Environmental Pollution during Petroleum and Gas Synthesis - Essay Example

? Environmental Pollution during Petroleum and Gas Synthesis Introduction In the period around nineteenth century when there were few developed countries, environmental pollution was not a major concern. But with the technical revolution in the twentieth century, major world economies adopted industrial development for prosperity. This caused increased demand for energy that saw the exploitation of oil, coal and natural gas sources at increased rates around the globe. In the UK for instance, Kaiser and Pulsipher (2007) approximate the number of oil and gas installations at 289, two of which are found in deep water. According to Obadina (2007), oil production in Canada rose from 1.8 million barrels to 3.1 million barrels per day between 1984 and 2003. Appreciating the widespread global use of petroleum and gas products, this paper seeks to outline the environmental pollution resulting from the synthesis of petroleum and gas, giving recommendations on prevention approaches. Environmental pollution would be appreciated as the process of man introducing energy or substances into the environment that could cause hazards to the health of human beings, harm ecological systems and living resources and interfere with or damage the legitimate use of the environment (Walker et al. 2006). The petroleum industry encompasses various activities in exploration, production and transportation of about 3.5 billion tons and 2.5 giga m3 of crude oil and natural gas respectively and other derivatives around the world each year (Walker et al. 2006). After the exploration process identifies a commercially viable reserve, the extraction of oil and gas would be carried out through drilling by use of special technologies (Vidal 2012). The extracted hydrocarbon product would then be separated into gas and liquids and dehydrated to get rid of excess water. This would then be split into various petroleum and gas products. There are over 2,500 known refined products which include fuel oils, diesel fuel, aviation fuel, kerosene, gasoline, liquefied petroleum gas, lubricants and petrochemical feed stocks. Apart from producing fuels and lubricating oils, some of the large refineries would be integrated with petrochemical plants and would produce various synthetic polymers and elastomers and rubber among other chemical components. The synthesis process involves exploration and production of the products of natural gas and crude oil. It encompasses the exploration and preparation of well sites, drilling, production of crude oil and gas and on-site processing. The synthesis of petroleum and natural gas products as observed by Kaiser and Pulsipher (2007) starts with the bringing to above the ground crude oil and natural gas which would in turn be processed to various products for distribution to consumers. In the process, the industry contributes to air, water and soil pollution with the components of the resources being processed and the subsequent by-products and products, the latter being the key pollutants. Natural gas would mainly contain methane with water and carbon dioxide as impurities. Crude oils vary widely in viscosity and colour but studies by Kaiser and Pulsipher (2007) indicate 79.5% to 87.3%, 10.4% to 14.8%, 0 to 8%, 0 to 2%, 0 to 0.1% and 0 to 0.005% carbon, hydrogen , sulphur, oxygen, nitrogen and metals composition respectively. The main constituents are hydrocarbons of varied types and molecular masses with between 1 and 60 carbon atoms. The synthesis of gas involves processing natural gas by dewatering and removing its acid components such as hydrogen sulphide followed by eventual removal of carbon dioxide. Despite taking appropriate precautions against environmental pollution, Obadina (2007) appreciates that accidents occur periodically in the course of producing petroleum and gas. Air pollution in the process of petroleum and gas synthesis occurs through combustion emissions, fugitive emissions, process emissions, secondary emissions and from handling and storage of petroleum liquids leading to production of gas and oil in form of volatile organic compounds, VOCs, methane and carbon dioxide. As fuels get burnt onsite for production of energy and transportation, combustion emissions get released into the atmosphere. For example engines of vehicles used for servicing, drill engines, pumps and compressors generate exhaust combustion emissions. There is a special form of combustion emission referred to as flaring used in controlling pressure and removing gas that would not otherwise be used. Equipment leaks such as pumps, valves and other process devices release fugitive emissions (Vidal 2012). Process emissions would be generated in process units and then released from process vents. While handling, manipulating and storing crude oil and natural gas, emissions could also be released. The enhanced or secondary recovery methods used to increase the recovered crude oil amounts from 20% to 25% which comes out naturally to about 30% to 40% involves flooding with watery salt combined with high pressure injection of gases such as carbon dioxide, hydrocarbon gas and nitrogen and heating with steam or hot gas or burning a portion of the oil giving rise to air pollution. Secondly, there would also be secondary emissions as water separates from crude oil and natural gas. In the processing or production site, water systems constitute the major source of secondary