Petrochemical Industry (Plastic) Risk Management - Essay Example

Petrochemical Industry (Plastic) Risk Management Name: University: Date: Petrochemical Industry (Plastic) Risk Management Introduction The petrochemical Industry focuses on producing chemicals from petroleum and petroleum refinery by-products. Basically, at the initial phases of developing and designing chemical plant, choosing the route of chemical process is an important design decision. Currently, environmental issues have turned out to be crucial considerations because of the possible damaging effects generated by the chemical releases. Without a doubt, plastics have not only transformed the contemporary world, but also the life quality. Plastics play a crucial role in nearly all human activities such as transportation, shelter, clothing, health care, and entertainment. Thanks to its attractive properties, like ease of processing, high strength, and lightweight, plastics can meet the increasing needs of the people, they are comparatively lesser cheaper, and can be recycled. The focus of this research paper is to underline the use of plastic in modern-day life, production chain, reuse, associated risks, recycling added value, and risk assessment. Use of Plastics Plastics as mentioned by Bashir (2013) comprise of large molecules and its formation process involves joining together many monomers (smaller molecules). More importantly, plastics are created from monomer precursors derived mainly from petroleum and through polymerization process they are joined together. Plastics ability to be shaped in any form to create practical value articles is the most crucial property. Furthermore, plastics could be soft and flexible or hard and soft. Due to their desirable properties, low cost, and light weight, Bashir (2013) posit that plastics use has increased rapidly; thus, replacing other materials such as glass and metals. Plastic has relatively low density, and this makes most of its products lightweight. Furthermore, plastics have excellent electrical insulation and thermal properties. Polyethylene Terephthalate (PETE) PETE is tough, clear and has superior moisture and gas barrier properties that make it suitable for making food containers and also in carbonated beverage applications. Basically, PETE’s high use temperature facilitates its utilization in applications like trays that carry heatable pre-prepared food. Its microwave transparency as well as heat resistance makes PETE a suitable heatable film. It is also utilized in various applications like fibers for carpets and clothing and, engineering plastics, food containers, bottles, and strapping. High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) HEDE is utilized for numerous packaging applications since it offers chemical resistance as well as good moisture barrier properties. Still, HDPE, akin to other forms of polyethylene, can only be used in food packaging which does not need a CO2 or oxygen barrier. HDPE in film form is utilized in cereal box liners as well as snack food packages; in blow-molded types of bottle, for non-carbonated beverage and milk bottles. Furthermore, HDPE is used to pack deli foods, whipped toppings and margarine. Because of its excellent chemical resistance HDPE is utilized for packaging scores of industrial and household chemicals like acids, bleach and detergents. Generally, HDPE is utilized to make grocery sacks’ films, bread trays and bottles for household chemicals as well as beverages. Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) Some of the crucial properties of PVS include improved weatherability, excellent chemical resistance, long-term stability, good transparency, as well as stable electrical properties. PVS products could be grouped into flexible and rigid materials. Flexible PVS materials are utilized in cable and wire casing, coatings, synthetic leather products, medical tubing and blood bags. On the other hand, rigid PVC is commonly used to make construction materials such as windows, rigid flooring and pipe and fittings, siding. Invulnerability to micro-organisms or bacteria attack, excellent corrosion and chemical resistance, and strength, make PVC suitable for making pipe and fittings. Low Density Polyethylene (LDPE) Predominantly, LDPE is utilized in the film applications because of its properties such as transparency, flexibility and toughness. LDPE is commonly utilized in applications that need heat sealing is since it has low melting point. Normally, LDPE is utilized in the production of flexible films often used to produce bags. Furthermore, LDPE is utilized to manufacture various flexible bottles and lids and also cable and wire applications thanks to its stable processing characteristics as well as electrical properties. Polypropylene (PP) Polypropylene is normally utilized in packaging because of its excellent ability to resist chemicals. More importantly, PP’s high melting point makes it suitable for hot fill liquid applications. Polypropylene is also utilized in rigid and flexible packaging, making fibers for carpets and fabrics, as well as automotive parts. Akin to other plastics, PP resistance to acid solutions, salt, and water is very excellent and cannot be destroyed by corrosion like metals. Therefore, it used to make medicine bottles, yogurt containers, automobile battery casings, ketchup bottles, as well as pancake syrup bottles. Polystyrene (PS) Polystyrene ability to be foamed or rigid makes it a versatile plastic and their main purposes include brittle, hard and clear (Bashir, 2013). Because of its clarity, Polystyrene is utilized where transparency is crucial, especially in food packaging and medical, in electronic applications, and to make laboratory ware. Extruded expandable Polystyrene is use to make egg crates and meats trays. Moreover, EPS is used to make tubs as well as