Safety, Health and Environmental Issues of Ethylene from Full-Range Naphtha - Essay Example

Safety, Health and Environmental Issues of Ethylene from full-range naphtha Ethylene is a chemical compound taking the formula C2H4. The compound is the number one produced organic compound worldwide. From the World Health Organization, the production of this product in 2005 exceeded 107 million metric Tonnes. Naphtha refers to several and different flammable liquid hydrocarbons mixture. This is described as a distillation product produced from petroleum or a process of coal tar boiling and contains hydrocarbons (Anders 2004, p.2). Naphtha is in use mostly as feedstock for the production of high-octane gasoline as well as in the petrochemical industry in the production of olefins in steam crackers or as solvent application is the chemical industry (Meyer 1998, p.458). Common products from Naphtha include fuel for camp stoves, lighter fluid, and some cleaning solvents. This paper discusses and provides an overview into the production and inherent hazardous emanating from the process. It also proposes some possible management of risks inside and outside the processing plants giving a detailed coverage of how to go about the environmental management process (Julius 1990, p.231). Naphtha full-range process happens in petroleum refineries mainly as an intermediate product after distilling crude oil. It produces a liquid intermediate between the heavier liquid kerosene and light gases from crude oil (Meyer 1998, p.458). There is a high risk in this process because Naphtha is flammable, volatile, and has a gravity of close to 0.7 (William 2008, p.613). This means that it poses a risk within the processing plants. It could cause accidental fires, chemical effects and other side effects emanating from the production of Ethylene (Crocker 1985, p.231-284). The individuals working in the plant experience symptoms of acute exposure to the compound including dizziness and narcosis and alternatively loss of consciousness (Anders 2004, p.2). Depending on Ethylene concentration, the gas can cause euphoria, nausea, an unpleasant odor, hyperglycemia, blood pressure changes, psychological effects, hypoxia or death. This is because of the concentration that gets into the body through breathing, touching or even tasting anything containing the hazardous compounds. According to W.H.O. reports, exposure at 37.5% of ethylene for 15 minutes might result to memory disturbances (Crocker 1985, p.231-284). Exposure to over 50% ethylene in air causes oxygen availability decrease to 10% and an experience of such a state leads to complete loss of consciousness that in extreme might lead to death due to hypoxia. The World Health Organization divides the health effects into categories and comes up with three groups including mild chronic encephalopathy (Type 2), reversible symptoms (Type 1), and severe chronic toxic encephalopathy (Type 3) (Julius 1990, p.231). The process equipment in full-range naphtha holds huge volumes of ethylene that has a high gravity. Therefore, the equipment is susceptible to blowing accidentally after subsiding to excessive pressure. Materials produced from the full-range naphtha include light gases, liquid kerosene and ethylene (Van 2005, p.399-430). These materials are exceedingly flammable. They cannot sustain high temperatures therefore pose a great risk of causing destructive fires within the plants. The release of these products in the atmosphere is an environmental health hazards (William 2008, p.613). Light naphtha, which is a mixture that consists mainly of cyclic aliphatic and straight-chained hydrocarbons, has a range of five to nine carbon atoms in every molecule. Heavy naphtha, a mixture that consists of cyclic aliphatic and straight-chained hydrocarbons, has seven to nine carbons in every molecule (Anders 2004, p.2). With this in mind, scientists reveal that all lipid-soluble, volatile, organic chemicals cause nonspecific central nervous system depression of or general anesthesia. The extent is minimal for the full range Naphtha process but it accumulates with time. Other health hazards of the products produced from the plant affect the eyes, liver, kidney skin, RS and CNS (Van 2005, p.399-430). Exposure to naphtha is a risk in causing burning sensations on the human skin within a short period. This is followed by dermatitis that is a rash lasting for days to weeks meaning that it is a dangerous health hazard. Production of ethylene is highly energy intensive (Anders 2004, p.2). The equipments used produce high levels of energy and therefore raise the temperature within the plant to an extreme. This means that within the plant, there are extremely high temperatures that cause unrest and a possible cause of suffocation for the people within the processing plant (William 2008, p.613). The modern approach used in all chemical process is the application of risk management systems theory. This is the requirement needed in all ethylene processing plants. The approach includes efficient recognition of health hazards posed by the production process, and an effort of analyzing the risks. It also involves the reduction or control of the same risks to the lowest levels and still maintaining a balance to other business objectives (Meyer 1998, p.458). Naphtha compound may be carcinogenic, and mostly products sold as naphtha always contain some impurities that also have deleterious properties. Like other hydrocarbon products, these products are from a refining process where complex chemicals are broken down into other range of chemicals. The products undergo isolation and grading specifying them in terms of gravity and volatility. Therefore, each product has some range of chemicals included. Therefore, there is need to protect the full-range naphtha process even on the outside of the processing plant by coming up with possible measures (William 2008, p.613). An ethylene plant needs a cooling system in order. This is important in reducing the risk of suffocations of the people in the processing plant. The cooling systems should