Monthly Archives: July 2014

Petroleum Processing During World War II

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Before the start of America’s involvement in World War II, the demand for petroleum based products, while growing steadily, was still reasonably small especially compared to the demand during and after wartime. Thermal refineries had been the primary operational utility for generating petroleum based products like gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel from around 1910 until 1940; however they were suddenly unable to produce enough product to feed the country as well as the military vehicles, tanks, and planes at the start of WWII1. Beyond sheer volume, there was also drastic increase in demand for high performance, high octane fuels for use in more advanced vehicle engines and as aviation fuels2. To satisfy these two new problems, newly designed refineries called catalytic refineries were introduced which incorporated exceedingly more advanced cracking capabilities through the use of specialized catalysts. These catalysts worked through ionic reactions which are faster and more easily controlled than the older thermal refinery style free radical reactions3. The specialty of these new catalysts is their ability to produce much higher octane number fuels which combust more steadily and cause less damage to the internal combustion engines that use them. Non-fuel, petroleum based products such as toluene and butyl rubber made in refineries were also found to be extremely useful during WWII4. Toluene is a major component of trinitrotoluene (TNT) which was used heavily during World War II in explosives and butyl rubber is a man-made rubber which became a substitute for natural rubber when traditional supplies were cut off4.

  1. Eser, Semih. “Lesson 6: Thermal Conversion Processes.” FSC 432: Petroleum Processing. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 July 2014. <https://cms.psu.edu/section/content/default.asp?WCI=pgDisplay&WCU=CRSCNT&ENTRY_ID=F20C6357261A4AE2A750C141B721E8C1>.
  2. Eser, Semih. “The Thermal Refinery (1910 – 1940).” FSC 432: Petroleum Processing. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 July 2014. <https://cms.psu.edu/section/content/default.asp?WCI=pgDisplay&WCU=CRSCNT&ENTRY_ID=F20C6357261A4AE2A750C141B721E8C1>.
  3. Eser, Semih. “The Catalytic Refinery (1940-1970).” FSC 432: Petroleum Processing. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 July 2014. <https://cms.psu.edu/section/content/default.asp?WCI=pgDisplay&WCU=CRSCNT&ENTRY_ID=F20C6357261A4AE2A750C141B721E8C1>.
  4. “1940 – 1945 The War Years.” 90th Poster Early Years. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 July 2014. <http://www.exxonmobil.com/NA-English/Files/90thPstr3WarYears.pdf>.

The Change of a Petroleum ERA

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With the outbreak of World War II, the petroleum refinery processes had to accommodation for the increasing need for high octane gasoline to fuel the war effort. The petroleum industry turned to catalytic refining to supply the fuel to run the more powerful spark ignition engines. The catalytic processes quickly evolved from the McAfee Batch reactor in 1915, to the Houdry fixed-bed reactor in 1936, to the TCC moving-bed reactor, and finally the FCC fluidized-bed reactor up until the 1970s. Since the main goal of petroleum refinery was to produce gasoline for the war the technologies were rapidly changing to make as much high octane gasoline product as possible. As a result the refining infrastructure was changed forever.

At the end of World War II, in 1945, many of the US refineries were producing high octane gasoline and allowed for the domestic automobile infrastructure to change accommodating for more powerful engines. [1] This would explain the birth of the muscle car era in 1965 through 1973 where mid-sized cars were equipped with large V8 high performance gas guzzling engines. [2] Along with the muscle car, the age of tetra ethyl lead high octane gasoline came to an end after the gas price increases from embargo crisis, the EPA’s Clean Air Act (1970) employing more strict emission regulations, and the growing popularity of catalytic isomerization. [1,3] Catalytic isomerization, which was initially used to produce aviation fuel in WWII, but was now being used to convert low octane n-paraffins into branched i-paraffins via a vapor phase platinum-bearing alumina-chloride catalyst. This marked the end of the Century Refinery. [1] During this refinery era multiple process were introduced including catalytic cracking, catalytic reforming, alkylation, catalytic polymerization, delayed coking, deasphalting, visbreaking, and hydrotreating. With the increasing need to become energy independent and more energy efficient, the petroleum refinery changed again to utilize the heavy ends for cleaner fuels utilizing the processes developed during catalytic refining. Today, the fuel of the future is still unknown but one thing is for certain, if it wasn’t for the “gasoline boom” in World War II there would be no way of telling where the refining industry would be today.