cups, particularly for dry foods. Molded tubs and foamed sheet are both extensively utilized in the take-out restaurants for their thermal insulation, stiffness as well as lightweight. According to Rosato (2013) plastics have infused in almost all human lives since they are used in building construction, agriculture, bulk and small packaging, communication (mobile phones), medicine, education, transportation, and even defense. Plastics have become very popular because of their different properties such as chemical and corrosion resistance, lightweight, transparency and toughness. For these reason, plastics’ demand have continues increasing in the modern society. Plastics are valuable and important because they help improve life quality through their adaptable, lightweight and efficient forms. Plastics play a crucial role in pursuing sustainability, by offering innovative solutions to different challenges facing the modern-day society. For instance, plastics have helped address the water distribution crisis across the globe, with affordable pipes that can be constructed easily. Besides that, the use of plastics has helped reduce the utilization of forest products such as wood; as a result, it has helped reduce deforestation. As mentioned by Rosato (2013), plastics facilitate the efficient utilization of non-renewable energy resources. Production Chain Plastics are mainly produced from Oil and natural gas, and the production process normally starts with treating crude oil components through the cracking process (OECD, 2006). Basically, the cracking process converts these components (from natural gas or crude oil) into hydrocarbon monomers like propylene and ethylene. When processed further they result in different monomers like terephthalic, vinyl chloride, styrene, and ethylene glycol acid. Afterwards, the monomers are bonded chemically into chains commonly referred as polymers. The different monomers combinations result in plastics with different characteristics as well as properties. Figure One: Plastics Production Chain (Ryan, 2011) The five stages of producing plastics include; preparation of monomers and materials, conducting polymerization reactions, processing polymers to create polymer resins, and lastly producing finished plastic products. The production starts with crude oil or natural gas, which as mentioned earlier generate monomers. Crude oil normally generates propylene and Ethylene since they have hydrocarbons crucial for creating monomers. The crack g process is used to obtain these hydrocarbon raw materials. Hydrocarbons achieved through cracking process are processed chemically in order to make hydrocarbon monomers as well as other carbon monomers commonly utilized in plastics. In large polymerization plants, these monomers conduct polymerization reactions which result in the production of polymer resins. These resins are collected for further processing. The processing normally involves adding flame-retardant, dyes and plasticizers chemicals. Normally, the finished polymer resins are in beads or pellets forms. These polymer resins are then processed through heating, molding and cooling to create finished plastic products. Producing finished plastic products can be achieved through extrusion, blow molding, injection molding, and rotational molding. Extrusion is suitable for making plastic films, injection molding is used to make yogurt and butter tubs, blow molding is suitable for producing plastic bottles, and rotational molding is used to produce hollow and large plastic items such as garbage cans, septic tanks, toys, and furniture (Schofield, 2011). The Cycle of the Product As mentioned by Hopewell, Dvorak, and Kosior (2009), some decades ago, reusing consumer packaging such as glass jars and bottles was very common. Currently, re-use are limited in areas where the points of distribution as well as collection are far from factories that fill products and could lead in substantial back-haul distances. Furthermore, the different types of packs as well as containers used for the purposed of marketing and branding reduces the feasibility of taking back and refilling. This scheme has not been espoused in numerous European countries, especially the PET. In other places, this scheme is considered as local businesses’ niche activity instead of a rational major strategy for reducing wastage associated with plastic packaging. Hopewell, Dvorak, and Kosior (2009) posit that plastics can be reused to transport goods and can also be reused in high-value sector like electronic equipment and vehicles. For instance, pallets and containers are reused in haulage. In Australia, people have started shifting from single-use plastics towards reusable plastics through awareness programs. In other countries like Ireland, the government has introduced plastic bag levy and lightweight carrier bags have been banned in China and Bangladesh (Hopewell, Dvorak, & Kosior, 2009). As observed by Al-Salem and Lettieri (2009), plastics are utilized in numerous applications every day but most of the plastic items such as food packaging are disposed as wastage after only a single use. Therefore, re-using plastic is more suitable as compared to recycling because it utilizes fewer resources and less energy. Al-Salem and Lettieri (2009) assert that multi-trip plastics are currently more preferred because they reduce Plastic solid waste (PSW). For instance, in the UK, returnable and recyclable plastic crates utilized for various purposes such as transport, have increased four times since (Al-Salem & Lettieri, 2009). The reuse of plastics is beneficial because it helps conserve fossil fuels considering that producing plastics need between 4 and 8 per cent of oil produced globally. In addition, reuse help reduce municipal solid waste (MSW) and emissions of sulphur-dioxide, nitrogen-oxides and carbon dioxide. The