CHAPTER 3 THE INDUSTRIAL PROCESS, … 3. Industrial Processes in Oil...THE INDUSTRIAL PROCESS, ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT SYSTEM ... desalter plant the most trouble and require the greatest

MSc Project by AKINLOLU, Akinsola O

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_________________________________________________________________________ Semi-automation in Oil Refinery and Bitumen Plant

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CHAPTER 3

THE INDUSTRIAL PROCESS,

ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

AND GAP ANALYSIS

Discussion on the Industrial Processes

Used by Refineries


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It has been confirmed that most of the well recognised refineries in the world, in

accordance with the ISO 9000:2000, make use of several chemical plants in producing the

required product for their consumer’s consumption. Though, most of companies such as

Exxon Mobil’s Fawley refinery are quite efficient in the way they make use this plants for

the production of chemical products like kerosene, fuel oil, and diesel, even bitumen

(which is used for roofing and for road construction as binder), there is the need for oil

industries to embark on the Cleaner Technology by automating all of there plants. This is

really not automatic since it will surely need more funds, time and commitment of the

investors for better production and cleaner environment, the end really justify the need.

The following processes are common in various refineries;

At its simplest, the refining process is all about boiling oil to break it down into its

constituent parts.


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The crude oil is heated to about 360°C and pumped into a tower called an Atmospheric

Pipe still, which varies in temperature from top to bottom. Because the different

components of crude oil boil at different temperatures, each can be drawn off separately

and used to make products such as petrol and aviation fuel.

For the heavier oil that is left, this process of heating and distillation is repeated in a

Vacuum Pipe still. This produces feedstock for the manufacture of lubricants, as well as

for the next stage of the refining process.

To remove impurities, the oil is processed at up to 400°C in the Residfiner, using

pressurised hydrogen. The Residfiner makes feedstock for the catalytic cracking unit.

The Catalytic Cracker breaks down the oil (or 'cracks' it) into components that are used

to make additives for plastics and petrol. Other key units - and there are many - include:

1. The Poly Plant, which produces mainly chemical feedstock for plastics

2. The Power former and Isomeric Units, which make LPG and high octane

naphtha for petrol

3. The Lubricating Plant, which produces bases tocks for motor oil.

4. The Bitumen plant is meant for the production of bitumen for roofs and roads.

3.1 Crude Oils, the Hydrocarbon Mixture

Crude oils are complex mixtures containing many different hydrocarbon compounds that

vary in appearance and composition from one oil field to another. Crude oils range in

consistency from liquid to tar-like solids, and in colour from clear to black.


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An "average" crude oil contains about 84% carbon, 14% hydrogen, 1%-3% sulphur, and

less than 1% each of nitrogen, oxygen, metals, and salts. Refinery crude base stocks

usually consist of mixtures of two or more different crude oils.

Crude oils are also defined in terms of API (American Petroleum Institute)

gravity. Crude with a high API gravity are usually rich in paraffin’s and have a high

propensity to yield greater proportions of gasoline and light petroleum products. Crude

oils that contain substantial quantities of hydrogen sulphide or other reactive sulphur

compounds are called sour. Those with less sulphur are called sweet.

All crude oils, before refining, need to be evaluated and fully quantified analytically

(quality and quantity analysis) on their potential yield. Crude Oil with low assay numbers

is referred to as Opportunity Crude. This type of oil will be more difficult to process due

to higher levels of contaminants and water. This type of crude will usually give the

desalter plant the most trouble and require the greatest skill of the operators and as such

composition analysis of crude oils before processing makes it possible for industries to

monitor the way such crude is processed to yield even high profit with it high level of

contaminants.

3.2 The Storage Tanks

These are huge tanks that hold all the incoming crude oil of the industry. It is also often

used in mixing several grade of crude oil. Figure 3.1 shows the refinery storage tank farm

[1] used for storing crude oil before they are further processed through other plants.

Storage tanks are quite important in any refinery since they are the ones that hold

the amount of crude required for other plants to operate on. From the picture, the green


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part surrounding the tanks is called the bund walls. This is a good practise to avert

spillage when there is overflow from the tank to other plants which can cause fire through

domino effect. The Bund Walls surrounding the tank are important to avert oil spillage

though the walls are too low and there is the need for reconstruction and adequate scaling

to volume of tank. This will be discussed further under the gap analysis of the plants and

areas to develop and breach the gap.

[15]

Figure 3.1 The Storage Tanks used in Holding Crude Oil before Processing


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3.3 Desalter Process Plant: The First Chemical Process Plant in Crude Oil

Refining

Crude Oil Pretreatment [16]

(Desalting)

15

Picture is from Fawley refinery : showing storage tanks with bund wall

<http://www.schoolscience.co.uk/content/fawley-tour> 16

Picture Source: Baker Hughes (1999). The Baker petrolite corporation, west airport B1vd. Sugar land,

Texas <http://www.bakerhughes.com/bapt>


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3.3.1 Description of the Process

Crude oil often contains water, inorganic salts, suspended solids, and water-soluble trace

metals. As a first step in the refining process, to reduce corrosion, plugging, and fouling of

equipment and to prevent poisoning the catalysts in processing units, these contaminants

must be removed by desalting (dehydration and salting out process). Desalting and

dewatering of crude oil upstream of the crude distillation unit is a key process operation

for the removal of these unwanted components from crude oil before they get to other

major unit operations. The operation of a desalting system can be very challenging due to

changing process variables due to varying crude oil composition- mixture different of

hydrocarbons and other impurities (sulphur (S2-

), nitrogen (N3-

), oxygen (O2-

) and

metallic ions-Ca2+

, Mg2+

etc). At best, it is a process of measuring trade-offs and

compromises.

The two most usual methods of crude oil desalting is the chemical separation and

electrostatic separation. In the two separation techniques, hot water is used as the

extraction agent (withdrawal agent). In chemical desalting, water and chemical surfactant

(demulsifier) are added to the crude, heated so that salts and other impurities dissolve into

the water or fix to the water, and then held in the tank where they settle out. Electrostatic

desalting is the application of high voltage electrostatic charges to concentrate suspended

water globules in the bottom of the settling tank. Surfactants are added only when the

crude has a large amount of suspended solids. Both methods of desalting are continuous

processes. A third and less-common process involves filtering heated crude using

diatomaceous earth.

The feedstock crude oil is heated to between 150° and 350°F (preheated to 66ºC


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and 177ºC) to reduce the viscosity and surface tension of the crude oil for easier flow,

mixing and separation of the water. The vapour pressure of the crude-oil feedstock limits

the temperature. In both methods other chemicals may be added. Ammonia solution

(NH4+ OH

-) is often used to reduce corrosion. Caustic acids (H

+) may be added to adjust

the pH of the water wash due to the presence of the alkaline (OH-) from the ammonia

solution. Wastewater and contaminants are discharged from the bottom of the settling tank

to the wastewater treatment plant facility where pre-treated and recycled for further use.