contain a Cooling Tower Water (CTW) (Salzer 2006, p.12). This is essential and can be a solution to the high temperatures within the plant. Installation of propylene refrigeration is important. The refrigeration should be holding at least four or five levels. Each level of the refrigeration should correspond to a particular temperature or pressure in improving the cooling system and bringing down the temperatures. It should also should several stages of ethylene refrigeration. The CTW should be started first when working in such a plant (Crocker 1985, p.231-284). This is because the propylene system requires it to facilitate condensation of propylene and the refrigeration system requires it to de-superheat the ethylene under high pressure. The propylene system should be next to start. The ethylene system requires high-pressure propylene for the process of de-superheating the stage of high-pressure ethylene and the stage of low-pressure propylene for condensing the ethylene (Anders 2004, p.2). While the ethylene plant is in operation, the plant continues in running for a time even when the ethylene refrigeration compressor accidentally shuts down. However, if there is an accidental shut down of the propylene compressor the whole plant shuts down immediately or might be a health hazard to the user (Meyer 1998, p.458). Within the processing plant, there are basic risk avoidance approaches that need to be taken into account by the people working there. The individuals need to have protective gear. Ethylene is acidic in nature and can cause irritation in case of direct contact with the human skin (William 2008, p.613). The individuals working in the plant should wear protective gear including gloves and other body coverings. There are also gases produced in the process and they irritate other parts including the eyes, ears and the nose. Other gear covering these parts are essential to maintain a proper working environment and protect oneself from exposure to the hazardous gases (Crocker 1985, p.231-284). Byproducts are also part of the hazardous elements of ethylene and may pose as deadly hazards too. Some of the PVC by products includes ethylene and it is a probable cause of cancer, endometriosis, neurological damage, endocrine disruption, birth defects and immune system damage. Dioxin is a compound released from the processing plants. It is a great risk and a health hazard (Julius 1990, p.231). This is the best case depicting ethylene production as a cause of cancer. In average, studies in America show that a normal person is exposed to high risks of cancer 1000 times than it were earlier because of dioxin release into the atmosphere. The dioxins concentrate mostly in breast milk in that the infants receive the compound in high doses posing as a risk to causing cancer in the later stages in life (Henry 2004). The processing plants are a risk even to the entire country. They are susceptible to terrorist attacks. A 2002 Air Force report for the U.S., reported that many storage points of ethylene and other chlorine gas products as well as transport facilities, were among the top targets by the terrorist in their attacks (William 2008, p.613). The terrorists know that the products are highly explosive and destructive and take it as a vulnerable spot for achieving their motive of destroying and killing as many people as possible by targeting the processing plants. In this case, the plants are a risk in affecting the environs incase any attacks take place (Anders 2004, p.2). There is a high risk of pollution in the production of Ethylene from full-range naphtha. The atmosphere is extremely susceptible to pollution. The degradation of the environment starts with the release of gases from the processing plants. These gases contain hydrocarbons, carbon dioxide and other harmful compounds. These compounds pose a great risk to ozone depletion therefore ranked as a health hazard (Meyer 1998, p.458). Some elements from the full-range naphtha include dioxins that pose a great risk to the environment. A good illustration is the case of Louisiana manufacturing plants. The dioxins migrate on the winds increasing the concentration in the great fish lakes. Studies done on the fish around the region indicate that they have great contents of the Dioxin compound. The compound is in hazardous concentrations in the fish tissues. This is a health hazard because it culminates to long term effects in humans who feed on the fish from these lakes (La Dou 2004, p.508). From the Ethylene production in the full-range naphtha process, there are many waste products including crude oil and other harmful gases. Most of these waste products are poorly disposed posing as health hazards. The products are disposed mostly into the sewage systems leading to the water bodies and causing huge damage (Julius 1990, p.231). Studies from American processing plants indicate that ethylene plants produce 20% of the waste products that ends up in the water bodies. Other gases disappear into the air and are a threat to the atmosphere (William 2008, p.613). The chemicals are responsible for acidic rains, high mortality rates and cancer related complications in the New York region. W.H.O. describes the region as the highest in cases of cancer resulting from ethylene and other byproduct releases (Meyer 1998, p.458). References Anders, H 2004, Compositional analysis of naphtha and reformate, USA: CRC Press. p.2 Crocker, W 1985, Similarities in the effects of ethylene and the plant, Boyce Thompson, p.231-48 Henry, J 2004, Air Monitoring for Toxic Exposures, John Wiley & Sons, Inc Julius, B 1990, Practical Organic Chemistry, Macmillan, p.231 LaDou, J 2004, Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Lange Medical Books, McGraw Hill, p.508 Meyer, E 1998, Chemistry of Hazardous Materials, Prentice Hall, p.458 Salzer, A 2006, Organometallics: A Concise Introduction, Weinheim, Wiley-VCH, p.12 Van, D 2005, Ethylene biosynthesis and signaling: an overview, Vitam Horm, p.399–430 William, G 2008, Handbook of organic chemistry, New York, Barnes & Co, p. 613 Read More