CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION
Petrochemical industries are among the most important industries
exposed to great developments as a result of increasing demand
for petrochemical products during the last few years (Mirbagheri
et al., 2010). However, extensive use of these products has led to
the increase in the pollution of almost all environmental
resources (Shokrollahzadeh et al., 2008).
Large amount of wastewater is produced from petrochemical
processes like desalting, hydrocracking, hydroskimming, and
vapour condensate (Tobiszewski et
al., 2012). Consequently, a wide variety of pollutants including
refractory organics are usually encountered in petrochemical
wastewater. These organics are highly toxic and inhibitory to
microbial activity (Guo et al., 2009). This kind of wastewater is
characterized by high chemical and biological oxygen demand
(COD and BOD), large amounts of suspended particulate matter,
oil and grease,
ammonia and sulphides (Diyaudeen et al., 2011).

The pollutants is particularly often given serious attentions

because of its significant negative effects on the environment
because If these wastewaters are not efficiently treated, the large
amounts of organic matter and nutrients present in the effluent
will lead to severe impacts on the aquatic ecosystem, such as
eutrophication and the release of toxic pollutants (chlorinated
compounds, resin acids, phenols).
The traditional treatment of the wastewater effluents from the
refinery and petrochemical plants are usually based on the
mechanical, physicochemical and biological methods. A typical
wastewater treatment system for petrochemical refineries may
include
separation

neutralization,
process,

coagulation/flocculation,

oil-water

floatation/sedimentation/filtration,

clarification and biodegradation (e.g., trickling filter, anaerobic

treatment, aerated lagoon, rotating biological contactor and
activated sludge). A final polishing step using filtration, ozonation,
activated carbon, or chemical treatment may also be required.
Therefore, it is obligatory for the engineers to perform different
experiments to study the properties of wastewater so as to design
or develop a wastewater treatment plant. With the increasing

prices of electricity, equipment and labor, it is getting difficult to

perform experiments for each method. Scientists and engineers
are working on different programs and software packages to avoid
high costs caused by performing experiments and to reduce time.
Various types of software and computer programs are available in
the market, which can be used for simulation of a wastewater
treatment plant. Aspen Plus is one of those programs which can
be used to simulate a wastewater treatment plant.
SCOPE OF WORK

AIMS/OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

Chapter 2
LITERATURE REVIEW

Use of water in industries

Water is, literally, the source of life. About 70 percent of the earth
is water, but only one percent (1%) is accessible surface
freshwater. The one percent (1%) surface fresh water is regularly
renewed by rainfall and other means and thus available on a
sustainable basis and easily considered accessible for human use.

Water is the main component which is used in all type of the

Industries. Water is used for different processes in the industries. It
may be used for washing, dilution, formation and condensing the
steam. But all water used in the different industry is not totally
consumed. Generally, almost all the industries generate waste
water that needs urgent attention.

Water use in industry is a

double-edged sword. On one hand it puts immense pressure on local

water resources. On the other, wastewater discharged from the
industry pollutes the local environment. Water is required, often in
large volumes, by industries as process inputs in most industries. In
other cases, like food and beverage and chloro-alkali industry, water
is used as a raw material: turned into a manufactured product and
exported out of the local water system. However, in most industries
it is essentially used as input and mass and heat transfer media. In
these industries a very small fraction of water is actually consumed
and lost. Most of the water is actually meant for non-consumptive
process uses and is ultimately discharged as Effluent.
The water demand is up to 3m 3 for every ton of petroleum
processed (US EPA 1982). Almost 55% of this quantity is used in
cooling systems, 16% in boiling systems, 19% in production

processes and 10% in auxiliary operations. The quantity of the

wastewater generated in the refineries is almost 50% of the used
raw water (US EPA 1982).
PETROCHEMICAL WASTEWATER

Petrochemical refinery industries result in the production of

significant quantities of wastewater from several processes
including desalting, vacuum distillation, hydrocracking, catalytic
cracking,

catalytic

formation,

reforming,

condensing

the

alkylation,

steam

etc

washing,

(M.

Al

dilution,

Zarooni,

W.

Elshorbagy).
Petrochemical wastewater is considered to be complex and hard
to treat among the industrial wastewaters. The characteristics of
petrochemical industry wastewater are highly industry specific i.e.
the

petrochemical

product

manufactured

at

the

plant.

Petrochemical plants are in the business of developing substances

such as hydrogen, carbon monoxide, synthesis gases, chemicals
such as ethylene and its derivatives, benzene and toluene to
name a few.

Such wastewater usually contains three phases of pollutants viz.

solids and colloids, immiscible (oil and grease) and soluble
(organic and inorganic).
Petrochemical wastewater is usually characterized by significant
concentrations of suspended solids, chemical oxygen demand
(COD), oil and grease, sulphide, ammonia, phenols, hydrocarbons,
benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, xylene and polycyclic aromatic
hydrocarbons (PAHs).