September 5, 2007 by Walter Schneider.

landlinemag.com

A federal court has stopped California from enforcing a new fuel standard designed to cut use of bunker fuel from cargo ships as they reach ports in the Golden State….

The Long Beach Press-Telegram reported that bunker fuel contains sulfur content as high as 27,000 parts per million, compared with U.S. diesel limits on cars and trucks of sulfur no higher than 15 parts per million….(Full Story)
___________
Note by folc.ca: At 27,000 parts per million, bunker fuel used by diesel-powered ships and locomotives 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.
It appears that the [U.S.] EPA adamantly protects a system for waste-sulphur disposal through dispersion in the environment. Why would the EPA do that?

See also:

• California legislation regarding marine diesels and sulfur-containing diesel fuel (Feb. 21, 2007)

Posted in Bunker Fuel, Emission Incidents & Issues, Sulphur Logistics, Ultra-Low-Sulphur Diesel | Print | No Comments »

September 4, 2007 by Walter Schneider.

al.com

MOBILE, Ala. (AP) — Problems at a natural gas platform near Dauphin Island may have been responsible for a cloud of toxic gas that swept across the island’s east end and sickened dozens of people, an ExxonMobil official said Tuesday.

Dauphin Island Sea Lab classrooms were evacuated, and a half dozen people visited the town’s doctor apparently after exposure to hydrogen sulfide, a poisonous and foul-smelling gas that occurs naturally underground with highly sought methane….

Ordinarily, when operations shut down and the entire system “de-pressurizes,” any deadly hydrogen sulfide in the gas escaping through the vent is burned, or “flared,” and converted to sulfur dioxide, another toxic gas more quickly dispersed by the nearly constant sea breeze….(Full Story)

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

September 4, 2007 by Walter Schneider.

folc.ca

Deerland Peaking Station [North of Bruderheim]

By accident, I came across the following information:

MAXIM is proposing to construct and operate a 190 MW natural gas-fired power generation facility on a site immediately south of the existing Deerland high voltage substation in Bruderheim, Alberta. The company has obtained an option for the site and commenced a public consultation process on July 26, 2007. MAXIM anticipates that the first phase (95 MW) will be operational in 2009. The facility will use state-of-the-art combustion turbine technology.

Source: Maxim Power Corp. (”MAXIM”) Announces Second Quarter 2007 Results
Marketwire, 2007 08 09

Read the full story.

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

September 3, 2007 by Walter Schneider.

Sofia News Agency

Enel Defends Position over Sulphur Dioxide Pollution in Bulgarian Village

3 September 2007, Monday

Italy’s energy conglomerate Enel has expressed its position concerning the sulphur dioxide pollution in Bulgaria’s village of Galabovo at a press conference on Monday saying the company’s contribution to the environmental problem is minimal….

“Except Enel is one of the biggest energy investors in Bulgaria, it has launched many social and education initiatives in the region of Galabovo,” Viale added….

The Regional Environmental Inspectorate in the village of Galabovo registered levels of sulphur dioxide, which twice exceeded the allowed threshold. It occurred twice since the beginning of March. (Full Story)
_________________
Note by folc.ca: Going by Enel, sulphur-dioxide pollution in Galabovo is a good thing, at worst minimal.  However, going by environmental standards, Enel’s sulphur-dioxide pollution is not minimal at all; it is excessive.
Enel’s “education initiatives” apparently did not include practical instructions to Galabovo residents as to how to avoid breathing health-damaging air.
_________________
Related stories:

• Sulphur Dioxide Poisons Bulgarian Village of Galabovo
• Sulphur Dioxide Poisons Bulgarian Village
• Clean Coal Processing (SO2 removal)

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

September 2, 2007 by Walter Schneider.

Reuters

By Simon Webb

DUBAI, Sept 2 (Reuters) - Four international oil companies have bid for a multibillion-dollar project to develop the Shah sour gas field in the United Arab Emirates, company and industry sources said on Sunday….

ConocoPhillips …, Exxon Mobil …, Occidental Petroleum … and Royal Dutch Shell … were all in the race for the project. The gas has a content of around 30 percent of potentially deadly hydrogen sulphide, making it tougher to produce than conventional gas reserves….(emphasis by folc.ca; Full Story and links)
_______________
Note by folc.ca: Given that the UAE presently forbids stock-piling and long-term storage of sulphur, that will increase the sulphur glut on the world market to an enormous extent.

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