The desalted crude is continuously drawn from the top of the settling tanks and sent to the

crude distillation (fractionating) tower. Figure 3.2 shows the desalting plant when drawn in

a systematic way with various part and equipment needed.


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Valve

Heater

Pump

Pump

Gravity Settler

P-1

P-2 P-4P-3

P-5

P-6

Electrical

Power

Desalted

Crude

Effluent

Water

Process

water

Unrefined

Crude

Alternative

route

Emulsifier

6/8/2006

Automation of system

AKINLOLU, Akinsola (2006).MSc Project:Semi-automation of Bitumen Plant

From Conventional refinery residue. Coventry University, UK

Figure 3.2 the Electrostatic Desalting Process


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A fine equilibrium must be maintained while controlling mixing intensity, wash water

quality, chemical demulsifier feed and other parameters that can provide optimal salt

removal. On one hand the quality of the crude overflow must be within specific standards

and on the other hand the under-carry must not be so potent that it compromises the

system's dehydration abilities or fouls up downstream wastewater treatment. New

legislative demands placed on effluent water quality present the operator with a difficult

challenge. Optimizing the desalting process under constantly varying conditions is a key

ingredient to success of the entire refinery operation.

The main function of the Desalter is to remove salt and water from the crude oil.

However, many other contaminants such as clay, silt, rust, and other debris are also

removed in the plant. These can cause corrosion and fouling of downstream equipment

when deposited on heat transfer surfaces in pipes and other plants. Also, there are metals

that can deactivate catalysts used in the process of refining and as such the desalter is the

bottleneck in most industries because of the multifunction that need to be performed in the

plant and need attention of engineers and operators. Figure 3.3 shows the National Tank

Company (NATCO) desalting plant used for Nigerian crude oil and the various parts of the

plant is shown.


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Figure 3.3 The Desalting Process Plant (Zipped and Unzipped)

Source: The NATCO Trigridmax unit Desalter showing all the parts of the Desalter This is the

Trigridmax Desalter for Ashland Oil FPSO <http://www.natcogroup.com/PDFContent/Oil-

Treating/TRIGRID-and-TRIGRIDMAX-Electrostatic-Treater.pdf>


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3.4 The Furnace: The Heat Energy Supplying Plant

3.4.1 Heating Operations

Process heaters and heat exchangers preheat feedstock in distillation towers and other

refinery plants that need to be operated at higher temperature. Heat exchangers use either

steam or hot hydrocarbon (like Naphtha) transferred from some other section of the

process for heat input. The heaters are usually designed for specific process operations,

and most are of cylindrical vertical or box-type designs. The major portion of heat

provided to process units comes from fired heaters fuelled by refinery or natural gas,

distillate, and residual oils. Fired heaters can be found in various plants. Types of heaters

include the reformer preheater, Coker heaters, and large-column reboilers.


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Figure 3.4 The Furnace Plant

3.4.2 Steam Generation

Heater and Boiler Operations

Steam is generated in main generation plants, and/or at various process units using heat

from outlet gas or other sources. Heaters (furnaces) include burners and a combustion air

system, the boiler enclosure in which heat transfer takes place, a draft or pressure system

to remove flue gas from the furnace, soot blowers, and compressed-air systems that seal

openings to prevent the escape of flue gas. Boilers consist of a number of tubes that carry

the water-steam mixture through the furnace for maximum heat transfer. These tubes run


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between steam-distribution drums at the top of the boiler and water-collecting drums at the

bottom of the boiler. Steam flows from the steam drum to the super heater before entering

the steam distribution system.

Heater Fuel

Heaters may use any one or combination of fuels including refinery gas, natural gas,

naphtha, fuel oil, and powdered coal. Refinery off-gas is collected from process units and

combined with natural gas and LPG in a fuel-gas balance drum. The balance drum

provides constant system pressure, fairly stable Btu-content fuel, and automatic separation

of suspended liquids in gas vapours, and it prevents carryover of large slugs of condensate

into the distribution system. Fuel oil is typically a mix of refinery crude oil with straight-

run and cracked residues and other products. The fuel-oil system delivers fuel to process-

unit heaters and steam generators at required temperatures and pressures. The fuel oil is

heated to pumping temperature, sucked through a coarse suction strainer, pumped to a

temperature-control heater, and then pumped through a fine-mesh strainer before being

burned.

The illustration in figure 3.5 shows the use of naphtha as the heating fuel oil gas.

Hot naphtha is passed through an array of pipes while the cold crude oil is pumped in the

other direction over the pipes. Thus while the crude move through one pipe in one

direction, the heater fuel move in the opposite direction in another array of pipes and

thereby heat is transferred from the naphtha to the crude oil. This type of heat energy

transfer is referred as a counter-current flow exchange of heat energy. The diagram

(figure 3.5) shows the crude movement from right to left (arrow turns from blue to green

to brown and the to red after the crude has been heated up)


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Figure 3.5 The Inner Structure of Counter Current Heat Exchanger Equipment

Picture Source: <http://www.schoolscience.co.uk/4/>


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3.4.3 Steam Distribution System

The distribution system consists of valves, fittings, piping, and connections suitable for the

pressure of the steam transported. Steam leaves the boilers at the highest pressure required

by the process units or electrical generation. The steam pressure is then reduced in turbines

that drive process pumps and compressors. Most steam used in the refinery is condensed to

water in various types of heat exchangers. The condensate is reused as boiler feed water or

discharged to wastewater treatment. When refinery steam is also used to drive steam

turbine generators to produce electricity, the steam must be produced at much higher

pressure than required for process steam. Steam typically is generated by heaters

(furnaces) and boilers combined in one unit. The steam distribution system is further

considered in chapter 11 under the safety used of overriding control system (see this

chapter for more emphasis on the system).

3.4.4 Feed water

Feed water supply is an important part of steam generation. There must always be as many

pounds of water entering the system as there are pounds of steam leaving it. Water used in

steam generation must be free of contaminants including minerals and dissolved impurities

that can damage the system or affect its operation. Suspended materials such as silt,

sewage, and oil, which form scale and sludge, must be coagulated or filtered out of the

water. Dissolved gases, particularly carbon dioxide and oxygen, cause boiler corrosion and


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are removed by de-aeration and treatment. Dissolved minerals including metallic salts,

calcium, carbonates, etc., that cause scale, corrosion, and turbine blade deposits are treated

with lime or soda ash to precipitate them from the water. Recirculated cooling water must

also be treated for hydrocarbons and other contaminants.

