BORL strongly believes that health, safety and environmental performances are an integral part of the refining business and accordingly commit themselves to carry out all activities connected with refining, storage, dispatch with the highest concern for preservation of the Environment and Safety & Health of all concerned.
We ensure compliance of all stipulations as encoded in Statutes, applicable codes of practices and relevant guidelines, MINAS, OISD standards etc. apart from its own policies & manuals.
We have adopted safe and eco-friendly technology, sound design and engineering practices, and strive to improve upon them continually by setting objectives and reviewing the performance of the systems in line with the changing needs.
Environment Impact Assessment Study done by NEERI
Refinery - The EIA work by NEERI indicates that all types of emissions from the Refinery (gas, liquid, noise etc.) will be well within the limits stipulated under different Indian environmental emission standards and by various Government / Statutory authorities.
PM / COT - Comprehensive EIA study for the SPM /COT facilities along with their interconnecting pipeline has been carried out by NEERI. Based on the study, it is found that fugitive emissions from crude oil tanks at COT will be well within acceptable standards.
Vadinar Bina Pipeline (VBPL) - Comprehensive EIA studies have been carried out by NEERI for VBPL. Through the use of remote sensing data and field visits, the route of the VBPL has been studied from environmental considerations for the impact on water bodies, forests, human inhabitants etc. and it is found that the pipeline route is environmentally acceptable.
Environmental Protection Measures
Various environmental protection measures have been incorporated in the designs of all the Project facilities, namely the Refinery complex, SPM, COT along with their interconnecting pipeline and VBPL. A brief description of these measures is provided below:
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Refinery
Environmental protection in the Refinery is achieved through energy conservation, monitoring and control of gaseous, liquid and solid effluents, and noise emissions. The proposed environmental protection measures are as follows:
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Energy Conservation
Energy conservation leads to environment protection due to lower fuel requirements for refining operations. Some of the design features incorporated to meet the dual objective of energy conservation and environmental protection are heat integration and pre-heating/ heat recovery.
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Gaseous Emissions Control
The gaseous emissions from various sources within the Refinery will have an impact on the surrounding locations based on quantities of emissions and micrometeorological conditions.
The designs of various facilities have been carried out to limit the gaseous emissions from the Refinery to below the permissible limits. Also, recommendations made by NEERI in the EIA studies have been taken into consideration in all designs. Various sources of gaseous emissions and the environment protection technique adopted to monitor and control these are as follows:
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Flare Releases
Under normal operation of the Refinery process units there is no release of hydrocarbon streams to the atmosphere. However, during start-up / shutdown or during emergencies, hydrocarbon streams released from process unit safety relief valves shall be directed to an elevated flare for complete combustion. The design of flare takes into account the impact of thermal radiation on the operating personnel in its vicinity. Further, provision of steam injection at the flare tip has been made to ensure smokeless and non luminous operation of the flare.
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Stack Emissions
Refinery off-gases will be desulphurised before utilizing them as fuel in the furnaces.
The ambient air quality in and around the Refinery will be well within the national ambient air quality standards. To monitor this, at least 4 ambient air quality-monitoring stations shall be installed at strategic locations.
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Fugitive Emissions
The fugitive emissions occur primarily due to leakages and evaporation of Volatile Organic Carbons (VOC’s) from processing / storage areas handling hydrocarbons. Adequate measures would be taken to minimize fugitive emissions of VOC’s e.g. Minimizing number of flanges and valves, Use of high-grade gasket materials and packings for flanges / valves, Use of mechanical seals for pumps etc.
Amine Scrubbing / Sulphur Recovery Units
Two trains of SRU have been included with adequate capacity margins to enable continuous running of the plant.
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Green Belt
The Refinery will be provided with a 200m wide green belt surrounding the entire boundary. This will help to control the fugitive emissions and also minimize noise beyond the Refinery boundary.
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Liquid Effluent Control
The Refinery will be operated on the concept of zero discharge. The waste water and other liquid effluents generated in the refinery will be minimized and after suitable treatment in an Effluent Treatment Plant (ETP), it will be fully recycled within the Refinery for various uses such as make up for Refinery cooling / fire water systems, service water, and the excess, if any, for gardening and horticulture.
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Solid Wastes Control
Various types of solid wastes generated in the Refinery are controlled as detailed below:
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Flare Releases
Under normal operation of the Refinery process units there is no release of hydrocarbon streams to the atmosphere. However, during start-up / shutdown or during emergencies, hydrocarbon streams released from process unit safety relief valves shall be directed to an elevated flare for complete combustion. The design of flare takes into account the impact of thermal radiation on the operating personnel in its vicinity. Further, provision of steam injection at the flare tip has been made to ensure smokeless and non luminous operation of the flare.
a) Spent catalysts, containing hazardous substances shall be sent back to the original supplier for reprocessing. Non-hazardous spent catalysts will be disposed off in an environmentally safe manner in a secured landfill within the Refinery.
b) Oily sludge from ETP will be deoiled before burning it in the incinerator.
c) Chemical and biological sludge from ETP shall be dewatered in sludge thickener followed by centrifuging and thickened solid cake will be disposed off in a secured land fill within the Refinery.
d) Sludge generated from tank cleaning will be burned in the incinerator after recovery of oil.
General solid wastes which are non-hazardous and of non-recyclable nature, e.g., waste refractory, spent insulation, used filter cartridges, spent clay & charcoal, etc., shall be disposed off in a land fill within the Refinery.
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Noise Emissions Control
In order to meet the noise emission standards, the measures adopted will be Low noise control valves, Acoustic insulation on piping where necessary, Acoustic insulation for pumps, turbine casings etc.
Requisite environmental clearances and Pollution Control Board NOCs pertaining to refinery including CPP have been obtained.