September 28, 2007 by admin.

American Farm Publications, Inc.

Oct. 1 deadline looms on EPA diesel regulations

9.25.2007

By SUSANNE ZILBERFARB
Special to The Delmarva Farmer

Farmers [in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic area of the US, designated “NEMA” by EPA] with on-farm fuel storage tanks larger than 550 gallons have until Oct. 1 to meet EPA regulations regarding the sulfur content for their off-road diesel or face fines of up to $32,500 per day per violation.

By Oct. 1, the diesel fuel in those tanks must contain 500 parts per million (ppm) or less of sulfur, as part of a national reduction of sulfur in fuel.

The current high sulfur diesel in those off-road tanks may contain from 2,000 to 5,000 ppm sulfur….

Farmers who still have large volumes of high-sulfur diesel can transfer that fuel to their home heating oil tanks, where it is not affected by these regulations, and then blend down the remaining fuel with ULSD….

Further sulfur reductions are set for phase-in beginning June 1, 2010, when the sulfur content for non-road diesel will be further reduced to a maximum of 15 ppm — the current requirement for on-road diesel…. (Full Story)

Posted in Fines & Penalties, Ultra-Low-Sulphur Diesel | Print | No Comments »

September 25, 2007 by admin.

ANA/MPA

Greece: PPC fined one million euros for excessive emissions

The state-run Public Power Corp. (PPC) was fined one million euros for exceeding atmospheric pollutants emission limits, the Greek environment, town planning and public works ministry announced on Monday. The fine was imposed following environmental inspections at several power plants operated by PPC throughout the country….

In a breakdown of the fines imposed, Souflias said power plants at Megalopoli, in the central Peloponnese, had been fined 400,000 euros for greatly exceeding hourly and daily limits for sulphur dioxide gas emissions considered safe for public health, while sulphur scrubbers at one Megalopoli plant had not operated for 31.1 per cent of the hours the plant was in operation in 2006, so it greatly exceeded sulphur dioxide emission limits.

The plant had also failed to monitor levels of sulphur dioxide, dust, nitrogen oxides and percentage oxygen at several of its units…. (Full Story)

Posted in Fines & Penalties, Pollution: Health Issues, Nitrogen-Oxides, Emission Incidents & Issues, Sulphur-Dioxide | Print | No Comments »

September 24, 2007 by admin.

Fort McMurray Today

Suncor emissions exceed limits

By CAROL CHRISTIAN

Suncor Energy’s operation north of Fort McMurray is the second oilsands plant to be hit with an environmental protection order in less than a month after its hydrogen sulphide emissions exceeded provincial limits. (Full Story)

Posted in Emission Incidents & Issues, Hydrogen-Sulphide | Print | No Comments »

September 21, 2007 by admin.

StockInterview, Inc.

Rusty Oil & Gas Pipelines Could Drive Molybdenum Price Higher, Part One

As long as air conditioners keep us cool in the summer and central heating warms us in the winter, all is well in the world. In order to keep this gas and electricity continuously flowing into our homes, molybdenum has emerged as an essential metal to help preserve challenging energy transportation network. The anti-corrosive qualities found in molybdenum could also help prevent the collapse of the U.S. energy infrastructure….

In the absence of water, hydrogen sulphide is non-corrosive to pipelines. However, increased moisture in pipelines is problematic, because it activates the corrosive capabilities of hydrogen sulphide. A combination of tensile stress, susceptibility of low-alloy steels and chemical corrosion will lead to sulfide stress cracking. Hydrogen ions weaken the steel. Over time, pressure causes the embrittled steel in the pipeline to rupture.

Similar problems have emerged in the natural gas sector. As deeper wells are drilled in hot, high-pressure gas deposits, the probability of hydrogen sulphide in gas can increase. An entire industry has sprung up around decontaminating sour gas. U.S. sulfur production from gas processing plants accounts for about 15 percent of the total U.S. production of sulfur…. (Full Story)

Posted in Sulphur Logistics, Hydrogen-Sulphide | Print | No Comments »

September 20, 2007 by admin.

yosemite.epa.gov

OpenDocument

(Washington, D.C. – Sept. 20, 2007) In a landmark settlement filed today, East Kentucky Power Cooperative, a coal-fired electric utility, has agreed to pay an $11.4 million penalty to resolve violations of the Clean Air Act’s acid rain program, the Department of Justice and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced today….

“This settlement shows that when you violate the law, [the] EPA will be there to make you pay.”….

The government estimated that the utility’s Dale Generating Station emitted over 15,000 tons of sulfur dioxide and 4,000 tons of nitrogen oxide without a permit from approximately 2000-2005. In addition, the government alleged the utility exceeded the federal annual emission rate for nitrogen oxides….

Coal-fired plants release sulfur dioxides and nitrogen oxides, which are a primary cause of acid rain that harms trees and lakes and impairs visibility. Nitrogen oxides and sulfur dioxides cause severe respiratory problems, contribute to childhood asthma, and contribute to smog and haze. Emissions from power plants can drift significant distances downwind and degrade air quality in nearby areas…. (Full Story)

Posted in Pollution: Health Issues, Fines & Penalties, Acid Rain, Nitrogen-Oxides, Emission Incidents & Issues, Sulphur-Dioxide | Print | No Comments »

September 10, 2007 by admin.

