ABSTRACT
Crude oil refinery products undergo all forms of transformation in organic chemistry, often under special pressure and temperature conditions. The processes can be both continuous and in batch production. The chemical industry has always been seen as a high risk industrial sector; many of their chemical substances are flammable, toxic and processed under special conditions. The firm operates with separate air and water pollution licences issued by the local authority. These are shortly to be replaced by an integrated pollution control licence from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Good housekeeping and waste minimization typify the chemical sectors approach to the management of environmental pollution. The waste minimization approaches show both incremental steps as well as more radical changes in process technology. In recent years, environmental considerations seem to have stimulated the search for more innovative, process-integrated approaches, supplementing economic incentives to enhance process efficiency.
