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Petroleum Waste Treatment and Pollution Control
Petroleum Waste Treatment and Pollution Control
This very project is my original work and has not been presented by anybody to the Kenya
SIGN : ……………………………
DATE : …………………….../2021
This research project has been submitted for defense with my approval as the student‘s
appointed supervisor.
SIGN : ……………………………
DATE : …………………….../2021
i
DEDICATION
My dedication goes to my parents Mr. and Mrs. Kosgei for their support in my study and
And lastly to my classmates and friend for their support and encouragement during my
project research.
ii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I must begin thanking the almighty God for all that he has done for me this far and for all that
he has promised he will do. My sincere thanks to my lecturer Madam Marcella for his
knowledge in my project writing. You advised me on the way forward and without your
guidance and support this project might not have been complete. Sincere that to my
supervisor at Tullow Oil Company for his support while at the company and all its employees
in general.
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ABSTRACT
There are global environmental concern about the pollution from petroleum industries and
other organizations that should not only be controlled but also prevented. Many alternatives
are available to those in charge of environmental protection, but they should be able to draw
on a systematic procedure to help implement prevention and control measures. The project
will give us a brief introduction to air pollution and the various air pollutants.
This project also provides insight into various ways and approaches involved in pollution
control especially air pollution. The aim of this project is to find the most affecting air
pollutant, show a brief detail for technology used in treating air pollution and also discuss
steps in selecting pollution control. Since, some air pollutants are very detrimental to human
health and the planet as a whole. Nine out of ten human beings currently breathe air that
exceeds the WHO’s guideline limits for pollutants. And since air pollution is caused by solid
and liquid particles and certain gases that are suspended in the air. These particles and gases
comes from our own daily activities. This leads to those who are exposed to poor air quality
can face an increased risk of developing or exacerbating a range of serious health issues.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
DECLARATION........................................................................................................................i
DEDICATION...........................................................................................................................ii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT........................................................................................................iii
ABSTRACT..............................................................................................................................iv
CHAPTER ONE........................................................................................................................1
1.0 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY....................................................................................1
1.1 INTRODUCTION................................................................................................................1
1.2 Historical background of tullow oil Kenya..........................................................................1
1.3 Statement of problem...........................................................................................................2
1.4 Objective..............................................................................................................................3
1.5 Research questions...............................................................................................................3
1.6 Limitation of the study.........................................................................................................3
CHAPTER TWO.......................................................................................................................4
2.0 Literature review..................................................................................................................4
2.1 POLICY...............................................................................................................................4
CHAPTER THREE....................................................................................................................5
Research design and Methodology............................................................................................5
3.1 Introduction..........................................................................................................................5
3.2 Primary sources....................................................................................................................5
3.2. Sampling technique.............................................................................................................5
3.3. Data collection methods......................................................................................................5
3.4 Location of study..................................................................................................................6
3.5 Conclusion............................................................................................................................6
3.6 Secondary source.................................................................................................................6
CHAPTER FOUR......................................................................................................................7
4.0 Data analysis presentation and interpretation......................................................................7
4.1 Air pollution and pollution control......................................................................................7
4.2 Air Quality Monitoring........................................................................................................7
4.3 Steps in selecting pollution control at Tullow oil................................................................8
4.4Number of wells at Tullow oil..............................................................................................9
4.5Greenhouse gas emissions.....................................................................................................9
4.6 Amount of air emissions produced by each air pollutants.................................................10
4.7 Control Measures at Tullow Oil Company........................................................................11
4.8 Organization experience in air pollution control preparedness..........................................13
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4.9 Technology used in air pollution control at Tullow oil......................................................13
CHAPTER FIVE......................................................................................................................16
5.0. Summary of major findings, conclusions and recommendation.......................................16
5.1 Major findings..................................................................................................................16
5.2 Conclusion..........................................................................................................................16
5.3 Recommendation................................................................................................................17
Reference ………………...……….………………………………………………………....18
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CHAPTER ONE
1.0 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
1.1 INTRODUCTION
Petroleum is vital to many industries and in the manufacturing of a wide variety of materials.
exploration, well stimulation and oil and gas production a certain amount of waste is
oil can pollute air, water, and soil at levels that are harmful to life where improperly
particulate aerosols like black carbon.
Among all human activities, fossil-fuel extraction is the largest contributor to the ongoing
others report that oil & gas use comprised over 55% (18 Billion Tons) of the record 32.8
Billion Tons (BT) of carbon dioxide (CO2) released into the atmosphere from all energy
sources during year 2017. Coal use comprised the remaining 45%. Total emissions continue
to gain a 50% operated interest in five onshore licenses; 10BA, 10BB, 10A, 12A and 13T. In
2012, Tullow farmed in to onshore Block 12B with 50% and increased its interest in Block
12A to 65%. Since then our interest in Block 10A has been relinquished and in October 2015.