Sources:
1. Self, F., Ekholm, E., & Bowers, K. (). The Age Of The Catalytic Refinery 1940-1970. Refining Overview- Part 2 Development of the Modern Refinery (). : .
2. The Muscle Car Era and Gas Guzzling Automobiles. (n.d.). HubPages. Retrieved July 30, 2014, from http://tylerdurden1.hubpages.com/hub/Tthe-end-of-the-muscle-car-era-did-not-end-gas-guzzling-automobiles
3. Air Pollution and the Clean Air Act. (n.d.). EPA. Retrieved July 30, 2014, from http://www.epa.gov/air/caa/

The Development of the Petroleum Industry Due to WWII

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How has the Second World War affected the development of petroleum refinery processes?

Right around the middle of the 19th century, the main purpose of petroleum refineries was primarily to fit the demand for kerosene production – a fuel used largely for lighting in kerosene lamps, as well as acting as a good lubricant for steam engines. By the turn of the 20th century, a demand for gasoline triumphed over kerosene with the invention of the electric light bulb, as well as the first airplane and the Model T automobile.

The refining industry changed quite drastically with the commencement of the Second World War, bringing about an increased demand for petroleum products such as gasoline to be used in aircraft and land vehicles. Catalytic processing was born in the era just before and during WWII. As shown in Table 1. of Lesson 11, the development of certain processes including alkylation (1940) and fluid catalytic cracking (1942) allowed for gasoline products with a higher octane number and to be obtained in larger yields. [1] Therefore, efforts to support the war essentially increased the efficiency of petroleum refineries as it forced them to determine the best ways to produce gasoline and other crude distillates.

In December of 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt went on to establish the Petroleum Administration for War (PAW) in an effort to organize for such a huge increase in oil demand. This provided a trusted foundation and cooperation between many American oil companies. Besides an ever-growing demand for gasoline, WWII also invoked the production of toluene for TNT in bombs, the synthesis of rubber for tires, and oil to be used as lubricant for guns and other machinery. At the time, Japan was in control of 90% of the world’s natural rubber supplies. Being able to manufacture rubber from butadiene became vital for American oil companies, two subsidiaries of Standard Oil Of New Jersey in particular. In addition to these factors, two major pipelines were created extending from Texas to the East Coast, both of which undoubtedly helped the Allied Powers achieve victory in WWII. These were the Big Inch and the Little Big Inch pipelines, the first which carried crude oil while the other carried petroleum products. The use of these pipelines eliminated the threat of German submarines attacking oil tankers. [2]

The wide array of products obtainable from crude oil accompanied by a radical escalation in demand for these products, led to an essential yet effective development of oil refining processes, as well as a victory for the United States of America and its allies.

References:

[1] F Sc 432 Class Website, Lesson 11

https://cms.psu.edu/section/content/default.asp?WCI=pgDisplay&WCU=CRSCNT&ENTRY_ID=F20C6357261A4AE2A750C141B721E8C1

[2] Miller, Keith. “How Important Was Oil in World War II?” History News Network. N.p., 6 July 2002. Web. 29 July 2014.

http://hnn.us/article/339

World War II and the start of catalytic age of refinery

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It has been a long history since petroleum refinery started in 1855 in U.S. During 1910 to 1940, thermal refinery was the major refinery process to produce light and middle distillate petroleum products. However, the new chemistry was introduced and catalytic refinery process was developed in 1930s. Compare to thermal refinery, catalytic refinery produces higher yield of petroleum products with higher octane number that reduce knocking. During the World War II, the U.S need higher yield of petroleum products and require higher octane number to run more powerful engines. The pressure from the war provides stimulus to urgently develop catalytic technologies. The World War II helped to start the catalytic age of refinery which between 1940 and 1970.

During the catalytic cracking, reforming, alkylation, polymerization was introduced and they changed the way of making high octane number gasoline. Hydrotreatment was also invented to protect platinum catalyst that used in reforming. During the World War II, intense activities of development of catalytic refinery happened. Visbreaking, alkylation, isomerization and fluid catalytic cracking were invented. All four technologies contribute to increase the yield of petroleum products which with higher octane number. These technologies are still important in the refinery process today. The catalytic age of refinery was end in 1970 not because the new chemistry was introduced. It is due to the 1973 and 1979 oil crises and environmental concerns. The World War II helped to start the catalytic age of refinery. Even the catalytic age of refinery ended, the lessons and experience we learned from catalytic age helped us go even further in the age of heavy end conversion refinery.