Depending on the characteristics of raw boiler feed water, some or all of the

following six stages of treatment will be applicable:

Clarification;

Sedimentation;

Filtration;

Ion exchange;

Deaeration; and

Internal treatment

3.5 Health and Safety Considerations

3.5.1 Fire Protection and Prevention

The most potentially hazardous operation in steam generation is heater start up. A

flammable mixture of gas and air can build up as a result of loss of flame at one or more

burners during light-off. Each type of unit requires specific start up and emergency

procedures including purging before light off and in the event of misfire or loss of burner

flame (see chapter 8 and 11).


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3.5.2 Safety

If feed water runs low and boilers are dry, the tubes will overheat and fail. Conversely,

excess water will be carried over into the steam distribution system and damage the

turbines. Feed water must be free of contaminants that could affect operations. Boilers

should have continuous or intermittent blow down systems to remove water from steam

drums and limit build up of scale on turbine blades and super heater tubes. Care must be

taken not to overheat the super heater during start up and shut-down. Alternate fuel sources

should be provided in the event of loss of gas due to refinery unit shutdown or emergency

(detail in chapter 11 under the use of HSS-High Selective Switches). Knockout pots

provided at process units remove liquids from fuel gas before burning.

3.5.3 Health

Safe work practices and/or appropriate personal protective equipment may be needed for

potential exposures to feed water chemicals, steam, hot water, radiant heat, and noise, and

during process sampling, inspection, maintenance and turnaround activities.


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3.6 The Fractional Distillation Process Plant

Fractional distillation splits the crude oil into simpler mixtures called fractions. The

different fractions are taken out of the still at different levels of the distillation column.

For the splitting of the crude to various fractions to take place, the desalted crude is heated

in a furnace to about 370°C to 400ºC and pumped into the column with the required

pressure at the bottom of a distillation tower. Most of the hydrocarbons (mixture of

compounds with chemical formula CxHy [ 17]

) are gaseous, though the very thick ones are

still a liquid even at this temperature.

A distillation tower is often called a still Tower. This can be seen in figure 3.6. The

crude oil is heated in the furnace and this generate the heated oil fumes and semi-solid and

partial semi-liquid phases that is transferred to the still plant hoping to separate due the

difference in the boiling point of the oil mixture.

The different fractions come out at different levels. The residue from the

atmospheric still is passed to the vacuum still (the left of the zipped diagram of figure

3.6). Here, it splits into more fractions. The tower is akin to a huge heat exchanger - it

removes heat from the gases as they rise up it. The temperature of the heated mixture

decreases progressively from 370ºC to 20°C by the time the vapours reach the top.

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CXHY is the general formula given to hydrocarbons either they are saturated, unsaturated, aromatic

(cyclic) or aliphatic hydrocarbons.


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Figure 3.6 Showing The Fractional Distillation the Real Life One and The Unzipped (Opened) Showing What is Going on Inside The Column

Source: Fawley refinery <http://www.exxonmobil.co.uk>, <http://www.schoolscience.co.uk/contenet/4/chemistry/knowl/4/distilling.html

Each column trays has holes for gas/fumes

Oil fractions to move to upper trays of the

column and separates out.

The columns is hot at the bottom and

cool at the upper part

Hot vapours of Oil rises and split into

there fractions with different boiling

point. Lighter fractions-Petroleum gas,

petrol -rises higher in the tower and get

collected.

Heavier fractions with higher boiling

point settle at the bottom trays and

get collected-Lubrication oil, bitumen

etc.

The Desalted crude oil inlet


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The vapours condense as they rise up the tower. The heavier ones (with higher boiling

points) condense first. The thinner, runny ones, with lower boiling point get further up the

tower before they condense. And the ones that are naturally gases pass out of the top. This

are called the Natural gases (NG). When they are liquefied by equipment they are called

Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG).

Thus, hot mixture is pumped into the bottom of the tower from the heater called

the furnace, the tower acts as a heat exchanger, removing heat from the vapours as they

rise. Some of them condense back into liquids and fall back down the column. So the

temperature gradually decreases as you go up the column. Different groups of

hydrocarbons condense at different heights. The heaviest fractions are at the bottom,

while the lightest at the top. Figure 3.6 illustrate how the fractional distillation looks like.

It also shows the zipped and the unzipped part (the real life and the inner part of the

tower).

3.6.1 Crude Oil Distillation (Fractionation) Process

Process Description

The first step in the refining process is the separation of crude oil into various fractions or

straight-run cuts by distillation in atmospheric and vacuum towers. The main fractions or

"cuts" obtained have specific boiling-point ranges and can be classified in order of

decreasing volatility into gases, light distillates, middle distillates, gas oils, and residuum

(unzipped part of figure 3.6).


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Atmospheric Distillation Tower

At the refinery, the desalted crude feedstock is preheated using recovered process heat.

The feedstock then flows to a direct-fired crude charge heater where it is fed into the

vertical distillation column just above the bottom, at pressures slightly above atmospheric

and at temperatures ranging from 650° to 700°F (344ºC to 372ºC heating crude oil above

these temperatures may cause undesirable thermal cracking). All but the heaviest

fractions flash into vapour. As the hot vapour rises in the tower, its temperature is reduced.

Heavy fuel oil or asphalt residue is taken from the bottom. At successively higher points

on the tower, the various major products including lubricating oil, heating oil, kerosene,

gasoline, and uncondensed gases (which condense at lower temperatures) are drawn off (

see the table 3.1 on the fractions that can be obtained).


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Table 3.1 The Main Fractions and Levels

Fraction Carbons BP °C Uses

Gases 1 to 4 < 40 • Fuel in refinery

• Bottled and sold as LPG

Naphtha’s 5 to 10 25 – 175 • Blended into petrol’s

• Feedstock for making

chemicals

Kerosene’s 10 to 16 150 – 260 • Aviation fuel

Light gas oils 14 to 50 235 – 360 • Diesel fuel production

Heavy gas oils 20 to 70 330 – 380 • Feedstock for catalytic

cracker

Lubricants > 60 340 – 575 • Grease for lubrication

• Fuel additives

• Feedstock for catalytic

cracker

Fuel oil > 70 > 490 • Fuel oil (power stations and

ships)

Bitumen > 80 >580 • Road and roof surfaces


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3.7 The Bitumen [18]

Plant: The Plant for the Bituminous Fraction

3.7.1 Bitumen Process

Bitumen can be produced by the oxidation of oil residues from the distillation tower. It can

also be produced by the oxidation reaction on tar sand or heavy oil derived from the semi-

solid bituminous deposits. The Tar or the vacuum gas oil is first heated to 250-270ºC at 2

atmospheres in a continuous oxidation reaction by oxygen as it circulates in a reactor


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where the reaction is taking place (such as the Biturox reactors [19]

figure 3.7). The

bitumen reactor plant that is newly commissioned in Ukraine is called Biturox Plant. Air

utilization is kept just below 100 per cent in the reactor, resulting in short processing times

and low operating costs. Due to gentle and efficient oxygen introduction, thermo-cracking

is limited to a minimum. The valuable resin components in the product are saved (no

coking as in conventional blowers).

