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.