4 Museum National d’Histoire Naturelle, CNRS UMR 5176, 4 avenue du Petit Château, 5 91 800 Brunoy, France 6 7 Abstract 8 9 We analysed by an optical method (the small volume method) the composition 10 and the vertical distribution of an organic soil which accumulated over an old petroleum 11 tar deposit. The study site was an oil refinery now colonised by woody vegetation since 12 the time of a...

This paper introduces a novel modeling and statistical framework (based on Bayesian theory) that utilizes extensive distributed control system and emergency shutdown databases, to perform thorough risk and vulnerability assessment of chemical/petrochemical plants. Quality variables are utilized, in addition to safety (or process) variables, to enhance both process safety and product quality. To...

Fluid Catalytic Cracking (FCC) is a major refinery process designed to upgrade heavy and less valuable petroleum products to gasoline and lighter products. The feedstock for the FCC process ranges from light gas oils to heavy hydro-treated resids. The complexity of the feedstock, and the associated analytical chemistry and computational obstacles, helped shape early FCC modeling approaches (2.3...

Pipelines carry different types of petroleum products from production areas to long-distance terminals. This paper introduces a novel Mixed Integer Linear Programming (MILP) based on a continuous time representation for scheduling a multi-product pipeline system connecting a unique refinery to several distribution centers where the mid-terminals are able to both inject product into the pipeline...

This study investigated the microbial degradation of (14)C-labelled hexadecane, octacosane, phenanthrene and pyrene and considered how degradation might be optimised in three genuinely hydrocarbon-contaminated soils from former petroleum refinery sites. Hydrocarbon mineralisation by the indigenous microbial community was monitored over 23 d. Hydrocarbon mineralisation enhancement by nutrient am...

Biological markers are organic compounds in geological samples with an unambiguous link to specific precursor molecules in living organisms. They provide information on the origin and depositional environment of fossil organic matter as well as about its thermal maturation caused by geothermal heat flow during burial. Petroleum and its refinery products carry this biomarker information into the...

Gasification technologies meeting the definition proposed by the GTC offer an alternative process for the recovery and recycling of low-value, secondary materials by producing a more valuable commodity – syngas. The multiple uses of syngas (power production, chemicals, methanol, etc.) and the availability of gas clean-up technologies common to the petroleum refining industry make gasification o...

Crude oil is one of the most important natural assets for humankind, yet it is a major environmental pollutant, notably in marine environments. One of the largest crude oil polluted areas in the word is the semi-enclosed Mediterranean Sea, in which the metabolic potential of indigenous microbial populations towards the large-scale chronic pollution is yet to be defined, particularly in anaerobi...

The repeat-dose and developmental toxicities of certain petroleum refinery streams are related to their polycyclic aromatic compound (PAC) content (Feuston et al., 1994). Building on this foundation, and working within the context of the US EPA High Production Volume (HPV) Chemical Challenge Program, we: (1) characterized relationships between PAC content and repeat-dose and developmental toxic...

CO2 per year by 2030 [1]. Petroleum-based materials and chemical have been replaced by biological-based materials and chemicals with environmental advantages such as sustainability and biodegradability [2, 3]. One of these petroleum based-chemicals is the short chain carboxylic acids or volatile fatty acids (VFA). VFA are carboxylic acids with a carbon chain between 2 and 7 carbons [acetic (2),...