This short residence time, guarantee the uniform character of the reaction and

homogeneity of the product, which guarantee high quality. This is the key characteristic

attribute of the bitumen produced in Lisichansk in Ukraine.

The final product is cooled in the heat exchangers to 180-200ºC, and then sent to

the bitumen product tanks and from their pumped to the loading facilities (figure 3.7). Off

gases from the reactors are sent to the thermal treatment furnace where they are burnt. Due

to an optimum air/feed ratio, Biturox Plants yield considerably less off gas than traditional

units, which minimizes atmospheric emissions.

In addition, the resulting residual product, so-called black solar oil, is used as

heating fuel. The loading facilities provide for filling in two rail tank car sand two road

trucks simultaneously. Loading operations are controlled automatically from the pump

station control room.

18

Picture source: the Lisichansk bitumen Plant. Commissioned, July 2004

<http://www.google.com/bitumen_eng[1].PDF> 19

Biturox reactor is the plant built for the production of multi grade of bitumen. (Biturox®

composition controlled bitumen process). <http://www.biturox.com/200.0.html>


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Figure 3.7 The Bitumen Process Flow Diagram

Source: <http://www.biturox.com/lisichansk.pdf>The Biturox Process plant in Lisichansk bitumen Process plant, Ukraine.


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Roads need to be cost-efficient in construction and maintenance and durable over a long

lifetime. Bitumen (binders) of the highest quality which performs well under any climatic

condition and which will withstand the heaviest traffic load is the key to these

requirements.

As such there is the need for the adoption of semi-automation not only in the

loading facilities but also in the whole of the process involved in the production for more

cost-effective, higher quality of road binders (bitumen) and for more intrinsic

environmentally friendly production. These areas are discussed under the arising issues

and the adoption hybridization of Lean techniques, Automation and Chemical processes

control (Chapter 5) after detecting the gaps in all of the industrial processes used.


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3.8 Environmental Management System

Air pollution occurs when some certain composition in the air are exceeded. There is a

concentration and time effects which are factors affecting air pollution and this is known

as the Time-Concentration effect. Of course, air is not the only part that the industrial

processes are affecting, the Water pollution and Land pollution are also occurring in a

great alarming rate most especially in African countries. Most of the chemical industries

meet the standards like the Clean-air acts regulations in UK and as such converts there

wastes from air pollution waste to land or water pollution. This is diagrammatically

represented in figure 3.8 in which most industry will incorporate some controls that will

convert there by-product or waste from being a gas by-product to solid or liquid product

and vive versa, and if such by-product is not needed, will be disposed off as waste.

This brings about the establishment of the International Standard Organisation

(ISO) that look into management and quality control systems. This was first articulated in

the ISO 9002 certified series.

This is carried out by an external supervisor and if they are satisfied with the

system in place, a certificate will be issued as been certified as an environmentally

friendly system. This regulatory system started with the BS 7750 (1992, 1994) and

contains, the Environmental policy, which is a statement policy of the company as regards

the environmental concern.

It also contains the Objectives and Targets –action, programme, manual and

documents to follow by the personnel. The Operational Controls are also stipulated and


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must be in place. The Environmental management records, environmental audit of the

plant periods and the environmental management reviews are all part of the document.

Figure 3.8 Illustrates the Conversion of Waste Materials/Pollution from one form to

another (Solid, liquid or gas)


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3.8.1 Implication of Industrial Processes to the Environmental

The question is, “is it possible to produce these products (ranging from the LPG, petrol,

diesel, kerosene to the Bitumen) with Zero discharge or without polluting the

environment?”

“The answer at this level, even to great Engineers who has been

working with industry for many years will say “NO”…”

But the one fact is certain that there is nothing that is a waste. The waste of one industry

may be the raw material for another industry or plant.

“To a farmer who planted cassava and saw some ground nut

growing within the cassava will say that the ground nut is a weed.

But is the ground nut crops useless?”

This shows that what is a waste in one process can surely be a raw material for another

process. And as such if waste can be treated in that way, it would be amazing that the so

called waste material (solid, liquid or gas-Water spillage, land pollution, air pollution,

greenhouse gas emissions etc) are always useful.

The focus of this write-up is to look at the positive effect of the use of semi-

automation for the production of bitumen and this if possible applied to the on going

development of the Nigeria “Olokola” bitumen/heavy oil.

This really poses some major concern and cost (production with zero discharge to the

environment) for most well organised establishment (and view it as an impossible task),


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yet the combination of the Lean technique, Chemical processes control and Automation

system (LeChAs) can proves to be the way out and the best solution to this problem.

It is also important to disclose, as it has been discussed in the literature review, that

the world level of crude oil is decreasing and as such the write focus on the use of use of

the combination of techniques mentioned earlier (LeChAs) for effective use of the

decreasing crude oil deposit. Bitumen/heavy oil deposit, (which may be a long term

substitute) which can be used for production of some fractions derived from refining the

crude oil such as the asphalt from bitumen, and also as a source of energy is also looked

into in the course of the write-up. Of course, the use of bituminous deposits can be a long-

term solution; the short-term solution is the use of the hybrid between the lean

manufacturing technique, knowledge of chemical engineering processes and the

automation system (LeChAs).

To deliberate on LeChAs, the point is what is the Gap between the ways industries

are producing bitumen in the conventional process and the advantage that can/will be

derived from the use LeChAs. This statement suggest that there is the need for a Gap

analysis of a refinery first to examine the gap in the industrial continuous flow process, if

any, and as such creates a way forward for the solution to the problem. The write-up may

not be able to solve the problem totally but it really gives rise to a prospect/topic for

discussion to the desired solution.


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Figure 3.9 The Industrial Refining Process

Source: http://www.exxonmobil.co.uk/welcome-fawley.pdf Picture by: Paul Carter, August 2005

http://www.exxonmobil.co.uk/welcome-fawley.pdf


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3.9 The GAP Analysis

3.9.1 Case Study on Refineries and Chemical Plants in UK

This is a Gap analysis on petroleum refineries and petrochemical companies. Example of this

refinery in United Kingdom is the ExxonMobil Fawley refinery [20]

. It was formed in 1999,

from the merger of Exxon (Esso's parent company) and Mobil. However, the Fawley site has

played an important role in the water side area of Hampshire for over 50 years.

