$200,000 Saved Per Day at a Refinery with BioRemove HC and BioRemove COD

Background

Refineries processing offshore crude oil often encounter challenges in their aeration basins due to the presence of toxic or inhibitory compounds. These can impair microbial health, resulting in poor floc formation, reduced dissolved oxygen levels, and compromised clarifier performance, ultimately threatening regulatory compliance and potentially limiting production capacity.

A petroleum refinery receives oil from a rig located approximately 3 miles away from the facility. As the crude oil is brought into the plant for refinement, the excess water is sent to an anerobic filter system prior to entering the conventional activated sludge system. Oil and grease levels in the anaerobic filter are closely monitored. Typical flow through the plant is 1,800 gallons per minute (gpm). However, if the oil and grease levels in their effluent exceed the permitted limit, resulting in a loss of at least $200,000 per day. Therefore, the plant must handle all production flows correctly to achieve the maximum earnings per year.

The petroleum refinery contacted EnviroZyme looking for a more cost-effective solution. The aeration basin had problems maintaining an active microbial community above 1,800 mg/L MLSS with a volatile fraction of over 70%. This was primarily due to poor floc formation, low DO, and clarifier performance. If the system were to drop below that range, effluent hydrocarbon levels would exceed the permitted limit, and the system would have to slow down production. The refinery was using various chemical additives which did not meet its required specifications.

Application

To treat the root cause of the refinery’s problem, it was decided not only to treat the hydrocarbon directly with BioRemove HC (50 lb./day), but also to use BioRemove COD (50 lb./day) to build floc, maintain a microbial community near 4,000 mg/L MLSS, and optimize refinery performance. During the initial treatment phase, BioRemove HC and BioRemove COD were added to the aeration basins every 12 hours.

To maintain these improvements, product application is no longer daily but occurs only when MLSS levels drop to around 2,000 mg/L. If hydrocarbon levels spike, the daily dosage will be increased to up to 400 lb./day (200 lb./product) to quickly restore treatment performance.

Results

After implementing the recommendation, the refinery saw immediate benefits and has been able to operate without slowing down production for the past 4 years.

Conclusion

By using advanced beneficial microorganisms, the refinery was able to maximize plant efficiency in order to better handle the microbial community in its aeration basin. This reduced operating costs by minimizing the risk of permit violations, and it simplified operations by avoiding high levels of oils and grease.

• Lowered operating costs by minimizing the risk of permit violations
• Improved plant efficiency, averting the loss of $200,000 per day
• Simplified operations by reducing the need for various chemical additives