Reducing the emissions of Volatile Organic Compounds from Process Equipments in petrochemical industry using the LDAR program

Developing of petrochemical industry has increased the amount of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) released to the environment and has caused to reduce air quality and to increase global warming and also serious problems for public health. The main objective of this research is to determine and reduce the amount of VOC compounds in oil, gas and petrochemical industries.

In this study, the LDAR program which its results are based on the use of two analyzers equipped with PID detector and infrared camera was used. The EPA-21 method was also used to determine the leakage of compounds.

The total amount of leakage potential was estimated to be 727.401 tons per year, considering all equipment, while the calculated emission components were precisely measured to be 320.16 tons; by doing the LDAR program these leakages were eliminated.

Based on the results of estimating the emission of pollutants from EPA in the selected petrochemical unit, it was found that the condition of the studied unit is much better than the global average, it should be noticed that valves and fittings have the highest contribution in VOCs emissions. Regarding the findings of the present study, it can be concluded that the proper implementation of the LDAR program will not only reduce VOC emissions and improve the economic situation but also reduce costs and produce a better and cleaner product.