Title: Environmental impact assessment and its minimization in a refinery for sustainable development

Authors: M. Bandyopadhyay, Amit Dutta, A.K. Dikshit, S. Ray

Addresses: Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, India. ' Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, India. ' Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, India. ' Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, India

Abstract: Refining industry economics is under pressures for compliance with new environmental regulations. Regulatory authorities impose specific limits for individual pollutant concentrations and rates of discharge and do not consider the combined effect of all the pollutants. The Waste reduction (WAR) algorithm combines impact of all pollutants to a Potential Environmental Impact (PEI) score. A refinery modelled using Linear Programming that relates refinery economics with its PEI score. Its solution generates the operation plan of the refinery for profit maximization, while at the same time minimizing the PEI. The study shows that the secondary processing units contribute more to environmental impact.

Keywords: environmental impact assessment; oil refineries; sustainable development; sustainability; environmental regulations; environmental pollution; waste reduction; modelling; petroleum refineries; refinery economics.

DOI: 10.1504/IER.2001.053889

Interdisciplinary Environmental Review, 2001 Vol.3 No.2, pp.156 - 167

Published online: 13 May 2013 *

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