Gulf Daily News

MANAMA [Bahrain]: A senior Bapco official [acting chief executive Abdulkarim Al Sayed] has praised the firm’s staff for their teamwork on efforts in the firm’s Low Sulphur Fuel Oil (LSFO) activities….

The visit coincided with attainment of the peak activities of maintenance work, 2HDU revamp and tie-ins for the Refinery Gas Desulphurisation Project….(Full Story)
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Note by folc.ca: Bahrain presently does not permit storing of sulphur in blocks. That means that the waste-sulphur produced at the Babco refinery at Manama must be sold into the glutted world market.

Posted in World Sulphur Glut, Sulphur Logistics, Ultra-Low-Sulphur Diesel, Sulphur-Related Construction Costs | Print | No Comments »

September 10, 2007 by admin.

Detroit Free Press

Marathon would spend $2 million to install stations

Marathon Petroleum Co. expects to spend $2 million to install air quality monitoring stations that would warn residents near its southwest Detroit refinery of environmental problems.

The monitors are part of Marathon’s three-year, $1-billion plan to increase refinery production in Detroit by 15%….

“We’re spending more than $300 million for pollution controls at the Detroit refinery,” said James Wilkins, manager of the Refining Environmental & Safety division.

The Marathon expansion holds the promise of 800 construction jobs starting early next year through 2010. The project also could help stabilize fuel prices for Michigan motorists by adding about 630,000 gallons of gas a day to the market.

Marathon’s plan for growth calls for the use of so-called heavy crude oil that comes from Canada’s tar sands, primarily in northern Alberta. Unlike the light-sweet crude from Saudi Arabia and other places, heavy crude has a higher sulfur content [emphasis by folc.ca] and is more difficult to process cleanly…. (Full Story)
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Note by folc.ca: The U.S. presently does not permit storing of sulphur in blocks. That means that the waste-sulphur produced at Marathon’s Michigan refinery will most likely result in reduced U.S. import volumes of Canadian waste-sulphur. Not only that, but some of the waste-sulphur produced by Marathon will result in competition for sales of Canadian waste-sulphur in a glutted world market.

Posted in Community & Industry, Emission Incidents & Issues, World Sulphur Glut, Sulphur Logistics, Sulphur-Related Construction Costs | Print | No Comments »

September 10, 2007 by admin.

The Sofia Echo

CLEAN COAL REPROCESSING [SO₂ removal]

At a September 3 news conference, Enel executive director Enrico Viale said that by spring 2008 Ener Maritsa Iztok 3 coal-fired thermal power plant (TPP) will be the only station in the Balkans to have entirely installed sulphur-cleaning equipment….(Full Story)
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Related stories:

• Sulphur Dioxide Poisons Bulgarian Village of Galabovo
• Sulphur Dioxide Poisons Bulgarian Village
• Enel Defends Position over Sulphur Dioxide Pollution in Bulgarian Village

Posted in Community & Industry, Emission Incidents & Issues, Sulphur-Related Construction Costs, Sulphur-Dioxide | Print | No Comments »

September 7, 2007 by admin.

Reuters

HELSINKI (Reuters) - The world’s shipping industry needs global regulations that are consistently enforced by the United Nations if it is to cut emissions, the chairman of the International Chamber of Shipping said on Friday.

Public pressure is building for ship owners to curb air pollution and take part in markets in permits to emit sulfur and greenhouse gases.

Shipping accounts for about 10 percent of world sulfur dioxide emissions, a cause of acid rain, and large amounts of toxic nitrous oxide and particulates such as soot…. (Full Story)

Posted in Pollution: Health Issues, Nitrogen-Oxides, Emission Incidents & Issues, Ultra-Low-Sulphur Diesel, Sulphur-Dioxide | Print | No Comments »

September 6, 2007 by admin.

presstelegram.com

Lawsuit filed over port air pollution

Thousands sick after government failed to regulate emissions, group says.

By Kristopher Hanson, Staff writer

LOS ANGELES - A new lawsuit blasts the federal government for failing to regulate diesel ship emissions despite evidence that air pollution around harbor communities is sickening thousands annually.

The suit, filed Wednesday in Washington, D.C., by San Francisco-based Friends of the Earth, accuses the Environmental Protection Agency of repeatedly putting off new pollution controls on oceangoing vessels visiting U.S. seaports….(Full Story)
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folc.ca: At 27,000 parts per million, bunker fuel used by diesel-powered ships contains 1,800 times as much sulphur by volume than does ultra-low-sulphur (ULS) Diesel at 15 parts per million used by highway trucks.

Even Diesel locomotives don’t use ULS Diesel. The sulphur content of Diesel fuel used by locomotives contains upward from 300-500 ppm of sulphur, thereby contributing to sulphur-dioxide-polluted air.

It appears that in effect the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) adamantly protects a system for waste-sulphur disposal through dispersion in the environment.

Posted in Community & Industry, Bunker Fuel, Pollution: Health Issues, Emission Incidents & Issues, Ultra-Low-Sulphur Diesel, Sulphur-Dioxide | Print | No Comments »