Petroleum Production and Transportation: Transportation of Crude Oil and Petroleum Products
Transportation of crude and petroleum products via pipeline and marine vessels is an integral part of the oil industry. The products are also stored in large tank farms. Over land, pipelines handle most of this load, transporting crude oil (dark p...
Petroleum Refining and Waste Minimization: Petroleum Refining
The first step in optimizing the refining process is determining the composition of the crude. The analysis identifies undesirable trace metals and minerals, like sulfur, which are detrimental to equipment. Since the various hydrocarbon chains foun...
Petroleum Refining and Waste Minimization: Crude Oil, Hydrocarbons and Refineries
Carbon, the building block of life, can bond with itself and hydrogen in an infinite number of ways to form molecules called hydrocarbons. Crude oil is a mixture of all lengths of carbon chains, depending on the source. It can be viscous and conta...
Petroleum Refining and Waste Minimization: Waste Minimization
Environmental professionals constantly monitor, analyze and audit the treatment and disposal of both hazardous and non-hazardous wastes--a challenging assignment given the number of solid, liquid and gaseous waste streams created at a refinery.
Biological Treatment Technologies: Bioremediation
While the term 'biological treatment' traditionally refers to sewage and wastewater facilities, a newer science known as bioremediation broadens the use of living organisms to concentrate or decompose contaminants. The goal of bioremediation is to ...
Health Effects of Hazardous Materials: Case of Contamination in Avila Beach, A
A small town on the California coast, Avila Beach was the site of a two decade struggle with major oil company, Unocal. The struggle is recounted, from the 1979 discovery of an oil plume beneath the community and beach to eventual agreement by Unoca...