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Analytical Instrumentation & Environmental Monitoring

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April 2012 Analytical Instrumentation & Environmental Monitoring

In March of 2010, the list of activities that fall under the Air Quality Act of 2004 was published. One of the activities included on the list is the storage and handling of petroleum products, specifically those products with a vapour pressure greater than 14 kPa (ie, all grades of petrol and avgas). Any site handling more than 5000 m³ per annum, or with a cumulative storage capacity of greater than 500 m³, is obliged to comply with the legislation. Hence over 99% of all petrol handled in South Africa is covered by the legislation.

What is surprising, considering the environmental legislation in First World countries, is that either thermal treatment or vapour recovery is permitted. Thermal treatment involves burning of the vapours, using further fuel to ensure full combustion and producing copious amounts of carbon dioxide. There is also a safety issue involved with having a burner at the terminal.

This can be contrasted with vapour recovery using activated carbon with vacuum regeneration. This is the preferred method employed across the globe for dealing with vapours at fuel terminals. These vapour recovery units (VRUs) may be more complex than thermal destruction units from an engineering perspective, but carry with them the benefits of actual recovery of fuel (between 1 and 2 litres of fuel recovered per 1000 litres handled) as well as safety and environmental benefits.

A vapour recovery unit will, depending on the size of the terminal, pay for itself in 12 to 36 months in recovered fuel – taking into account the capital, maintenance and running costs. Further, with all the vapours being contained inside the unit, there is a safety benefit to the site. Last but not least, the vapours are recovered and returned to the storage tanks, resulting in a real environmental benefit.

Aker Cool Sorption has been an expert in vapour recovery for over 20 years with units installed in 39 countries across the globe. In South Africa they are represented by Cool Sorption South Africa, a division of the Sturrock and Robson group, a leading supplier of vapour recovery units in the country. Aker CS applies the best international standards to all its units to ensure the efficiency combined with low running costs and excellent reliability. A recent exciting and innovative development by Aker CS is the Depot Series VRUs – these are units built to the same international standards but with a 30% cost reduction and a delivery time reduced from 42 to 25 weeks through standardisation.

For more information contact Rob Bowden, Envirox, +27 (0)11 397 3780, [email protected], www.lascs.co.za

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