Chemicals used in waste water treatment in refinery industry

Industrial processes bring environmental responsibilities. There is an increasing global focus on

the environmental impacts of refineries and petrochemical plants. Minimization of waste and the
implementation of effective waste treatment technologies are required by new tightened
legislations and higher quality standards. Refineries can generate a significant amount of
wastewater that has been in contact with hydrocarbons. Wastewater can also include water
rejected from boiler feed water pretreatment processes, cooling tower blow down stream, or even
once-through cooling water that leaves the refinery. Water that has not been in direct contact
with hydrocarbons or which has only minimal contamination can be a source for reuse.
Wastewater can sometimes also be reused after passing through the wastewater treatment plant,
sometimes requiring additional treatment to remove suspended solids and other contaminants.

In wastewater treatment, chemicals are used in an array of processes to expedite

disinfection. These chemical processes are used to improve the water quality, the systems and
finished product quality. Different company or plant will used different kinds of chemicals.
There are some example of chemical that can be used in the wastewater treatment, such as
antifoam, scale and corrosion inhibitor, oxygen scavengers and methanol. The existence of foam
presents serious problems in both the operation of industrial processes and the quality of finished
products. The foam can reduce the capacity of equipment; increase the duration and costs of
processes. Therefore, antifoam is used to prevent foam forming during the effluent treatment
without damaging micro-organism used.

The unwanted formation of scale and detrimental impact of metallic corrosion can be
significant issues that affect the operation and maintenance of closed circuit water systems. In
order to ensure that such closed circuit systems are well maintained and operate at optimum
efficiency, it is essential that the correct water conditions are maintained at all times and it can be
achieved by using scale and corrosion inhibitors. Scale and corrosion inhibitors used to protect

closed loop systems and low pressure heating systems from the effects of both scale formation
and metallic corrosion.

Oxygen scavenging means preventing oxygen from introducing oxidation reactions. Most
of the naturally occurring organics have a slightly negative charge. Due to that they can absorb
oxygen molecules, because these carry a slightly positive charge to prevent oxidation reactions
from taking place in water and other liquids. Oxygen scavenger also used to removes dissolved
oxygen. As for methanol, it is used as solvent and as antifreeze in pipelines and windshield
washer fluid. It also provide food source of carbon for denitrifying bacteria.

In many refineries, the wastewater plants are fairly old, often having been constructed
more than 20 years ago. But nowadays, the increased stringency of laws in many countries
confronts operators of these plants with new challenges. It is important to optimize the
performance of wastewater treatment plants in order to ensure their reliable and economical
operation. A wide range of powerful chemicals used in wastewater treatment plants allow
operators to boost the wastewater plant performance and to achieve optimum clarification and
purification.