Environmental and safety issues are currently crucial in the process industry in general, and in particular in the oil&gas and energy industry, due to its relevance in the socio-economical context in Italy and Europe. Attention towards this kind of issues has been growing in the last years, often becoming a limiting factor in the operation of plants; an example is given by recent chronicle facts related to relevant accidents (fires) or odour nuisance problems. It is therefore of fundamental importance for an engineer aiming to approach this sector, to get a specific knowledge of the methods for impacts evaluation, as well as the techniques for reducing those impacts, with the objective of developing environmentally sustainable and safe processes.

This course focuses on the environmental and safety issues, thereby giving the suitable mathematical tools for emission control and management, for the quantification of environmental impacts deriving from ordinary or accidental emissions, and for the evaluation of the safety characteristics of storage and transformation plants, thereby studying the aspects relating to the most sustainable processes for the production of fuels from fossil sources (oil and natural gas) and biomasses.

The lectures, exercises, and the exam wil allow the students to:

- know and discuss about data regarding the energy and oil&gas markets

- know the fundamental environmental and safety issues related to the oil&gas and energy industries

- know the main available documents, datasets and software that can be used to estimate, evaluate or monitor impacts from refineries

- know some alternative and new technologies to reduce environmental or saftey impacts from oil&gas and energy industries

- analyse problems related to the environmental and safety impacts of refineries or energy plants from a quantitative point of view

- prepare, present, and discuss a presentation on a topic related to the environmental and safety issues in the oil&gas and energy industries 

Introduction: environmental sustainability in the oil&gas and energy industries

Problem description: overview of the consumptions of energy and fuels worldwide

General description of oil extraction and refining processes with focus on environmental issues

Processes for the reduction of emissions of toxic and odorous compounds

Environmental impacts of refineries

BAT; emission to atmosphere, water and soil from different refinery operations

Evaluation, monitoring and control of impacts in existing plants

Mathematical methods for the evaluation and quantification of impacts: emission factors and databases (e.g., EPA AP-42)

Software and algorithms for the quantification of emissions from storage tanks (TANKS) and refinery wastewaters (WATER9)

Odour impact from refineries: problem description, monitoring techniques and specific models for odour dispersion simulation

Source term characterization for atmospheric dispersion modelling studies

Safety issues in the oil&gas and energy industries

Accidents (fires and explosions): evaluation of developed heat, specific methods for source term definition, methods for environmental and health impact assessment

Storage: safe storage of combustible products

Domestic safety: odorization of natural gas and biomethane

Biofuels & Biorefineries

Biofuels for transportation

Biorefineries: definition and examples

It is suggested to have a basic knowledge of refinery processes

The exam will consist in an oral presentation in groups of 2 or 3 students on a chosen subject (to be agreed with the teacher) with the presentation of one scientific paper (or other material to be agreed with the teacher).

The presentation shall include some numerical exercise to demonstrate the student understanding of the numerical methods studied and/or the capability of applying one or more of the instruments presented during the course (software, databases, etc.).

For the evaluation, the in depth study of the material and the understanding of the chosen subject will be considered, as well as the quality and clarity of the exposition.

During the oral discussion, the comprehension and knowledge of the students will be verified through specific questions on the topics treated during the course.