Document 7ROMVLKj9dxaQ34pEwNZ6ozxe

XV.'t-t.SJ V 4 INTEROFFICE COMMUNICATION March , 1971 Westlake, Louisiana to: subject: Mr. J.D. Burns - Saddle Brook r Environmental Health Report Continental VCM Plant - March 1971 A) Status of Active Budget Items 1) Plant Effluent System Revisions The skimmer pipe or T-2 pit has been received and should be installed in March. 13,860 gallons of slop EDC were pulled from T-2 pit this month. The steam stripper (C-101) piping is being reassembled and the Kynar coated agitator base has been received. The stripper system could be operational by late March if maintenance priorities permit. New carbon heat exchangers have been ordered for replacing the over head condenser for the steam stripper and a nev unit for subcooling the stripper bottoms effluent. Installation of these exchangers vill probably be in late October 1971. 2) Low Pressure Condensate System Some electrical conduit has been reinstalled, but no other work has been done this month. Completion vill probably be in April 1971. 3) Secondary Waste Treatment System The Basis of Bids for concrete, dirt vork and piping vas reviewed and the revised Basis of Bids should be issued by March 8. The first electrical and instrument Basis of Bids are due at the same time. All major equipment except the two sludge pumps and some instrumen tation has been ordered. Completion of this project is now estimated for early September 1971. B) Current Developments 1) Analytical Work Analysis for formates (either sodium formate or formic acid) has been started and average effluent levels of 600 to 700 ppm are being found. This agrees well with the calculated values in the January 1971 report. A reduction of over 97*% will be required in our secondary system if State stream standards of 17 ppm are to be met. The laboratory is attempting to develop a method to determine formates at this low level, but no analytical method is available as yet. The required 977. reduction of formates will be difficult to attain since most activated sludge systems only attain around 95% removals of most organics. Since formates are small organic molecules, they may break down more easily and get over 97% removals, but this will have to be determined after an analysis method is found. CCR 000060547 :r Analyses for CO has been started on the C-500 vent stack and is reported in this month*s tabulation. A vater effluent sample taken during a light ends column wash period showed very high EDC levels (over 1%) plus high colors and solids. The plant is already investigating a system which may eliminate this problem (1971 Capital Budget Item V-4). 2) Air Pollution Criteria A copy of the proposed Louisiana Ambient Air Criteria was received in late February. These criteria specify the maximum average ambient air levels of various pollutants within the New Orleans to Beaumont Air Quality Region, but have no specific stack emission rate. Stack emission standards are expected to be published by the State in Jan* uary 1972. The regulations which will affect the VCM Plant are: a) CO - maximum level of 9 ppm - 8 hour average. b) Hydrocarbons - maximum level of 125 micrograms per cubic meter which is equivalent to 0.10 ppm ethylene. Other regulations on open burning, smoke density, dustfall, sulfur compounds, haze and oxidents are not expected to affect the plant. If the above regulations are actually approved, we will have to re duce our ethylene emissions by about 99% (from 1.0% to 0.01%) if a strict interpretation of the regulations is enforced. However, the methods of calculating pollution effects are quite vague, so the problem may not be quite as bad as it appears. CO will also be a problem, but we are presently almost in compliance. These ambient air criteria are expected to be approved by the Federal Government in July 1971 and full compliance by industry will be expected no later than the summer of 1975. 3) Chromate Removal System Investigation of several chromate removal systems for the plant cool ing tower blowdown is continuing. It appears that an inexpensive system of chromate destruction can be installed using available equipment plus the already approved secondary treatment system clarifier. The preferred system is chromate reduction, utilizing SO2 gas or Fe SO^ x H2O crystals as the reducing agent in the existing T-l acid pit. the secondary system caustic neutralizing system and clarifier would precipitate chromium hydroxide and remove it with the clarifier sludge. The only equipment not available would be the SO2 or Fe SO4 addition system. Plant tests will be required to prove reaction rates, mixing requirements and actual chemical feed rates. JDM-BS cc; LNV-RDG-RHG-ELL-PLF- Cr :>T John D. Minott Senior Process Engineer CCR 00006054Q Date 2/3 2/10 2/17 2/14 C-500 Stack Gas Analysis - February 1971 ppm ppm ppm ppm ppm Mole % Mole % Mole X EDC VCM ETCl ci2 HC1 Ethylene C2 2 263 1539 1673 1509 1358 615 4910 347 2863 388 3120 - 3958 - 222 - 1964 13 7286 2.97 2.14 0.70 1.60 1.29 1.37 1.30 1.60 3.23 1.92 2.02 1.70 Mole 7* CO 0.53 0.63 Mole % ppm Methane Ml sc. Organics Remarks Acetylene Tr 387 H2 was less than 0.01%. Tr 50 0.31 26 0.66 750 Cl2 analyzer repaired. Plant Water Effluents - February 1971 24-Hour Composites ppm ppm ppm ppm ppm ppm ppm ppm ppm ppm ppm ppm Color Turb- PH EDC VCM ETCl Total Susp. CRO4 PO4 Cl Fe Cu BOD COD Apha ity Date Solids Solids J.T.U 2/5 3.0 3665 4 2/8 3.0 412 6 2/15 5.5 13300 16 50 8424 160 3.0 Nil 4250 6.4 1.0 - 1520 > 30 50 26 8244 84 3.0 18.0 4200 5.8 1.9 >600 1600 30 30 199 15924 237 16.0 1.0 7600 2.4 2.9 2400 > 50 450 2/23 2.75 1170 16.5 4,6 11048 736 \ 2.3 1.0 6200 9.2 4.4 1040 1120 30 50 T7 gpm Flow Rate 91.7 450 91.7 610 85.0 400 87.0 340 PP" , ppm Remark For other mates organ ics 657 231 653 96 703 528-<Lt. en col. i middle of was 6 dump 653 126 6^5090000 bOD Water sampling Air Sampling primary Water Treatment Secondary Waste Treatment C-500 Prescrubber Copper Removal System Low Pressure Con- , densate Collection System Dry Crude Tank Fume Scrubber Slop Caustic Collec tion System Chromate Removal System n o New Exchanger for, C-101 o o o o O' o m ui o m. ENVIRONMENTAL HEAL*^* PROJECTS - VCM PLANT January to December 1971 1st Quarter 2nd Quarter . 3rd Quarter Process Engineering and Laboratory 4th Quarter Process Engineering and LaborflEory ~T --1*.--i ^.Rebuild of Steam Stripper , Install Oil Skimmer , .......... - ' 1 . .Startup CEP Design Work f Purchasing Construction Purchasing CS Construction -------- > ! ^Purchasings <r "Co1nst"r"uc'ti"on f Repair Damage r Finish Construction Tie-ins. Startup ^ Purchasing * i ^-C--o-n-s-t-ru:-c-t-io--n.: Purchasing 6 i! Engineering : i Construction * Plant Testing Startup Estimate Purchase WlO "ss-- ....... ....i ' ^ Construction Mechanical Engineering