Information was also gathered from several industries websites to carry out the gap

analysis. One of the company is called the National Tank Company [21]

(NATCO). Founded

in 1926 in Tulsa, Oklahoma as the National Tank Company, NATCO has always been at the

forefront of oil industry production processing. Starting with a single location and selling

only simple storage tanks, NATCO evolved as the industry evolved. NATCO/Axsia offers a

comprehensive range of technology to the refining industry. These technologies, supported by

decades of experience, range from hydrocyclone packages through skid-mounted topping

units to Lump Sum Turnkey (LSTK) hydrogen plant installations.

Other industries used include the Baker Petrolite industry [22]

, the Lisichansk industry

in Ukraine [23]

, The PÖrner group [Biturox.com] [24]

.

_______________________________________________________________________________________ 20

Source: The Fawley Refinery community Report of 2004, Esso Petroleum Company Limited, Esso

Refinery Fawley, Southampton < http://www.exxonmobil.co.uk. > 21

Source: The National Tank Company (NATCO) website,< www.natcogroup.com/ > 22

Source: Baker Hughes (1999). The Baker petrolite corporation, west airport B1vd. Sugar land, Texas

<http://www.bakerhughes.com/bapt> 23

Source: The Lisichansk Bitumen Plant.Commissioned, July 2004

http://www.google.com/bitumen_eng[1].pdf>

http://www.exxonmobil.co.uk/


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58

Gap analysis technique is a set of techniques used to examine and describe the gap

between current performances and desired future goals. The gaps can include:

The difference between the current operation of an activity and the activity vision, sometimes

referred to as "C delta V" (current gap vision);

The difference between actual and theoretical targets, sometimes referred to as

"A delta T" (actual gap target); or the difference between actual

performance measures and world class benchmarks.

In addition to an overall enterprise vision, visions can be expressed for individual and core

sets of activities, such as logistics, procurement, and the plant’s performance from the

information gathered from the shop floor, product development, or customer

engagement/requirement. The "C delta V" technique is useful to summarize the results of a

gap analysis. The vision statements for a set of activities should conform generally to the

criteria for the enterprise vision as a whole, but, more importantly, should be as specific as

possible with respect to targets and measures.

The "A delta T" technique is useful to summarize the results of either a benchmarking

study or the results of activity simulations where actual can be compared to various targets.

For example, during a flow rate of an activity, it may be theoretically possible to fulfil a

customer order in four hours, using a variety of methods. Tests of the new methods may only

show a fulfilment time of five hours. One or both of these measures can be compared against

the current cycle time of one business day.

24

Source: The PÖrner Groups <www.poerner.at/>, Biturox reactor is the plant build for the production

of multi grade of bitumen. (Biturox® composition controlled bitumen process).

<http://www.biturox.com/200.0.html>


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59

Purpose

The purpose of gap analysis technique is to compare the current actual performance of an

activity to either its theoretical target or its vision.

Benefits

The benefit of gap analysis technique [25]

is that it provides an objective basis for

comparison of actual performance of an activity to either its theoretical target or its vision.

Gap analysis consists of defining the present state, the desired or `target' state and hence the

gap between them. In the later stages of problem solving the aim is to look at ways to bridge

the gap defined and this may often be accomplished by backward-chaining logical sequences

of actions or intermediate states from the desired state to the present state.

In other words, what is the current state of the company (a), what is the future (b)

and what is the Gap between the current and the future state envisioned (c), and

Thus,

"What (c) must be done/put in place, or must have happened to current state

(a) in order that this desired state (b) can exist?"


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60

3.9.2 ISO 9000:2000 Standard and the Gap Analysis

One of the first steps in the Quality Management System (QMS) transition or implementation

project is to compare the current QMS to the requirements of the ISO 9000:2000 standard.

This is most commonly called a Gap Analysis.

Gap Analysis Checklist

The most important tool for the Gap Analysis is the Gap Analysis Checklist [26]

. This is a list

of the requirements in the standard, written in question format. It is a best practice to use this

list to compare the QMS that is in place with the requirements of the ISO 9001:2000

Standard. The checklist provides adequate recommendations of what documents to look for;

examples of what will meet the requirements and other guidance on auditing to the standard.

The checklist also gives specific place to documentation that did or did not meet the standard.

It is vital to comment, at this stage, that because of the little information gathered from

the ExxonMobil website, a complete gap analysis is not feasible but the little one found

proves quite helpful in embarking on the analysis and as such further analysis need to be

carried out for more practical implementation of the areas discussed in the report.

25

Source: <http://www.gantthead.com/process> 26

Source: The 9000 Store by Vinca, LLC. ( 2001) ISO 9001:2000 and AS9100 Resource Centre

http://www.gantthead.com/process


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61

Scheduling and Performing the Gap Analysis

Schedule and perform the audit. Enough time is required to do an in-depth audit. The more

information for the analysis, the more task lists and project plan, the more efficient and

effective the project will be.

When the audit has been completed, need for meeting with other auditors to

summarize the results is required. These results can be transferred to task lists for the

implementation. This meeting should be held shortly after the audit, so that information is

fresh in the auditors' memory.

Scheduling and Conducting the ISO 9001 Gap Analysis

A. Schedule the Gap

1. Review the project plan:

2. Identification of auditors to carry out the gap analysis

3. The Gap Analysis is Scheduled, and communicated to all employees on

what is being done, and why. There is the need to be able to make the

employees comfortable with answering the auditor's questions.

4. There may be the need to consider sending out a newsletter to inform

employees that the Gap will be performed, by whom, when and why the Gap is

<http://www.the9000store.com/Gap-Analysis-checklist.aspx>

http://www.the9000store.com/Gap-Analysis-checklist.aspx


_______________________________________________________________________________________


62

being performed. The Employee Newsletter is included in the Gap Analysis

Checklist Toolkit.

5. The audit schedule

6. It is determined if the audit is carried out by process/procedure or by area of

the facility. The approach used for the report is audit by area of the facility

and the performance of the facilities based on the information gathered

online.

7. The facilities are divided into manageable plants.

8. Time need to be scheduled to audit each section of the standard that applies

to the area.

9. If audit team are used, the team are assign to cover the various areas of the

facility.

10. Arrangement of the Gap Analysis checklists is done so that each auditor will

have the sections of the standard that are applicable in the areas they will

cover.

B. Conducting the Audit

Following the schedule that have been prepared, each area of the facility are then monitored

to evaluate the current state and quality of the system.

