Heavy Oil Management Technology and Best Practices
SNC Lavalin
July 4, 2016
Executive Summary
The Environment & Geoscience business unit of SNC-Lavalin Inc. (SNC-Lavalin) was retained by PTAC to conduct a study and provide industry with tools to minimize or eliminate odours resulting from emissions by providing a review of technologies and operational practices. Presented in this report includes a summary of mitigation technologies and a best management practice guide for operations.
The project scope of this report included: Odour Overview (TASK 1), Description of Technologies (TASK 2), Selection Factors (TASK 3), and Facility Best Management Practice (TASK 4). As such, the report is organized into the following sections:
- Introduction. This provides more information on the project scope, the definition of odour, and current regulatory requirements on odour control in Canada.
- Background. Describes the motivation behind preparing this report.
- Overview of Odours from Heavy Oil Processes. Provides a summary of odours as related to heavy oil processes and what are the common processes that contribute to odour problems.
- Air Pollution Control for the Abatement of Odorous Emissions. Lists technologies and techniques that can treat odorous emissions in heavy oil industries.
- Facility Best Management Practice (BMP). Provides recommendations to treat odorous emissions during normal, upset, and operation and maintenance conditions.
SNC-Lavalin’s review and analysis drew the following conclusions:
- Major odour-causing emitters during heavy oil operations include reduced sulphur compounds (RSCs) and some volatile organic compounds (VOCs).
- Major sources of odour emissions include (from highest to lowest): battery facilities (which includes storage tanks), wellheads, produced water systems, transportation, loading/offloading, piping components, boilers, flares, heaters, turbine generators, waste stockpiles.
- Technologies and techniques will vary depending if it is a fugitive, point, or area source emissions.
- Selection criteria for point/vented source emissions are dependent on multiple variables, which include pollutant concentration, size (volume) and its constituents.
- SNC-Lavalin provided an exercise on numeric scoring for technologies to use on point source emissions. Based on the exercise, the following technologies are recommended, from most preferable to least preferable: Adsorption >> Absorption > Biotreatment > Non-Thermal Oxidation Processes > Incineration >> Condensation.
- A BMP for the management of odorous emissions is provided and it includes management of: material quality, process parameters, fugitive emissions, tanks and vessels, buildings, vented emissions using odour control technologies, transportation and loading/unloading, produced water systems and stockpiles, separation distances/buffer zones, maintenance, housekeeping, and training.
Main Body of Report
Technical Appendices
Full Report
Best Management Practices
# 15-ARPC-08