Description of industry 



Part IV. 



petroleum and 

 coal products (SIC 29) 



Today's oil industry is engaged in finding oil, 

 getting it out of the ground, transporting it, mak- 

 ing it into useful products, and marketing and 

 delivering these products to consumers. 



The principal withdrawal of water is for refin- 

 ing. Other operations such as transportation of 

 crude oil and products and marketing rely on it, 

 but do not use significant amounts of water. Some 

 water is used in the producing branch for drilling 

 wells and operation of natural gasoline plants, but 

 the amount is insignificant in relation to that used 

 in the refining process. 



Processes utilizing water 



Separation, conversion, and treating operations 

 use large quantities of water. The 1963 Census of 

 Manufacturers (7) indicates a gross water use of 

 about 6,100 bgy in 1964. However, the water 

 intake to refineries for this same period shows that 

 only 1,400 billion gallons was taken in as supply. 

 This indicates substantial reuse of water. Ninety- 

 two percent of those reporting indicated that they 

 were reusing water. 



Of the total water intake, 87 percent is used for 

 cooling purposes, 7 percent for boiler feed and 

 sanitary purposes and only 6 percent for process- 

 ing. Process water uses include desalting, washing, 

 barometric condensing, and product transpor- 

 tation. 



One use of process water in refining operations 

 is the removal of brine from crude oil to prevent a 

 buildup of solids in the processing equipment and 

 to prevent hydrochloric acid corrosion problems. 

 Water quality for this operation is not critical. 

 Actually, waste water is frequently used for this 

 purpose because it provides a means whereby cer- 

 tain impurities, such as phenols, can be eliminated 

 from the waste water. 



Most refinery products must be treated to im- 

 prove color, odor, or stability, or to remove sulfur, 

 gums, or other corrosive substances before the 

 product is marketable. Caustic, acid, and clay 

 treating, various sweetening operations, and sol- 

 vent extraction are some of the methods used. 

 Water is used in these operations for makeup of 

 caustic and acid solutions and for product wash- 

 ing. Lubricating oils are treated with acids, by 

 contact with or percolation through clay, or by 

 solvent extraction methods. Both steam and water 

 are used to recover solvents and to clean the filter 

 clays. 



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