Focus is on what is in place, and what is not in place. The focus is not on compliance or non

compliance to the current system, but on the design of the current system, and how it

matches the ISO 9001:2000 requirements.

Note is on what is in place, and what will need to be developed and changed.

Complete notes, references and documents are taken.


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63

C. Reporting

Summary of the audit findings in the form of a task list is then drafted. Usually, several

categories of tasks are identified.

Processes that comply with the standard and are documented.

Processes that comply with the standard and must be documented.

Processes that do not comply with the standard and must be redesigned.

Processes required by the standard that are not currently in place.

For each requirement (or set of requirements) of the standard, the status of the current

system is identified. The ISO 9001:2000 Steering Team will use this information as they

assign responsibility and timelines to Teams. Task Teams will be assigned responsibility for

development of a procedure.

Gap analysis alone however is not adequate for all problem situations as goals may

evolve and emerge during the course of problem solving, "what ought to be" can be a highly

variable target. Also, some problems have many alternative solutions, in which case

backward-chaining search strategies will have little practical use.

The CDAC (the Centre for Distributed Automation and Control [27]

) (formerly

the Manufacturing Automation and Control Group) was formed in 1995 with the

intention of helping to bridge the gap between academic and industrial activities in the

manufacturing automation and control field. The main business focus of CDAC's work is

in understanding and improving the ability of manufacturing production to respond in the face

of unpredictable disturbances and increasing change. Traditionally production

performance has been assessed in terms of output under steady-state operation conditions.


_______________________________________________________________________________________


64

However, greater product variety, smaller batch sizes and frequent new product introductions,

coupled with tighter delivery requirements, demand operations that are capable of performing

consistently under continually changing conditions.

The technological focus of the group involves the development of adaptable, robust

algorithms and reconfigurable control system architectures to support distributed, intelligent

(holonic) manufacturing systems and devices. An important aspect of these systems is that

decisions made within a production control system are tightly coupled to the physical

devices that execute them.

The emerging focus of the groups’ activities lies in the internet based application of

these distributed intelligent technologies to develop support for agile, product-driven supply

chains.

27

Source(s):<http://www.eng.cam.ac.uk/automation/>

http://www.eng.cam.ac.uk/automation/


_______________________________________________________________________________________


65

Figure 3.10 The Link between the Future State and the Present

Situation

The objective of this step is to identify areas of the current and target system for which

provision has not been made in the Oil/Bitumen Production. This is required in order to

identify areas for the project to be undertaken as part of the implementation of the target

system Approach.

A key step in validating architecture is to consider what may have been forgotten. The

architecture must support all of the essential information processing needs of the

organization, as driven by the required applications. The most critical source of gaps that

should be considered is stakeholder concerns that have not been addressed in subsequent


_______________________________________________________________________________________


66

architectural work. Stakeholders are quite important aspect of gap analysis though this is not

considered in the report and as such literatures need to be considered for the aspect.

Gap analysis highlights services and/or functions that have been accidentally left out,

deliberately eliminated, or is yet to be developed or procured:

A matrix with all the business functions of the current state on the vertical axis is drawn up,

and all the business functions of the target Technology on the horizontal axis. In creating the

matrix it is imperative to use terminology that is accurate and consistent.

The Current state axis is added to a final row labelled 'New Services/technology', and

to the Target technology axis a final column labelled 'Eliminated services / technology'.

Where a function is available in both the current and target technology, this is recorded as

'Included' at the intersecting cell.

Where a function from the current state is missing in the target technology, each must

be reviewed. If it was correctly eliminated, it is marked as such in the appropriate 'Eliminated

Services/technology' cell. If it is not, an accidental omission has been uncovered in the new

target that must be addressed by reinstating the function in the next iteration of the design -

mark it as such in the appropriate 'Eliminated Services' cell.

Where a function from the target architecture cannot be found in the current state, it is

marked as the intersection with the 'New' row, as a gap that needs to be filled, either by

developing or procuring the function.

When the exercise is completed, anything under 'Eliminated Services/Technology' or 'New

Services/Technology' is a gap, which should either be explained as correctly eliminated, or

marked as to be addressed by reinstating or developing/procuring the function.


_______________________________________________________________________________________


67

3.10 The Gap analysis of Oil Refinery

3.10.1 Fawley Refinery

The Brief history and Processes

In 1921, the Site was developed by the Atlantic Gulf and West Indies Petroleum Company

(AGWI). In 1925, the site was purchased by Standard Oil - whose initials gave Esso its

name: So spells Esso. 1951 The new refinery opened by Prime Minister Clement Attlee. Esso

Petroleum formed. In 1958 the first chemicals project began. 1966 Esso Chemical (later to

become Exxon Chemical, then ExxonMobil Chemical) began operations. In 1969, the Marine

Terminal was extended - to one mile in length. Almost exactly 17 years in 1986, Esso became

the first UK Company to introduce unleaded petrol and 2years after that in 1988

Computerisation of all control rooms was initiated.

1999 marked the year when Exxon and Mobil merged to form ExxonMobil. In 2001,

50th anniversary of the "new" refinery was celebrated.

Oil was first refined at Fawley in 1921, when the Atlantic Gulf and West Indies

Company processed Crude oil from Mexico into heavy fuel oil for ships.

Today, Fawley turns crude oil from the North Sea, Europe and the Middle East into

products such as Petrol, diesel, aviation fuel and petrochemicals.

The site has a workforce of some 1,300 employees and up to 2,000 contractors.


_______________________________________________________________________________________


68

Mission, Goals and Objectives

2004 was an exceptional year. The site achieved its best ever safety performance, the refinery

established new records for reliability and throughput, and the chemicals plant enjoyed a year

of high production and improved efficiency.

The goal of the company is to have a workplace where ‘Nobody gets Hurt’ and, this

was almost achieved that year with the help and efforts of everyone on site.

Throughout the whole of 2004, it recorded just one injury – to a chemicals plant employee –

that required more than first aid treatment.

According to the Fawley refinery community report of 2004;

“…When you consider that our workforce averaged…

Some 2,400 people last year, this is a remarkable achievement…”

(www.exxonmobil.org: Fawley refinery community report, 2004)

A flawless safety performance has been initiated in 2005 which includes observing and

understanding the at-risk behaviours that lead to injuries, and then intervening to change

those behaviours. 2004 was another year in which the company also recorded no oil spillages

from ships at Fawley Marine Terminal due to company operations, and the site’s oil in

effluent water performance was the second best ever.

http://www.exxonmobil.org/


_______________________________________________________________________________________


69

For many years now the company have worked hard to reduce the amount of energy it

takes to produce our products, and without these efforts this it would be consuming some 60

per cent more fuel than it does today. Not only does greater energy efficiency make good

business sense but it also reduces greenhouse gas emissions. The new EU Emissions

Trading Scheme is intended to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and meeting the CO2

caps brings a new impetus to energy efficiency.

