Program for Improvement of Waste
Effluent at Humble's Baton Rouge Refinery
ROBERT T. DENBO, Coordinator
Pollution Control Planning
Humble Oil and Refining Company
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
INTRODUCTION
Humble's Baton Rouge Refinery was constructed on the Mississippi River 61 yr
ago. Since that time the refinery has grown from a plant processing 2,000 barrels/day
of crude to one of the largest and most complex refineries in the world with a crude
run of 450,000 barrels/day. This paper will cover the program for improvement of
waste water quality in the past, current projects, and plans underway to upgrade
water quality.
DESCRIPTION OF PRESENT SYSTEM
The refinery employs recirculated systems with cooling towers for 75 per cent
of process cooling using water. The remaining 25 per cent involves the use of
Mississippi River water used on a once-through basis. Figure 1 shows the system.
In the once-through cooling operation, water from the river is passed through
cooling equipment one time, after which the warmed water is treated for oil removal
and returned to the river. New installations employing once-through cooling were
discontinued many years ago. However, river water from the once-through cooling
operation still in use makes up 90 per cent of the volume of waste water discharged
to the river. Fourteen modernized API oil-water separators treat waste water for oil
removal. Silt settled out in the system is deoiled by centrifuges prior to return to the
river.
PHASES IN IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM
Improvement in the recent past, and present and planned improvements to
waste water quality can be divided into the following five phases:
Phase I: Improvements during 1959-69 with stress on reductions in oil and
phenol.
Phase II: Elimination of once-through river water for cooling to reduce oil
substantially and reduce waste water volume to permit additional
treatment of the water remaining.
Phase III: Reduction of taste and odor compounds. This is currently the biggest
problem on the Lower Mississippi.
Phase IV: A program of in-plant changes, improved surveillance, waste water
segregations and reuse.
Phase V:     Development of improved treatment facilities.
-274-