Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle: The Last Modem Tool To Solve AirPollution Coming From Crude Oil Refining

Main goals of refining process of crude oil are the increasing of output of the more valuable light products and the cutting of heavy ones. The utilization of heavy products cause air pollution indeed in terms of inlet into atmosphere f pollutants as SO,, NO,, PM, and Metals (Ni and Va). To achieve the goals IsabErg Oil Refinery has built the plant, so called "Integrated Gasification Combined Cicle" (IGCC), able to turn the polluting heavy residue of refining process both in electric power and in not polluting commercial products. Aim of paper is to show how much air pollution coming from crude oil refining has been reduced with utilisation of IGCC 1 The loop of process Fig. l shows the "Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle" (IGCC). Fig. 2 is a general scheme showing the sources of feeding for the IGCC. The heavy residue coming from "Topping" passes through "Vacuum" , than through "Visbreacker" and, finally in "Vacuum Flash". In each of previously steeps, by distillation technics, people draw out further residues of light oils and concentrates more and more the heavy products until in the "Vacuum Flash" (about 270 t/h at 253 "K of feeding) the bottom matter is made quite completely of "asphalteni" (TAR).Finally TAR passes through the "Solvent De Asphalting Unit7'( SDA) where the residual light oil are drawing out by technics utilizing "chemical structure" of TAR (fig.3). lnfact both paraffin and naphtenic hydrocarbons are separated by asphalt ones by means of selective solvent Transactions on Ecology and the Environment vol 66, © 2003 WIT Press, www.witpress.com, ISSN 1743-3541