Risk of the Plastics Productions Although use of plastics is legitimized, Harth (2010) posits that their brazen misuse result in a condition that is radically unsustainable. Nowadays, the useful plastics’ lifespan and their environmental persistence is completely a mismatch. Misuse of plastics involves throwing away water bottles and other plastic products considering that they are non-biodegradable and their persistence in the environment normally lead to various problems. Plastics have adverse effects to the environment since they contain non-biodegradable substance and toxic chemicals that could result in water, air, and earth pollution. When these toxic substance mixes with food chain they affect animals, environment and even humans. Hitherto, there exists no safe means of disposing plastic waste; therefore, plastics environmental damage during the process of production, usage and disposal is very serious. Disposing plastic products carelessly after use pose a significant ecological impact. They cannot be broken down by natural organisms; as a result, they create tremendous challenge associated with the persistence of the material in environment. Plastics when misused they can have a devastating effect on the marine environment, especially because of the chemicals present in plastics. Koushal, Sharma, Sharma, Sharma, and Sharma (2014) observed that the single-use plastics such as food packaging and water bottles have high level of toxicity because of Bisphenol A and Phthalates that leach from plastics into water and food. Therefore, misuse of these plastics can result in increased leaching to water bodies or plants. Added Value of Recycling According to Wong (2010), recycling process is valuable because it helps reduce the negative impacts associated with plastic wastage and symbolizes crucial dynamic areas in the modern plastics industry. Clearly, recycling offers opportunities for reducing usage of oil, amount of waste that needs disposal and carbon dioxide emissions. Technology advancement for collecting, sorting and reprocessing plastics that can be recyclable have generated new recycling opportunities and efforts by governments, industry and public have helped increased plastics recycling. Hopewell et al. (2009) argue that recycling is a suitable strategy for managing plastic wastes and reducing resource depletion as well as environmental impact. More importantly, high recycling levels can help improve eco-efficiency and the overall system’s sustainability. Wong (2010) mentions that plastics can be recycled almost six times and the majority of plastic waste could be processed again to create new plastic products. The figure below shows plastic recycling supply chains adopted in Wong (2010) study. Figure Two: Plastic Recycling Supply Chains (Wong, 2010) Establishing a recycling system that is efficient facilitates sustainability, and un-recyclable plastic waste can be utilized to generate electricity. In the United States healthcare facilities are major contributors of plastic waste, but their contribution to the recycling is very little. According to North and Halden (2013), using landfills to discard plastics is not a suitable solution since plastics disposal in landfills sequester approximately 100 per cent of the carbon in the air; thus, resulting in loss of energy and material stored in plastics. Production of plastics consumes approximately 4.6% of United States’ annual petroleum consumption (fuel used is 2 million while feedstock consumes 329 million barrels every year). There are many factories that produce plastics in the U.S. are very many and are spread across all states (see appendix one). As land and petroleum resources become scarcer, and with the increased awareness regarding plastics’ environmental consequences, recycling has increased in the United States. Risk Assessment/Toxic Wastes Management  Plastic waste as mentioned by Verma, Vinoda, Papireddy, and Gowda (2016) has become a global problem, but its variability is regional. Burning plastic waste leads to air pollution and the surrounding air is warmed up. In the marine environment, plastic waste result in water pollution and the contained chemicals are liberated. Plastics properties such as low cost, light weight and durability increase their persistence in environment. Presently, plastic bags and waste dumps have overloaded landfills; thus, pose health risks. To promote sustainability, the need to create awareness regarding severity of plastics in the environment could help lessen risks associated with misuse and disposal of plastic products. As mentioned earlier, recycling is a suitable strategy that could help manage plastic waste and improve sustainability. Through introduction of recycling programs, plastic waste pollution to environment would be reduced. Rather than disposing plastics in the landfills, the waste can be recycled to produce other products such as benches, bottles, and can also replace bitumen in construction of roads. Plastics’ toxic waste can also be managed through burning them in incinerator centers which are commonly located outside the city. The utilization of incinerators can help reduce large volumes of plastic wastes. Other ways include banning the use of plastic bags, creating awareness to reduce plastic garbage disposal, and introducing garbage bins. Conclusion In conclusion, this piece has underlined the use of plastic in modern-day life, production chain, reuse, associated risks, recycling added value, and management of toxic waste. As mentioned in the paper, plastics have become important in the modern society because they are lightweight, cheaper, and durable and can be molded into different forms. However, plastics are non-biodegradable and the increased persistence in environment result in environmental pollution and health issues. References Appendix Read More

Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) Some of the crucial properties of PVS include improved weatherability, excellent chemical resistance, long-term stability, good transparency, as well as stable electrical properties. PVS products could be grouped into flexible and rigid materials. Flexible PVS materials are utilized in cable and wire casing, coatings, synthetic leather products, medical tubing and blood bags. On the other hand, rigid PVC is commonly used to make construction materials such as windows, rigid flooring and pipe and fittings, siding.

Invulnerability to micro-organisms or bacteria attack, excellent corrosion and chemical resistance, and strength, make PVC suitable for making pipe and fittings. Low Density Polyethylene (LDPE) Predominantly, LDPE is utilized in the film applications because of its properties such as transparency, flexibility and toughness. LDPE is commonly utilized in applications that need heat sealing is since it has low melting point. Normally, LDPE is utilized in the production of flexible films often used to produce bags.

Furthermore, LDPE is utilized to manufacture various flexible bottles and lids and also cable and wire applications thanks to its stable processing characteristics as well as electrical properties. Polypropylene (PP) Polypropylene is normally utilized in packaging because of its excellent ability to resist chemicals. More importantly, PP’s high melting point makes it suitable for hot fill liquid applications. Polypropylene is also utilized in rigid and flexible packaging, making fibers for carpets and fabrics, as well as automotive parts.

Akin to other plastics, PP resistance to acid solutions, salt, and water is very excellent and cannot be destroyed by corrosion like metals. Therefore, it used to make medicine bottles, yogurt containers, automobile battery casings, ketchup bottles, as well as pancake syrup bottles. Polystyrene (PS) Polystyrene ability to be foamed or rigid makes it a versatile plastic and their main purposes include brittle, hard and clear (Bashir, 2013). Because of its clarity, Polystyrene is utilized where transparency is crucial, especially in food packaging and medical, in electronic applications, and to make laboratory ware.

Extruded expandable Polystyrene is use to make egg crates and meats trays. Moreover, EPS is used to make tubs as well as cups, particularly for dry foods. Molded tubs and foamed sheet are both extensively utilized in the take-out restaurants for their thermal insulation, stiffness as well as lightweight. According to Rosato (2013) plastics have infused in almost all human lives since they are used in building construction, agriculture, bulk and small packaging, communication (mobile phones), medicine, education, transportation, and even defense.

Plastics have become very popular because of their different properties such as chemical and corrosion resistance, lightweight, transparency and toughness. For these reason, plastics’ demand have continues increasing in the modern society. Plastics are valuable and important because they help improve life quality through their adaptable, lightweight and efficient forms. Plastics play a crucial role in pursuing sustainability, by offering innovative solutions to different challenges facing the modern-day society.

For instance, plastics have helped address the water distribution crisis across the globe, with affordable pipes that can be constructed easily. Besides that, the use of plastics has helped reduce the utilization of forest products such as wood; as a result, it has helped reduce deforestation. As mentioned by Rosato (2013), plastics facilitate the efficient utilization of non-renewable energy resources. Production Chain Plastics are mainly produced from Oil and natural gas, and the production process normally starts with treating crude oil components through the cracking process (OECD, 2006).

Basically, the cracking process converts these components (from natural gas or crude oil) into hydrocarbon monomers like propylene and ethylene.

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