College of Chemical Engineering, China University of Petroleum (East China) , Qingdao, People's Republic of China.
J Air Waste Manag Assoc. 2020 Sep;70(9):862-875. doi: 10.1080/10962247.2020.1772407. Epub 2020 Jul 20.
Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) contribute to the formation of ground-level ozone. This causes the phenomena of haze and photochemical smog pollution. Recently, the leak detection and repair (LDAR) program was required to implement in China's petroleum industry on the background of the huge emissions from equipment leaks. This paper analyzed and compared the application of LDAR program in four petroleum refineries and six typical processing units in these refineries. The results showed that non-flanged connectors, flanges, valves, and open-ended lines were the most common components, which accounted for over 99% in these refineries. And over half were non-flanged connectors. About 0.2% to 0.4% of all components were found to leak and emitted up to 91.8% of VOCs, especially the leaking valves and open-ended lines. And over 88.5% of VOC emissions were from high leaking components. The VOC emissions reduced 42% to 57% by repairing 42% to 81% of leaking components. And 90% of the reduction was achieved by repairing high leaking components. Besides, under the same processing capacity, the gas fractionation unit and continuous catalytic reforming unit have a higher average number of components, leaking components and VOC emissions than the other four units. Finally, this paper proposed some problems and suggestions during the implementation of LDAR program. These findings can enhance and improve the effectiveness of LDAR program, and establish a comprehensive VOCs control system, which provides a scientific basis and technical support for the government and refineries. Recently, China required industries to implement leak detection and repair (LDAR) program to control volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions, especially the petroleum industry. In this paper, we analyzed and compared the LDAR program implementation in four refineries and six typical processing units in these refineries. The results indicate that the implementation of LDAR program was highly effective in petroleum industry. The comparison helps us to enhance the effectiveness of LDAR program by locating the high VOC emission components and units, which provides technical support for the government and refineries in developing specific regulations and plans.
挥发性有机化合物 (VOC) 是形成地面臭氧的原因之一。这导致了雾霾和光化学烟雾污染等现象。最近，在中国设备泄漏巨大排放的背景下，要求实施泄漏检测与修复 (LDAR) 计划。本文分析比较了四家炼油厂和其中六家典型加工装置的 LDAR 计划应用情况。结果表明，在这些炼油厂中，无法兰连接件、法兰、阀门和开口线是最常见的部件，占比超过 99%，其中超过一半是无法兰连接件。大约 0.2%到 0.4%的部件被发现泄漏，排放了高达 91.8%的 VOC，特别是泄漏的阀门和开口线。超过 88.5%的 VOC 排放来自高泄漏部件。通过修复 42%至 81%的泄漏部件，VOC 排放量减少了 42%至 57%。而 90%的减排量是通过修复高泄漏部件实现的。此外，在相同的加工能力下，气体分馏装置和连续催化重整装置的部件数量、泄漏部件数量和 VOC 排放量均高于其他四个装置。最后，本文提出了在 LDAR 计划实施过程中存在的一些问题和建议。这些发现可以增强和提高 LDAR 计划的有效性，并建立一个全面的 VOC 控制系统，为政府和炼油厂提供科学依据和技术支持。
