The First Large Scale Industrial
Waste Treatment Plant on the
Missouri River
P. W. STROUD, Superintendent
L. V. SORG, Chief Technologist
J. C.   LAMKIN, Project Chemist
Technical Service Department
American Oil Company
Sugar Creek, Missouri
The Sugar Creek refinery of the American Oil Company is located in Jackson
County on the south bank of the Missouri River approximately eight miles down -
stream from Kansas City, Missouri. South of the property is the municipality of
Sugar Creek, Missouri. Through the heart of the refinery flows a small stream
bearing the name Sugar Creek. Although the area of the refinery is about 500
acres, the total drainage to Sugar Creek comes from about 2,000 acres. The refinery produces a complete line of petroleum products, from high grade motor
fuels through coke, with the exception of lubricating oils and waxes.
The refinery is divided roughly into three areas, each of which discharges
water-borne wastes through its own oil-water separator. The oldest portion of the
refinery, shown in the lower right portion of Figure 1, is called the Lower Refinery
and is located directly on the south bank of the Missouri River. In this area are
located the crude-running unit, treating facilities for finishing petroleum products,
a power station with associated water treating equipment, mechanical shops,
offices, a laboratory, and storage tanks. Much of the old processing equipment
shown in this area has been replaced by an entirely new and modern pipe still for
processing crude oil.
An area along the south limits of the refinery is called the Crawford Tract
because of historical background. In this area are located automatic equipment
for gasoline blending and for blending cut-back asphalts, and loading facilities
for hard asphalts and liquefied petroleum gases. Some obsolete equipment remains from former operations that included five units for low-pressure thermal
cracking, gas recovery, and refractionation of polymer gasoline.
The West Plant area of the refinery is located at the extreme western edge of
the property at an elevation substantially above the rest of the plant. Process
operations built since 1948 are located there. These include catalytic cracking,
catalytic reforming, alkylation, catalytic polymerization, crude running, and
coking operations. Also in this area are several large cooling towers that furnish
water on a recirculating basis for the newer units.
The refinery requires large volumes of water for its process operations. The
water is used in heat-exchange and vapor-quenching equipment for cooling purposes, desalting crude, and washing some products. Prior to a major expansion
in 1948, river water was pumped through heat-exchange equipment, including
many ancient-type box coolers, and returned directly to the river. Since 1948
cooling towers have been provided for all new refining facilities as they have been
built. As a result the quantity of water discharged to the river has been greatly
reduced while the capacity of the refinery has been expanded.
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