Management and Classifying Wastes in Shiraz Oil Refinery Based on Basel Convention

One of the most important issues of the twenty-first century is environmental problems caused by human activity, especially industrial sector. One of the main causes of these problems in the industrial sector is waste resulting from production operations and the studied refinery is no exception. The aim of this study was to identify, classify and determine the amount of produced waste. This study was implemented as a field study in Shiraz Refinery. Type and tonnage of the wastes were identified and measured after reviewing of production processes and sources of waste generation. Then classification of wastes was carried out according to the Basel Convention and special codes were assigned to each of the wastes. The results showed the highest amount of waste produced are petroleum liquid and metal sheets in Shiraz Refinery. Also 77% of total waste productions are process wastes. Based on the Basel Convention, 66% of wastes produced in the refinery are considered as hazardous. Finally, referring to the defects observed in the refinery waste management, we offered solutions to reduce waste production and described staff training programs.