Refining Operations

The "new" Esso refinery at Fawley was opened in 1951. It is the largest refinery in the UK:

one car in six in the UK runs on Fawley fuel. Most of the refinery's output leaves the site by

underground pipeline.

Chemical Operations

ExxonMobil Chemical is supplied with feedstock by its sister company, Esso (see figure

3.11). Its products are used to make plastics, textiles, toiletries, detergents, asphalt for roof

and boats and many other everyday items. Most European tyres contain butyl rubber

produced at Fawley.


_______________________________________________________________________________________


70

Figure 3.11 The Fawley Refinery: The control panel, Reactor Vessel and the Overview

of the plant

Source: Esso Petroleum Company and ExxonMobil (Fawley Refinery and Chemical Plant)

http://www.fawleyonline.org.uk

Picture by: Paul Carter, Ian Jackson, and Chris Pearsall (2005)

http://www.fawleyonline.org.uk/


_______________________________________________________________________________________


71

Safety Matters

ExxonMobil is committed to the very highest safety, health and environmental standards.

But they are never complacent, and are always exploring ways of further improving the safety

and integrity of various operations.

Safety is first priority in all their activities, and our safety performance across the site is

excellent. The concern for safety, health and more cleanly environmental standard forms the

basic goal and mission of the company in Fawley;

“Nobody gets Hurt” (ExxonMobil Community report, Fawley refinery and Chemical

Plant, 2004)

Safety awards recently won at Fawley include a top award from the Royal

Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA), the chemical industry's

prestigious Diamond Safety Award, and the British Safety Council's top

Five Star awards.

One third of the employees' time is spent on safety-related matters. [ 28]


_______________________________________________________________________________________


72

Safeguarding the Environment

The thriving salt marsh that borders the site is a testament to Fawley's environmental

performance. It forms a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) [21]

, which is home to some

22 species of birds. The rest of the site is surrounded by a tree screen containing some 50,000

mature trees and shrubs, originally planted 50 years ago. Fawley continues to set new records

in its environmental performance. For instance:

Esso pioneered the introduction of environmentally friendly fuels in the UK.

The site's emissions to atmosphere have been falling steadily each year.

The water that returns to Southampton Water is often cleaner than when it

was extracted.

28

Source(s): Fawley Refinery and Chemical Plant (ExxonMobil community Report), 2004.

http://www.exxonmobil.co.uk Fawley, Southampton UK.



_______________________________________________________________________________________


73

Figure 3.12 The Diagram is some of the Pictures taken when the Refinery Perform a

“Site of Special Scientific analysis”


_______________________________________________________________________________________


74

Recordable Injuries and Total Recordable Injury Rate (RITIR)

The total number of employee and contractor recordable injuries –any injury requiring more

than first aid treatment – fell to one in 2004, compared to 23 in 2003 [29]

and 18 in 2002. The

total recordable injury rate (TRIR) per 200,000 work hours for employees was 0.08

compared with 0.23 in 2003, and was zero for contractors compared with 1.42 in 2003.

Employees are encouraged to take safety awareness home to share with their families and

local neighbourhood. One initiative in 2004 promoted cycling safety. Four hundred pupils at

Hardley School were given a talk about the dangers of not wearing a helmet, and ExxonMobil

donated £1,000 for the purchase of cycle helmets and lights. There was also a children’s

painting competition. The whole chart on the recordable injuries for 10 years can be seen in

Appendix 1.

The Greenhouse Gas Emissions (GhG)

The refinery and chemical plant are both in the EU Emissions Trading Scheme, which places

caps on CO2 emissions [30]

. It monitors its CO2 emissions to meet the scheme’s requirements

and an independent audit company carried out verification of these emissions.

“Oil refineries and petrochemical plants are large consumers of energy

and always are constantly looking for ways to reduce the energy

_______________________________________________________________________________________ 29

Source: http://www.exxonmobil.co.uk Esso Petroleum Company Limited and ExxonMobil Chemical ,

August 2005<www.fawleyonline.org.uk> 30

Source: http://www.exxonmobil.co.uk Esso Petroleum Company Limited and ExxonMobil Chemical,




_______________________________________________________________________________________


75

consumption by increasing the efficiency of there operations.”

Improving energy efficiency reduces GhG emissions. As a result of continuous

improvements, energy efficiency improvements, GhG emissions on a total and a throughput

basis continue to decrease. However, even with the focus on energy efficiency, meeting the

caps on CO2 emissions in the future will be challenging. (Diagram for the GhG in Appendix

II)

Emission to the Air

Emissions to air mainly fall into two categories: products of combustion and volatile

organic compounds (VOCs).

Products of Combustion – oxides of nitrogen (NOX) and sulphur (SOX), and carbon dioxide

(CO2) – are generated when fuel oil and gas are burned to provide heat and power. NOX and

SOX are the principal emissions that have a bearing on air quality, and are shown on the chart.

There were occasions in 2004 when the refinery processed crude oils with higher sulphur

content and burnt more fuel oil than usual. This resulted in slightly increased SOX and NOX

levels, although they were within consent limits. In 2004 emitted 7,039 tonnes of NOX,

20,382 tonnes of SOX and 3,499,000 tonnes of CO2 (see Appendix III).

VOCs - are carbon-based compounds, similar to those in paint and petrol, which evaporate

readily into the air. They are emitted from storage tanks, during the operation of equipment

and when loading ships. In 2004 company recorded 5,772 tonnes of VOCs.

August 2005<www.fawleyonline.org.uk>


_______________________________________________________________________________________


76

Emission to Water

The site draws water from Southampton Water to use for cooling purposes and returns it

after treatment. During the refining and chemical manufacturing processes, the water can pick

up small quantities of oil. This process water, together with rainwater that falls on the site, is

treated to a very high standard prior to its discharge.

The oil-in-water performance continues to be well within the strict consent limits due

to the significant efforts made to minimise the amount of oil present in effluent water. Nearly

150 million tonnes of water were used in 2004 for cooling. It discharges 55.4 tonnes of oil in

effluent water (average of 0.4 parts per million). Total Organic Carbon (a measure of the

amount of dissolved and non-dissolved organic carbon-containing substances present in

water) was 377.9 tonnes (average of 2.5 parts per million). Appendix III and IV gives the

statistical data for the GhG, NOX and SOX, VOCs and the emission to water for up to 10 years

of operation.