emissions (Kaiser & Pulsipher 2007). As such, polluted water results from various processing or production operations. Additionally, the leaking liquids from pipelines or equipment used for storage, production and processing could cause pollution of underground water. The solid wastes with varied amounts of pollutants generated as sludge during storage or as a result of particular processes could also find way to water bodies causing pollution. Obadina (2007) adds to the knowledge of water pollution as a result of petroleum and gas processing by appreciating that oil spills which have largely contributed to environmental hazards could result from activities such as natural oil seeps, leakages from pipelines and storages, improper discharge disposal, dumping waste oil and disposal of oil containing substances. Soil pollution also occurs due to the gas and petroleum synthesis. The water by-product that results from the process could contain high salt and other contaminant concentrations which would be often disposed off to evaporation ponds or in pits. Furthermore, the spills of the produced water sterilise soil and kill vegetation. The wastes from this process also contain metals, petroleum hydrocarbons, salts, naturally occurring radioactive elements and toxic chemicals which could end up polluting soil and consequently preventing vegetation growth. These contaminants that enter soil do not necessarily remain in the soil; they could move down and contaminate groundwater or move up and get released into the atmosphere. The petroleum industry in general contributes about 67 million tons of waste every year (Walker et al. 2006). This environmental pollution has adverse effects to all environmental dependants. In a study on the effect of pollution due to processes in oil and gas industries in the Russian Arctic, Walker, Crittenden, Young and Prystina (2006) observed that some of the regions faced degradation and would exhibit reduced plant biodiversity and increase in contamination of precipitation, rivers and soil with heavy metals. Acid rain would most likely form in regions with such industries as the nitrogen and carbon dioxide emissions interact with precipitation and fall down dissolved in the rain. This is the cause of lack of vegetation in some regions and death of living organisms in both the soil and water ecosystems. The inhaled contaminants due to air pollution could cause mutation among animals, including humans, and even plants. The emitted carbon dioxide does not only irritate but also combines with haemoglobin in the blood reducing its capacity to carry oxygen. Prevention Where there would be an indication of pollution emanating from petroleum and gas synthesis processes, there would be need for appropriate action to prevent, mitigate, control and manage the situation. Different approaches and technologies would be used based on the assessment made as there exists no right or wrong method. Equipment such as bag filters, cyclones, scrubbers and electrostatic precipitators could be used to control particulate emissions. Wet scrubbers would be suitable controls for acidic emissions like nitrogen oxides and sulphur. Preventive measures should also be undertaken through regular maintenance of equipment and storages (Vidal 2012). Policies should be adopted to prohibit the discharge of effluent before proper treatment which could include but not limited to evaporation, neutralisation, oil and grease separation, flocculation, reverse osmosis, ion exchange and carbon adsorption (Obadina 2007). The same should apply for unrecyclable solid wastes which should be treated appropriately before disposal. During feasibility studies, best routes should be selected to minimise on the impact due to transportation from one place to another during processing. Conclusion Therefore, despite the measures undertaken to curb environmental pollution from processes in petroleum and gas synthesis, accidental or other means exist in which the environment could be polluted as a result of these processes. This environmental pollution could be either primary in causation due to pollutants emitted from the process or secondary due to pollutants formed through varied reactions. They could be in particulate form or gaseous, the latter being the majority comprising of sulphur, carbon dioxide, nitrogen and VOCs. The pollution of air, water and soil by these pollutants cause harmful effects to humans, animals and plants, thus the need to formulate and enforce policies to regulate the operation of the concerned industries to ensure preservation of environment. Additionally, the industries should adopt technologies to curb on the amount of emissions and leakages. References Kaiser, MJ & Pulsipher, AG 2007, ‘The impact of weather and ocean forecasting on hydrocarbon production and pollution management in the Gulf of Mexico’, Energy Policy, vol. 35, no. 2, pp. 966 – 983. Obadina, I 2007, ‘Petroleum production and environmental pollution: The long awaited revolution’, 6th edn, The Columbian Electronic Encyclopaedia, viewed 19 May 2013, http://www.academia.edu Vidal, J 2012, ‘Fears grow over pollution risk from leaking North Sea gas rig’, The Guardian, March 28, viewed 19 May 2013, http://www.guardian.co.uk Walker, TR, Crittenden, PD, Young, SD & Prystina, T 2006, ‘An assessment of pollution impacts due to the oil and gas industries in the Pechora basin, north-eastern European Russia’, Ecological Indicators, vol. 6, no. 2, pp. 369 – 387. Read More