Action plan
Rompetrol Rafinare continues in 2020 the program of remediation and greening of historical lagoons in the Vega Ploiești refinery, the company allocating approximately 17 million USD this year. Based on the works resumed in 2019, the volume of acid tar and oil residues processed and disposed has reached over 121,000 tons.
The works for the lagoon 18 were completed and included the following works: removal of water from the lagoon, excavation and treatment of acid tar, consolidation and conversion into a safe storage area of solidified stabilized waste from other lagoons, by installing a geomembrane with online monitoring of its integrity.
At the same time, works started for the lagoons 16 and 17, namely the mobilization and organization of the site, the treatment of acid tar and its transformation into solid waste, which will be stored on site in safety conditions to health and the environment, as well as its recovery by incineration in authorized units. Vega Refinery has implemented an automatic air quality monitoring network in the vicinity of the refinery (approximately 2 kilometers) which provides the necessary data for real-time monitoring of the impact of production activities. The data is integrated in the management and supervision system of production processes, which allow the adoption of prompt measures to maintain environmental indicators under the conditions regulated by current legislation, even when the sources of pollution are external (traffic, other economic agents or production activities in the area). The company is able to take prompt measures to maintain the environmental indicators in the conditions regulated by the legislation in force, depending on the weather conditions or forecasts.
Technical solutions
A long period of time was dedicated to the process of selecting companies with experience in the field, along with the identification of the best and safest technologies for neutralizing and eliminating these acidic tars, generated over time by the technological processes for obtaining fuels and crude oil processing. The actual stage of the project implies two main trends: treating tars and transforming them into solid waste that will be stored on site without endangering health and environment, as well as recovery through co-incineration in authorized plants (cement factories)
A major benchmark for the choice of the technological solution was its sustainability, with the company planning to monitor the area and water sources for 30 years after the completion of the works.
Used materials
The treatment of these tars implies solutions adapted to their stabilization and neutralization. For stabilization, internationally certified professional binders, such as those used in civil engineering and those used to stabilize soils in motorway construction, will be used.
Enviromental protection and care for communities
To protect the local communities near the refinery and to reduce the impact of these works, the refinery developed and implemented a comprehensive program of measures:
Creation of a green curtain around the historical lagoons
Constant monitoring of the groundwater through more than 20 drillings
Installation of air monitoring stations
Installation of soundproofing panels for noise reduction
Industrial exhausters / “suction apparatuses” for retaining gas and dust, dusting stations, the use of water curtains for particle retention.
Operations will be monitored by constant measurements of environmental parameters and by perimeter measurements to comply with the maximum noise limits permitted by law.
Strict cleaning and safety measures
The transport of the waste will be carried out in a dedicated refinery area, with trucks that will be covered with a tarpaulin. Wheels of every truck will also be cleaned to avoid soiling the asphalt.
Stabilizing materials will be transported in tightly sealed cement trucks, these means of transport respecting all the statutory requirements.The traffic of the trucks loaded with neutralized waste for recovery shall be carried out only with prior notification of the Inspectorate for Emergency Situations and following the route established and approved by the state authorities.
For the supply with the necessary products as well as for evacuation to the authorized points of valorization of the treated tars, a dedicated access path was established to DN1B - Ploiesti belt. The route was chosen and agreed with the local authorities, in order to reduce the impact on residential areas.
In the first phase, daily traffic is estimated at about 5 trucks, which will vary, depending on the volume and necessity of the products/materials. The approved work schedule for settling tanks’ remedial operations is from Monday to Saturday, 10 hours a day, with one hour break/daily.