Section 4: Petroleum Refining

Releases by Petroleum Refineries

The petroleum refining sector’s releases decreased by 11% from 2003 to 2013. This decrease was driven by a decrease in on-site air releases from 2003 to 2013, although the reduction is offset in part by increased water releases. From 2012 to 2013, both releases by petroleum refineries and production levels remained relatively steady. The top chemicals released were nitrate compounds (to water), and ammonia and sulfuric acid aerosols (to air). Ammonia is generated from nitrogen compounds in crude oil from hydrotreatment or catalytic cracking. Ammonia is destroyed in wastewater treatment operations, generating nitrate compounds that are subsequently released in wastewater streams. Sulfuric acid is generated by the reaction of water with sulfur compounds present in processed crude oil or from fuel combustion.

This page was published in January 2015 and uses the 2013 TRI National Analysis dataset made public in TRI Explorer in October 2014.