Oil refineries are a major source of pollution. They process crude oil into useful products but also create various types of pollution. Refining involves four basic steps - desalting, separation, conversion, and blending. While refineries provide important products, they pollute the air with harmful gases, water through disposal of waste and leaks, and cause high noise levels. This pollution poses serious risks to human and environmental health. Citizens and the government must work together to increase oversight of refineries and minimize their pollution impacts.

1. FOUNDATION COURSE
Professor Sheetal Desai

2. OIL REFINERIES
MAJOR SOURCE OF
POLLUTION

3. We would like to thank respected
Professor Sheetal Desai for giving us an
opportunity to present our views on
pollution by Oil Refineries and creating
an awareness amongst the students
through the medium of this project.

4. ROLL NO. NAMES
129 Sneha Kulkarni
130 Falguni Lahera
131 Charmy Lapasia
132 Riddhi Majithia
133 Khushboo Makwana
134 Pooja Makwana
135 Jay Marvania

6.  An oil refinery is an industrial process
plant where the heavy crude oil which is
taken out of the ground is turned into
useful products like petroleum, naphtha
etc.
 On one hand, they provide one of the
building blocks of modern life, but on the
other hand, they create all kinds of
pollution.
Crude Oil Processing Useful Products

8.  Refining is the process of converting crude oil
and gas into other, more useful chemicals.
There are four basic steps in refining…
1. Desalting- Remove salt and Impurities
2. Separation- Separate into different products
3. Conversion- Modifying the composition
4. Blending- Mix different materials to get a
specific product
Crude Oil Refining = D+S+C+B
Useful
Products

9. Crude oil= complex mixture of hydrocarbon, water,
salt etc.
First it is cleaned and separated
Then it is changed from one type of molecule to
another to improve its properties
Later different products are blended together to
meet specific requirements
This Blended mixture reaches us as gasoline, diesel,
lubricants etc.

10. Pump Jack- Pulling Crude oil out of the ground

11.  Crude Oil = Unprocessed Oil
 Another name “PETROLEUM”
 Starting point of many products. Why?
They contain „Hydrocarbons‟
 What is Hydrocarbon?
These are molecules of Hydrogen and Carbon
 They come in various lengths and structures
like straight chain, branching chain and rings.

13.  Oil Refineries pollute air, water, soil and
noise. All refineries pollute the
environment at unacceptable and
unhealthy levels
 Air- Harmful gases emitted by burning
crude oil released in air
 Water- Water used for cooling and oil
leaks are disposed in water
 Noise- Improper maintenance of
machines cause huge amounts of noise

14. Pollution from oil refineries near Taj Mahal is
turning the white monument into yellow stone
BEFORE AFTER

15.  The industries are mostly situated along
the riverbanks for easy availability of
water and also disposal of the wastes
like acids, alkalis, dyes and other
chemicals.
 This results in…
 Change in pH of water
 Mass of white foam in rivers
 Heating up of the water
 Reduction in oxygen, thermal pollution

16. Waste water from
Refineries
Dead fishes- result
of pollution from
refineries

17.  When crude oil or coal is heated at the
refinery, the sulphur is converted into a
gas called sulphur dioxide. It is
accompanied many other harmful
chemicals in smaller quantities.
 Oil refineries cause pollution due to…
• Higher levels of SO2 by low quality oil
• Accidental fires, explosions and gas leaks
• Extensive hydrocarbon and particulate
pollution

18. Regular emission of
harmful gases
Accidental Fires or
Explosions

19.  Arabian sea polluted regularly by refineries
 Reason is heavy imports leading which often
cause oil spill, leaks etc.
 Refineries often dispose small amounts of oil
and harmful untreated water at regular basis.
 As a result, tar balls on the coast of the sea
are a common problem.

20. Gases emitted by Refineries
Respiratory problems like asthma,
chest pain, bronchitis etc.
Other health problems like skin
irritation, nausea, leukemia, cancer etc.
High levels of SO2 can cause nausea, throat
irritation. Headaches and even death.
Daily exposure to SO2 causes narrowing
of air passage in throat, worsen asthma
and provoke asthma attacks.
Gases mix with moisture in the
air and later result in Acid
Rains which harm the ecology

21. Eutrophication and
Thermal pollution
Sewage  Algal Bloom  Demand
for oxygen Depletion for oxygen
Oil leaks and waste water
damage the aquatic creatures to
a large extent.
Water released by refineries is
harmful and is consumed by many
fishes in the water bodies. These
fishes when consumed by humans
cause diseases.
Waste water released by Refineries

24.  Oil Spill= Release of liquid petroleum
hydrocarbon in the environment due to
human activity.
 Marine or on Land
 Different reasons
 Has a huge impact on environment
 Clean up may take weeks, months or years

25. Reasons for Spills
Spills while DrillingDamaged tankers

26. General Impacts of Oil Spill
Suffocation and Poisoning
Blinds the creatures
Damage to Mangroves
MOUSSE (Deadly Fevistick)
Tar balls and oily Residue
Reduced Photosynthesis
and oxygen absorption
Hypothermia

29. Impacts on Flora and Fauna in Sea
Flight loss and oil consumption by birds
Food chain imbalance by harming small organisms
Hypothermic death of otters
Kills the Killer
Prevents gaseous exchange
Damage to the breeding grounds of creatures like turtle

31. Clean up of an
Oil Spill
Leave is alone
to settle down
Contain it with
booms and
collect using
skimmer
equipments
Use
Dispersants to
break-up oil
and speed its
degradation
Introduce
biological
agents to the
spill to
degrade it

33. Role of Government and the Citizens
 The Government has laid down certain rules for the refineries which
include installment of waste water treatment plants, Acid clay
process, Vacuum Distillation etc.
 The Government is also coming up with contingency plans for
prevention of oil spills in the coming years of the country‟s
development.
 Regular environment audit is taken up by the government officials in
order to be updated with the activities of the refineries.
 The people need to be aware about the impacts of oil refineries
 They can use their rights in order to know the plans of the
government and also to check whether the refineries are following
the same or not.