Tullow currently has a 50% operated interest in Blocks 10BA, 10BB, 13T and 100% in Block
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12B. In June 2019 Tullow exited non operated Block 12A. The Ngamia-1 exploration well in
Kenya marked the start of a significant programme of drilling activities across the acreage. In
2012, the Ngamia-1 well successfully encountered over 200 meters of net oil pay, the second
East Africa onshore tertiary rift basin opened by Tullow. This has since been followed by
further exploration success in the South Lokichar Basin at the Amosing, Twiga, Etuko,
Ekales-1, Agete, Ewoi, Ekunyuk, Etom, Erut and Emekuya oil accumulations.
being pollution. These petroleum pollutions affect the environment in many different ways
hence need to be controlled Through its own operations, the petroleum industry directly
contributed about 8% (2.7 BT) of the 32.8 BT year 2017 total of CO2 from fossil fuels. Also,
due to its intentional and other releases of natural gas, the industry directly contributed at
least 79 Million Tons of methane (2.4 BT CO2-equivalent) that same year; an amount equal
to about 14% of all known anthropogenic and natural emissions of the potent warming
gas. Since the industrial age began circa 1750–1850 with growing wood and coal use,
the atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide and methane have increased about 50% and
150%, respectively, above their relatively stable levels of the prior 800,000+ years. Each is
currently increasing at a rate of about 1% every year, since about half of the added carbon is
absorbed by the world's oceans. The acceleration is also so rapid that half of all emissions and
buildup have occurred over just the past 30 years. toxic and non-toxic waste are generated
oil can pollute air, water, and soil at levels that are harmful to life where improperly
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enhanced by the industry's emissions of greenhouse gases like methane and micro-
particulate aerosols like black carbon.
1.4 Objective
The objective of this original research is
How to treat petroleum waste and controlling of pollution in the petroleum sector by
To also summarize studies and investigations and show a brief details of different
iii) Lack of personnel that could give accurate information on effects of air emissions.
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CHAPTER TWO
2.0 Literature review
A number of scholars have contributed to the discourse of petroleum waste treatment and
pollution control. This part analyses the various literature materials relevant to the topic of
study. It is however important to note from the onset that environmental regulations is a
relatively new approach to waste and pollution control with most environmental legislations
having been passed in the past 20-30 years with Kenya being recently. There is also a
substantial contribution of natural and physical sources to pollution. Clearly, even if natural
source exceeds artificial sources, the adverse effects might result largely from artificial
2.1 POLICY
Shahryar Jafarijad, in his book “petroleum waste treatment and pollution control” he talked
about the different methods of mitigating the air, water and land pollution in the petroleum
industry
Hesham Idly in his paper titled “sustainability and development resources industrial ecology
combined with appropriate policy initiative not only improve the environmental management
of used oil.
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University of Malaysia, came up with a method of how to turn air pollutants into hydrogen
fuel. Controlled containment air by use of an instrument which turned the polluted air into
pump and treat, soil flushing, soil vapor extraction, bioremediation and exaction especially in
soil pollution.
CHAPTER THREE
Research design and Methodology
3.1 Introduction
Methodology refers to the methods used by the researcher to collect data from the center of
study. This is where clear explanation is given on how the study was undertaken in the
industry.
A number of methods for studying the treatment of oily wastewater and solid waste
interviews with different engineers on their view on various aspect on waste oil management.
This will give well descriptive insight on the industry with regards to petroleum waste
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Observation
This is the classic scientific enquiry method of collecting data in which the researcher
services the event in question, either directly or through intermediary devices. The researcher
Interviews
I extremely used this research method. It was orally and face to face. I got to ask engineers
and the supervisors questions related to the petroleum waste treatment and pollution control
Questionnaires
This refers to the form prepared and distributed to ensure responses to certain question. They
were drafled from the aims and objectives of study, several copies were made and distributed
3.5 Conclusion
The method used in this research was; questionnaires, interviews and observation.
in Kenya and other countries. This will also include the use of internet and journals.
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CHAPTER FOUR
4.0 Data analysis presentation and interpretation
This is the arrangement and presentation of data that was collected during research study. The
analysis and interpretation of the data collected will be presented by use of bar graphs, pie
Air pollution is the presence of substances in the atmosphere that are harmful to the health of
humans and other living beings, or cause damage to the climate or to materials. There are
different types of air pollutants produced by Tullow company, such as gases (such as
chlorofluorocarbons), particulates (both organic and inorganic), and biological molecules. Air
pollution may cause diseases, allergies and even death to humans; it may also cause harm to
other living organisms such as animals and food crops, and may damage the natural or built
environment. Both human activity and natural processes can generate air pollution.
