Here is recent AP article HollyFrontier planning injection well & having wastewater / disposal issues with Selenium-contamination. The Cheyenne Refinery/Coker has been revamped to handle both Heavy Canadian Crude and nearby
Shale Oil crude from Niobara & Bakken Shale Oil.
Most of the Shale Oil Crudes like Utica, Niobara, Bakken are known to have high levels of Arsenic, Selenium, Strontium, Barium and sometimes Mercury levels instead of normal Crude high levels of Vanadium, Nickel, Silicon, Iron and Copper.
The difference in type metals are going to be hard on wastewater disposal given the serious nature in these metals (especially Arsenic, Selenium, Strontium and Mercury) compared to conventional crude heavy metals. Perhaps this is early indicator of the problems?
Regards, Charlie Randall
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3 responses to “HollyFrontier having wastewater/disposal issues”
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Selenium is not just a problem with shale oils. In California, the SJV crudes and some others have high Se value. The solution at a Southern California Refinery was to add a VERY large tank and a Se scavenger/flocculant to treat the waste water before discharge.
Here is a news item on Siemens to supply aggressive PACT/WAR Wastewater treatment for Sinopec’s Jiujiang Petchem in Jiangxi Province before it dumps into sensitive Yangtze River (already over-polluted).
Sounds like this type of aggressive carbon filter system could be help to US Refiners being hit with wastewater issues on Selenium & other Shale Crude heavy metals impacts (they are not oil soluble).
The Sinopec Jiujiang Petchem replaced its “Eureka Coker (really thermal process not coker)” process in 2001 with a delayed coker after integration and reorganization as Sinopec Jiujiang Company.
The Sinopec Jiujiang plant started a CFB project in 2010 to install 2 Foster Wheeler 50MW steam generator’s that use petcoke/coal for fuel that were complete in 2012. The Jiujiang’s Plant High value Premium 1.5%S petcoke was not expected to be used for low value fuel feed.
“Siemens Energy has received an order from Sinopec Jiujiang Petrochemical Company for the supply of a refinery wastewater treatment system that includes PACT biological treatment, Wet Air Regeneration (WAR) and a Hydro-Clear filter system, and a Zimpro wet air oxidation (WAO) system for spent caustic treatment.” Hydrocarbon Processing / Siemens – Jan 8, 2014
Read More At http://goo.gl/ns5l83
We treat wastewater for heavy metals removal using a DAF. It would interesting to get a couple of gallons to work on in the lab. Who should,do I contact?