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77

3.10.2 Waste Management [31]

The chart below shows off-site waste disposal and includes hazardous and non-hazardous

waste [32]

resulting from routine operations, and hazardous waste from activities such as tank

cleaning or which is incident related. Much of the waste from the chemicals plant is recycled.

This includes spent sulphuric acid (H2SO4 used on site and late reused for Oleum formation

H2S2O7) which is sent off-site to be recycled to form fresh sulphuric acid for use in the plant’s

processes (see chapter 4, 8 and 11 for more information on waste management which can be

adopted by the industry). In 2005 [33]

biopiling was reintroduced in Fawley refinery, which is

a practice of oily sludge on site as an environmentally friendly means of waste disposal (the

statistics can be viewed in Appendix V).

It had been using biopiling – using ‘bugs’ to break down contaminants in waste

biologically – for some time but, in 2002, the Environment Agency required the site to be

licensed for this activity. As a result, material intended for biopiling has had to be sent off-

site, resulting in an increase in landfill waste disposal. In 2004, waste from routine operations

amounted to 4,400 tonnes of hazardous waste, 4,600 tonnes of acid to recycling (classed as

hazardous waste) and 2,070 tonnes of non-hazardous waste.

Non-routine operations produced 7,100 tonnes of hazardous waste.

_______________________________________________________________________________________ 31

Source(s): The Fawley Refinery Southampton UK. The 2005 waste management statistical data not

included. 32

Source(s): The Statistics on TRIR, GHG emission , NOX and SOX emissions COX, emission to air

and Oil in Water were all retrieved from the company’s community report and statistical data

(Fawley refinery- http://www.fawleyonline.co.uk). All statistics can be seen in the Appendix 33

Statistical data is from the website,< http://www.fawleyonline.org.uk/waste-management.pdf>

http://www.fawleyonline.co.uk/

http://www.fawleyonline.org.uk/


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78

3.10.3 Refinery to the Customer

In the everyday supply to the world market, over 45 million litres of clean petrol, diesel jet

fuel and gas oils, bitumen and chemical products are always in distribution through

underground pipelines and oil tanks.

Fawley refinery operates nearly 1,200km of pipelines in a network that connects to six

distribution terminals at key locations around the UK and airports-Heathrow, Gatwick and

Birmingham airport.

The Fawley different products are fed one after another into pipelines in a

predetermined sequence. These pipelines are controlled using sophisticated computer and

information collection system that keeps track of the interface between products so that they

can be separated on arrival at the terminal.

Most of the company’s orders are processed by the European Customer Service Centre

(ECSC) based in the UK.

According to the information gathered from the company’s website, experienced

customer service staff, computer-aided route planning and other initiatives such as the night-

shift deliveries, all ensures high level of efficiency and customer services.

The final link in the delivery system, by road from distribution terminal to customer is carried

out by a contractor company that has a fleet of around 135 Esso-branded tracks.

It is quite obvious that the company has in place quite highly well organised and

sophisticated customer to supplier and delivery system. And as such the company supplies

almost one in six cars in UK through its 950 service stations.


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79

3.10.4 Some of the Company’s Best Practices

The following are the few among the best practices that the company has adopted (More will

be discovered at the company’s shop floor)

It monitors its CO2 emissions to meet the scheme’s requirements and

verification of these emissions was carried out by an independent audit

company.

In 2005 biopiling was reintroduced in Fawley refinery, which is a practice of

oily sludge on site as an environmentally friendly means of waste disposal.

The total number of employee and contractor recordable injuries –any injury

requiring more than first aid treatment.

Employees are encouraged to take safety awareness home to share with their

families and local neighbourhood.

Fawley refinery operates nearly 1,200km of pipelines in a network that

connects to six distribution terminals at key locations around the UK and

airports-Heathrow, Gatwick and Birmingham airport.

According to the information gathered from the company’s website,

experienced customer service staff, computer-aided route planning and other

initiatives such as the night-shift deliveries, all ensures high level of

efficiency and customer services.

The different products are fed one after another into pipelines in a

predetermined sequence. These pipelines are controlled using sophisticated


_______________________________________________________________________________________


80

computer and information collection system that keeps track of the interface

between products so that they can be separated on arrival at the terminal.

The refinery performs a “Special Scientific analysis” on organism yearly to

see the effect of industry to the natural habitat and how to improve it

processes.

3.11 The Result of Gap analysis

3.11.1 Gaps/Areas to be Implemented from LeChAs

It is important to state at this stage that a full gap analysis can only be carried out at the shop

floor of any industry and as such some of the conclusions that will later be reached may not

be fully applicable to some industry but surely this report is a step ahead for a better and

intrinsic environmental friendly oil refinery. The gap analysis also has highlighted several

areas in which most of industries are failing to work on and what need to be done. This

section is determined to stress these areas and chapter 5 will fully discuss the hybridization

of Lean techniques, Chemical processes and the Automation systems for moving the oil

refinery from the current state to the new/future state expected of any oil refinery.


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81

3.11.2 The Dramatic Shift from End-of Pipe to Cleaner Technology

The End-of Pipe Technology

Most of industries engage in what is called End-of pipe production. This is a process in which

a process does not envisage pollution before it occurs. And as such when the pollution is

created then the industry embark on how to either abate the effect of the pollution or

containment/mitigation measures to keep to the standard stipulated in there ISO certified

agreement.

This can occur due to a little change in the raw materials used in there production.

There are varying types of crude oils used in many refineries and as such if the process used

does not take into account this phenomenon, there is high probability of pollution or failure in

the control units in place.

Cleaner Technology

There is a dramatic shift from the end-of pipe technology to the Cleaner technology. This is a

process of changing the raw materials used for production to a less or less pollution

susceptible raw material. This aspect will be discussed more fully under the use of

bituminous deposit as a substitute to crude oil as a source of energy and other necessary

product like asphalt for road construction.


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82

There are some processes in which the raw material can not be substituted and as such

there is the need to incorporate an automation system that first deals with the analysis of the

raw material (incoming crude oil) and this will govern the way the process is going to handle

the material to avert any pollution. This is the basis, the report looks into, and the use of

LeChAs in automation of conventional refinery and the automation of the bitumen plant.

This will be discussed fully in chapter 5 and 10 under the future state/automation of oil

production and bitumen plant.

In effect implementation/application of Cleaner technology with the hybridisation

process (LeChAs development) can be the way to pollution free industrial production (zero

discharge process).

CHAPTER 3 THE INDUSTRIAL PROCESS, … 3. Industrial Processes in Oil...THE INDUSTRIAL PROCESS, ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT SYSTEM ... desalter plant the most trouble and require the greatest

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