Air quality monitoring means the systematic measurement of ambient air pollutants in order
to be able to assess the exposure of vulnerable receptors (e.g., people, animals, plants and art
works) on the basis of standards and guidelines derived from observed effects, and/or to
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4.3 Steps in selecting pollution control at Tullow oil
completing 300 wells that was scheduled in the year 2018 by the year 2025. And the
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4.5Greenhouse gas emissions
Tullow’s total Scope 1 emissions in 2019 were 1.26 million tons of CO² e (2018: 1.22
million tons) a 3.7 per cent increase on 2018, mainly due to drilling campaigns with the
Sterna Forth and Maersk Venture rig and also due to seismic and exploration activity in
Guyana and The Comoros, and the Early Oil Pilot Scheme in Kenya. Despite this increase we
realized a 3.6 per cent reduction in emissions intensity relative to production, from 139 tones
(2018) to 134 tones (2019) of CO2 e per 1,000 tons of hydrocarbon produced.
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
CO2 is part of the gases emitted in the petroleum industry. It is harmful to the lungs but the
research shows that the CO2 produced by tallow company has reduced exponentially over the
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air pollutants
CO2
CO
Nox
SO2
As shown in the pie chart CO2 is the most produced of all the pollutants by the petroleum
industry. This is followed by SO2 which comes second on the list. CO and nitrogen oxide
Technological controls are defined here as the hardware put on an emission source to reduce
contaminants in the gas stream to a level that is acceptable to the community and that will
protect the most sensitive target. Administrative controls are defined here as other control
measures
1. Administrative control
In addition to the technological systems, there is another group of controls that must be
considered in the overall design of an air pollution control system. For the large part, they
Substitution
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One of the preferred occupational hygiene methods for controlling environmental hazards in
the workplace is to substitute a safer material or process. If a safer process or material can be
used, and harmful emissions avoided, the type or efficacy of controls becomes academic. It is
better to avoid the problem than it is to try to correct a bad first decision. Examples of
substitution include the use of cleaner fuels, covers for bulk storage and reduced temperatures
in dryers.
Local ventilation
Controls are required for all the identified problems that cannot be avoided by substituting
safer materials or methods. Emissions start at the individual worksite, not the stack. A
ventilation system that captures and controls emissions at the source will help protect the
community if it is properly designed. The hoods and ducts of the ventilation system are part
Isolation
Isolation - locating the plant away from susceptible targets - can be a major control method
when engineering controls are inadequate by themselves. This may be the only means of
achieving an acceptable level of control when best available control technology (BACT) must
be relied on. If, after applying the best available controls, a target group is still at risk,
consideration must be given to finding an alternate site where sensitive populations are not
present.
Work procedures
Work procedures must be developed to ensure that equipment is used properly and safely,
without risk to workers or the environment. Complex air pollution systems must be properly
maintained and operated if they are to do their job as intended. An important factor in this is
staff training. Staff must be trained in how to use and maintain the equipment to reduce or
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eliminate the amount of hazardous materials emitted to the workplace or the community. In
A system based on real time monitoring is not popular, and is not commonly used. In this
case, continuous emission and meteorological monitoring can be combined with dispersion
modelling to predict downwind exposures. When the predicted exposures approach the
acceptable levels, the information is used to reduce production rates and emissions. This is an
inefficient method, but may be an acceptable interim control method for an existing facility.
in all international locations where we operate. This also includes air pollution. In September,
senior management held a global safety event, which took place in 16 locations across 10
countries, to raise awareness and reinforce a positive safety culture. The safety event
comprised of a review of the new IOGP Life-Saving Rules and an examination of how their
recorded in 2019. According to the research, Tullow has curbed 70% of its air pollution since
its operation began and are continuing to find more pollution control measures.
pieces of particulate matter. This prevents finer filtration methods from having to deal with
large, more abrasive particles later on. In addition, several cyclone separators can operate in
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It is important to note that cyclones can vary drastically in their size. The size of the cyclone
depends largely on how much flue gas must be filtered, thus larger operations tend to need
larger cyclones. For example, several different models of one cyclone type can exist, and the
sizes can range from a relatively small 1.2-1.5 meters tall (about 4-5 feet) to around 9 meters
How It Works
Cyclone separators work much like a centrifuge, but with a continuous feed of dirty air. In a
cyclone separator, dirty flue gas is fed into a chamber. The inside of the chamber creates a
spiral vortex, similar to a tornado. The lighter components of this gas have less inertia, so it is
easier for them to be influenced by the vortex and travel up it. Contrarily, larger components
of particulate matter have more inertia and are not as easily influenced by the vortex.