References

1. F SC 432 class website Lesson 11

https://www.e-education.psu.edu/fsc432/content/catalytic-refinery-1940-1970

2. Katrina C. Arabe, “How Oil Refining Transformed U.S. History & Way of Life”  January 17th, 2003.

http://news.thomasnet.com/IMT/2003/01/17/how_oil_refinin/

3.Congressional Research Service, “The U.S. Oil Refining Industry: Background in Changing Markets and Fuel Policies”

Click to access R41478.pdf

The Influence of World War II on Petroleum Refining.

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Petroleum refining has been around since the 1850s, when a single pot batch distillation was first done to produce kerosene as the major product, and since then it has evolved in many ways into an integrated, complex process that we use today to produce a vast amount of products and fuels. During its existence, petroleum refining has been influenced by many historical events that the world has seen. One of these historical events that greatly influenced petroleum refining, is the Second World War

In the late thirties, new catalytic technologies were being investigated by scientists in the US and around the world. When World War II came around in the forties, countries and scientists were put under intense pressure to make strides in the advancement of petroleum refining, thus providing the stimulus needed to urgently develop catalytic technologies. This catalytic age took place from 1940 to 1970 and was thoroughly fueled by World War II. The historical timeline of petroleum refining shows a clear influx of process development during the age of World War II.

The catalytic refinery of the 1940s largely resembles that of which we use today, in that the goal is to produce high yields of gasoline. This age saw the introduction of catalytic cracking, reforming, alkylation, and polymerization, all of which have contributed to revolutionizing the production of high octane number gasoline. These revolutions largely contributed to the war effort as well. The Catalytic refinery also saw the development of hydrotreatment, which was essential to protect the platinum catalysts used in reforming.

 

References:

1. https://cms.psu.edu/section/content/default.asp?WCI=pgDisplay&WCU=CRSCNT&ENTRY_ID=F20C6357261A4AE2A750C141B721E8C1

Water Treatment of Wastewater from Refining

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In petroleum refining, a large amount of water is used in the refining process. This water is processed using wastewater treatment techniques. Since the amount of water used in refining is so vast, waste water treatment is an integral part of the refining process. There are four different types of waste water; cooling water, process water and steam, storm water and sanitary sewage water. These four types of water carry large amounts of pollutants as well. Pollutants like, liquid hydrocarbons, suspended and dissolved solids, mercaptans, phenols, amines, and cyanides. All of these pollutants are a direct result of the water’s use in the refinery.

There are two types of measurement systems that are used to measure the level of contamination in waste water. Those two types are the Biochemical Oxygen Demand and the Chemical oxygen demand. Biochemical Oxygen Demand measures the amount of oxygen consumed by microorganisms in decomposing organic matter, and the Chemical Oxygen Demand measures the total oxygen consumption by organic and inorganic chemicals present in water.

Refinery waste water however, can’t be treated in municipal waste water treatment plants. This is because the municipal water treatment plants are not capable of processing the contaminants that arise from water that is used in petroleum refining. It is also important to keep the different wastewater streams segregated as the different types of wastewater have different levels of different contaminants. This making the combining of the streams undesirable as the treatment of the water would be much more difficult, placing to high of a strain on the water treatment machinery.

References.

1. https://cms.psu.edu/section/content/default.asp?WCI=pgDisplay&WCU=CRSCNT&ENTRY_ID=F20C6357261A4AE2A750C141B721E8C1

Wastewater Characterization and Processing

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In a golden age of corporate personhood, U.S. refineries may actually have more in common with humans than ever before. Water sustains both human and refinery life. As a community’s water consumption increases, so must its municipal wastewater treatment capacity increase. Likewise, as regulations necessitate more hydrotreatment processing, refineries must increase sour water treatment capacity. While this notion might harmoniously unify a refinery and its perpetually protesting community, in reality it causes downstream issues with contamination risks galore.

As a general rule in wastewater treatment, “do not mix different wastewater streams before treatment.” Although cooling water and sanitary sewage may require the least amount of treatment, an operator must be mindful of the refinery’s process and instrument drawing (P&ID) in the event of an oil spill, in which these flows could be contaminated. Storm water may be contaminated by air pollutants and should be dealt with accordingly. The most heavily polluted wastewater feeds stream from process water and steam units; these must be sweetened, and oils and solids must be separated from the wastewater.

