Fugitive emissions in chemical processes: The assessment and prevention based on inherent and add-on approaches

Fugitive emissions are among the major concerns of industrial process releases. The emissions cause problem to various aspects including the environment, health, and economic. Early evaluation of process hazards is beneficial because process can be made inherently benign at lower cost. This paper discusses two important aspects of fugitive emissions assessment during process design – the quantification and the prevention strategies.For the quantification part, three methods are presented for fugitive emissions estimation during the process design. They are tailored to data available in simple process flow diagram (PFD), detailed PFD, and piping & instrumentation diagram (PID). Such methods are needed as early emissions estimation allows production routes and process designs with lower emissions to be selected. The fugitive emissions estimation and methods to abatement are demonstrated on a benzene process case study. Valves are found to be the major emission source with 50% of fugitive emissions of process area in a base case of petrochemical process, in which no fugitive emission reductions are yet made. Pumps without mechanical seals come second with 30% and flanges with 8% of emissions. Inherently safer design keywords can be applied to prevent fugitive emissions in the process plants. Substitution is the most applicable keyword in fugitive emission reduction of existing plants.The emission rate calculations together with estimation of health risk give a sound background for the decision making on elimination of emissions at source through equipment and piping changes. The case study presented reveals that by substituting emission prone components by inherently low-leaking ones, the plant emissions can be reduced over 90% in practice. This is created mainly by replacing rising stem valves with ball valves, installing double mechanical pump seals or hermetic pumps and making changes in sampling and relief systems. Ideally by also changing flanges to welded connections, which is not viable for various reasons, the emissions could be reduced nearly to zero.     

CO2 from waste to resource by developing novel mixed matrix membranes

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Mixed matrix membranes (MMMs) were fabricated by the hydrothermal synthesis of ordered mesoporous KIT-6 type silica and incorporating in polyimide...     

Comparative effect of organic amendments on physio-biochemical traits of young and old bean leaves grown under cadmium stress: a multivariate analysis

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The current study investigated the influence of organic amendments on cadmium (Cd) uptake and its effects on biochemical attributes of young and old...     

The influence of personality traits on sustainability-oriented entrepreneurial intentions: the moderating role of servant leadership

Environment, Development and Sustainability - Economic, environmental, and social imperatives make sustainability-oriented entrepreneurship an indispensable phenomenon of the day, yet only sparse...     

Synthesis,Characterization and Environmental Applications of a New Bio-Composite Gelatin-Zr(IV) Phosphate

Gelatin-Zr(IV) phosphate composite (GT/ZPC) was synthesized by sol–gel method. Different techniques viz. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), X-ray powdered diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) were used for the characterisation of GT/ZPC composite ion exchanger. The ion exchange capacity (IEC) of GT/ZPC was observed to be better (1.04 meq g^?1) than its inorganic counterpart (0.64 meq g^?1). The pH studies revealed the monofunctional nature of GT/ZPC with one inflection point. The distribution studies showed that the GT/ZPC was highly selective for Cd²⁺ as compare to other metal ions. The environmental applicability of ion exchanger has been analysed for binary separations of metal ions using column method. Cd²⁺ was effectively removed from synthetic mixture of metal ions (Zn²⁺, Pb²⁺, Ni²⁺, Co²⁺ and Cu²⁺).     

Modification of Thermo-Mechanical Properties of Recycled PET by Vinyl Acetate (VAc) Monomer Grafting Using Gamma Irradiation

Vinyl acetate (VAc) monomer of different percentage was grafted onto the recycled polyethylene terephthalate (r-PET) films using gamma irradiation. The properties of these modified films were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), mechanical properties testing (Tensile strength, Elongation at break), dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) and thermo-gravimetric analysis (TGA). The Tensile Strength (TS) of the modified PET film increased by 132.25?% to the highest value of 50.12 MPa at 15% VAc monomer concentration at 3 kGy gamma dose, while the elongation at break (EB) decreased by 31.83?%. FTIR was used to investigate the molecular interaction of the modified films. TGA revealed that curve of the modified PET film shifted toward higher temperature region by 95?°C, which is very close to that of PET film made from virgin flakes. The results indicate that modified PET films of better mechanical and thermal properties were successfully prepared using VAc monomer grafting by gamma irradiation technique.     

Nanocarrier-mediated co-delivery systems for lung cancer therapy: recent developments and prospects

Environmental Chemistry Letters - Research has recently focused on combinational therapy using nanocarriers to overcome the obstacles associated with conventional therapy of lung cancer. The...     

Structural characterization and visible light activated photocatalytic ability of glass–ceramics prepared from municipal solid waste

Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management - The relationship between local structure and visible-light-activated photocatalytic ability of glass–ceramics prepared from Municipal Solid...     

Magnetic nanoparticles incorporation into different substrates for dyes and heavy metals removal—A Review

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Substantial discharge of hazardous substances, especially dyes and heavy metal ions to the environment, has become a global concern due to...