolder,Warfield,and Headington (13) have recently published a very sensitive procedure for the identification and determination of volatile hydrocarbons in water.…”