In order to minimize the load on the treatment units, the operator must separate different wastewater streams based on their characteristics. A complete wastewater characterization includes biochemical oxygen demand (Standard Methods 5210), chemical oxygen demand (Standard Methods 5220), suspended solids, hydrocarbon content, nitrogen content, phenols [all in mg/L], and acidity [pH]. The EPA provides guidelines for industrial wastewater limitations and Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Wastewater provides EPA-approved wastewater analytical procedures.

In July 2012, The Carlyle Group and Sunoco, Inc. formed a joint venture, Philadelphia Energy Solutions, to continue refinery operations at the oldest continuously operating refinery on the east coast. The Carlyle Group and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania agreed to provide funding for the catalytic cracker unit, a train terminal for transporting Bakken crude oil, and a mild hydrocracker unit. All of these modifications will increase the water consumption as well as the required wastewater treatment capacity of the refinery. The EPA required Sunoco to continue to remove groundwater contaminants such as hydrocarbons and heavy metals. On the other hand, the new owners must increase their wastewater treatment capacity. While there are plenty of people who might disagree, I believe this has been the healthiest business agreement in past decade between industry and government in the PA energy sector.

Wastewater Treatment

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Most municipal wastewater refineries are used for the treatment of water from residential houses and areas. The equipment in these plants are not equipped to treat the toxic runoff from hydrocarbons that come from petroleum refineries. These wastewaters are divided into four different types of categories which are: sanitary sewer, storm water, water and steam, and cooling water. These categories contain many harmful pollutants such as dissolved solids, suspended solids, cyanides, and liquid hydrocarbons among a few others. Utilizing a steam process these pollutants must be taken out from the water from the water. After the completion of this process where the toxic chemicals are stripped from the wastewater, they can be brought to municipal wastewater treatment plants and the water can be treated. There is also the option of using biological means to treat the water. The use of microorganisms that eat or dissolve the pollutants can be used as a secondary means of treatment. This process produces bicoke which. Wastewater treatment is a very important part of keeping any urbanized area’s water clean and safe.

Wastewater Treatment

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The immense amount of wastewater from refineries cannot be sent directly to public treatment facilities; the water used in refinery processes end up with varying degrees of contamination and contain liquid hydrocarbons, suspended solids, mercaptans, phenols, amines, acids, and cyanides. Wastewater may be classified into four categories: cooling water, process water and steam, storm water, and sanitary sewage water. Of these four types, process water and steam are considered to be the most contaminated due to the fact that they are in direct contact with petroleum fractions. The water may be characterized using several measurements, which include Biochemical Oxygen Demand, Chemical Oxygen Demand, suspended solids, hydrocarbon content, nitrogen content, phenol content, and acidity. The paramount rule in wastewater treatment is to avoid mixing different streams of wastewater, since the pollutants in each stream differ and mixing causes treatment processes to become more complicated. Each stream must be treated separately before being sent to a public treatment facility. Treatment processes may be divided into primary (physical) processes – such as stripping hydrogen sulfide and skimming oil – and secondary (biological) processes – utilizing biological microorganisms to remove organic contaminants. Wastewater treatment is dictated by environmental regulations imposed on refineries. These include the Clean Water Act and the Safe Drinking Water Act.

Wastewater Treatment

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There are a number of reasons why refineries treat their wastewater right on site instead of sending it off to a municipal treatment plant, but for the most part, it has to do with the contaminants present in the samples. Wastewater from processes such as desalting, distillation, thermal and catalytic cracking, and coking possibly contain benzene (toxic aromatic compound), H2S, NH3, heteroatoms, and acids. Requirements for wastewater in municipal treatment plants vary from state to state so refineries are just playing it safe by treating their water in-house. The refineries have the equipment and knowledge to detect the exact amount of contaminant species, therefore they should be the ones who treat it. On top of all this, you can’t combine the four different types of wastewater (cooling water, process water and steam, storm water, and sanitary sewage water) so transporting it to the municipal plant would require four different vehicles, a bunch of unneeded money spending, and communication of specifics. Even though industrial wastewater treatment plants are capable of removing chemicals and acids, it is not safe to use the facilities for water that has came in contact with petroleum fractions. The contaminants found in this water is basically human poison and is best left to the people who know where the all the water has came from.

 

Sources:

Petroleum Refining, by J. H. Gary, G. E. Handwerk, M. J. Kaiser, 5th Edition, CRC Press NY, 2007, Chapter 13, Supporting Processes, pp. 290-293.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Industrial_wastewater_treatment#Oils_and_grease_removal

 

http://10statesstandards.com/wastewaterstandards.html#52