Since these larger particles have difficulty following the high-speed spiral motion of the gas
and the vortex, the particles hit the inside walls of the container and drop down into a
collection hopper. These chambers are shaped like an upside-down cone to promote the
collection of these particles at the bottom of the container. The cleaned flue gas escapes out
Most cyclones are built to control and remove particulate matter that is larger than 10
to be effective on particles as small as 2.5 micrometers. As well, these separators are not
effective on extremely large particulate matter. For particulates around 200 micrometers in
Out of all of the particulate-control devices, cyclone separators are among the least
expensive. They are often used as a pre-treatment before the flue gas enters more effective
pollution control devices. Therefore, cyclone separators can be seen as "rough separators"
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Effectiveness
Cyclone separators are generally able to remove somewhere between 50-99% of all
particulate matter in flue gas. How well the cyclone separators are actually able to remove
this matter depends largely on particle size. If there is a large amount of lighter particulate
matter, less of these par0ticles are able to be separated out. Because of this, cyclone
separators work best on flue gases that contain large amounts of big particulate matter.
There are several advantages and disadvantages in using cyclone separators. First, cyclone
separators are beneficial because they are not expensive to install or maintain, and they have
no moving parts. This keeps maintenance and operating costs low. Second, the removed
particulate matter is collected when dry, which makes it easier to dispose of. Finally, these
units take up very little space. Although effective, there are also disadvantages in using
cyclone separators. Mainly because the standard models are not able to collect particulate
matter that is smaller than 10 micrometers effectively and the machines are unable to handle
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CHAPTER FIVE
5.0. Summary of major findings, conclusions and recommendation
This is the summary of the whole study as well as the recommendations on how to improve
According to the research carried out there where trained personnel for the to carry out
The researcher found out that there are legal framework and policies that govern pollution
5.2 Conclusion
The industry has demonstrated its sincere interest in abating and controlling air pollution by
substantial reductions of its own refinery emissions by large expenditures on research and
control, and by its continued cooperation with government at all levels and representatives of
other industries. The oil industry will continue to support research, related to its products and
operations, that is considered important to understanding and solving air pollution problems
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and will also support any sound legislation that will lead in that direction. The industry
believes that if new legislation is considered necessary for control of atmospheric pollution it
should be based on scientific information rather than on unproved theory or opinion. Because
of the unique topographical and meteorological conditions in Turkana county, unusual steps
have been taken to control refinery emissions in that area. Such controls, requiring huge
expenditures, are not necessarily warranted in other communities. This oil industry report
discusses the air pollution problems of petroleum refineries and the control methods being
used; when new problems arise, the industry has well qualified technical committees ready to
cope with them. Where the public is affected, representatives of both industry and control
agencies should discuss the problem to arrive at a solution mutually satisfactory to all parties
concerned. On many occasions control people have been invited to visit refineries, discuss
problems and to see at first hand the progress made in control of emissions. The value of this
5.3 Recommendation
These refer to the observation made by the researcher in the industry for a better
improvement.
ii) The company should give free medical services for pollution related issue.
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Reference
Bethea, R. M. 1978. Air Pollution Control Technology. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold.
McIlvaine Company. 1974. The Wet Scrubber Handbook. Northbrook, IL: McIlvaine
Company.
Richards, J. R. 1995. Control of Gaseous Emissions. (APTI Course 415). U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. 1969. Control Techniques for Particulate Air
Pollutants. AP-51.
Toxics Through ARET. Hull, Quebec: Environment Canada’s Public Enquiry Office.
Bishop, PL. 1983. Marine Pollution and Its Control. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Brown, LC and TO Barnwell. 1987. Enhanced Stream Water Quality Models QUAL2E and
Research Lab.
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Brown, RH. 1993. Pure ApplChem 65(8):1859-1874.
Calabrese, EJ and EM Kenyon. 1991. Air Toxics and Risk Assessment. Chelsea, Mich:
Lewis.
Public Health Service Publication No. 654. Proceeding. National Conference on Air
American Petroleum Institute, Glossary of Terms Used in Petroleum Refining, New York,
Public Healt li Service Publication No. 763, Atmospheric Emissions from Petroleum
Printing Office.
APPENDIX
QUESTIONNAIRE
SECTION ONE: GENERAL INFORMATION
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