Nathaniel Shaler, Research Paper Example

Nathaniel Shaler stated, “The Earth is in need of considerable improvement of which he was willing to arrange (2008). Just what did Shaler mean by this infamous statement made during the 19^th century? Was it a prelude to the risqué environment hazardous that are occurring spontaneously such as the British Petroleum oil spill or was he referring to the pollution at the hands of the American people through too many automobiles polluting the environment? It is apparent there are internal factors such as the breaking of the earth’s crust that entices an earthquake, the erupting of a volcano or the dripping of acid rain that are God’s way of evading us with natural pollutants that we can do little to nothing about except try to minimize and control the situation. However with external situations such as vehicular or automobile pollution emissions we have a lot to state and a lot to control. Refineries such as Exxon Mobil and Shell Motiva have conducted various pilot plant studies on the emissions of automobiles relating to catalysts and how they can deter these emissions by reducing them through processes called Low Sulfur Mogas processes through Hydrogenation. The idea behind the process is to lower the Sulfur Content enough with the help of a catalyst combination whilst buffering out the Mercaptins so that the Sulfur released into the atmosphere will meet the Environmental Protection Agencies specifications. In year 2000 the specifications in the United States were approximately 55 ppm and 85 ppm in Europe. Today the same specifications have been lowered to approximately 35 ppm in the United States and 55 ppm in Europe. What this means is the EPA has cracked down tremendously to ensure the air we breathe is safer each day. There are simply too many vehicles on the road and if the people won’t stop purchasing so many vehicles and stop driving too much then the automobile dealers will simply have to either build vehicles that burn cleaner gasoline or the gasoline the vehicles burn will have to be lower is Sulfur and Mercaptins. It is the combination of the S2 and Mercaptins that is dangerous to the air in which we breathe. These chemicals can be tested on various laboratory instruments in petroleum research laboratories on Gas Chromatographs; ICP’s and by physical testing means called static testing to validate the analytical data obtained on the GC.

The process is often combined with a Hydrogen Phase in order to assimilate the catalyst combination and speed up the catalyst reaction to produce a better yield on the tail end of the reaction. The H2 excited the electrons and protons and when they scramble they tend to release the S2 atoms and then the Mercaptins can be buffered out with a simple acidic solution. This is all accomplished in a hood sized pilot plant unit designed to hold approximately one gallon of feedstock naphtha or gasoline at one time which is then cleaned with reformate to regenerate the run over and over to reproduce the data. The combination of catalyst that has performed best is Mo/Co in equal parts. This combination of catalyst has been put under pressure with H2 at 1500 psi for one hour and results have been accomplished three times better than without the H2 phase. It has been noted that the same process was accomplished with Naphtha and the results were not as good as with the feedstock gasoline at 92 Octane but were promising. Exxon Mobil received a patent in 2003 for the in process of the removal of S2 and Mercaptins from Gasoline and has implemented this process in their Baton Rouge, Louisiana and Texas City, Texas facilities. This process has kept Exxon Mobil at the top of the petrochemical trade worlds. Shell Motiva has the patent for the Naphtha patent which uses a single Mo catalyst through Naphtha with no regeneration phase and no H2 phase. Their results were accomplished to 50 ppm in 2007 which were in line with the EPA specifications but not as low as the result achieved by EM. It should be noted that Naphtha is unrefined gasoline product.

Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC’s) cause a direct threat to humans and are present in aqueous and industrial environments as n-mercaptins. Henry’s Law Constant governs the specifications of the VOC emissions that are permissible. This has to do particularly with the mass production of dissolved oxygen. The stripping of n-butyl mercaptins has to do with the total equilibrium of a system which is needed. Mercaptins is measured by a UV Spectrophotometer. A peristaltic pump is used for re-circulation and the Gas Samples are measured by a Perkin Elmer Gas Chromatograph grabbed by injection or by valve.

Methyl mercaptin is a colorless gas that smells like rotten egg or cabbage. It occurs naturally in the human and animal body but is excreted in the feces of animals and humans. It is present in coal and crude oil and in some of the marshes in the swamps. It is used as an additive in the plastics industry and as an additive in jet fuel. It can be smelled at a level as low as 1.5 ppb. Even more dangerous is S2. It can be dangerous even at a level of 100 ppm. It can cause a burning of the nose and throat and severe respiratory ailments. Sulfur dioxide is normally a bi-product of other industrial products. “Long term exposure to the chemical can not only cause inflammation of the lung airways but can also cause permanent damage to the lungs.” (“Sulfur Dioxide, 1999).

We have long seen the war with oil in Saudi Arabia, Venezuela and other countries. What happens to the crude raw product when it is too high in Sulfur and Mercaptins? The suppliers sell the product anyway to the United States, Europe and other buying countries and we are responsible for converting the product to other usable products that are within the specifications mandated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Why does the EPA have such tight specifications? The EPA sets such tight standards in order to protect the waterways and atmosphere in which we breathe and drink so that we can live healthy and happy lives free of pollution. If there were no governmental agency that oversaw the pollutants that went into the water and the air then the industrial plants, automobile makers and other facilities would have no reason to comply with standards. They might simply go for the high dollar and not take into consideration the health risks to the environment and the people at the risk of making money and big business profitable. It is easy to pencil in a laboratory value or two or let a reading or two slide in operations and maintenance but that one or two pencil in might just be the one that puts the specifications over the limit and puts the pollution into the water and air that gives an innocent person a carcinogen (cancer causing) disease. Would you want to be the person responsible for such a tragic event? It is important to realize many chemicals produced do not show up for years in humans. That is why scientists conduct extensive studies on laboratory animals to determine toxicity effects of chemicals and report them on Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS). These sheets are provided with each and every chemical made and sold in the United States and Europe. They are available to all employees in manufacturing facilities including chemical plants, petrochemical plants, laboratories, etc. Use them; they are there for safety and to save your life. They are there to ensure everyone is complying with the specification set forth by the Environmental Protection Agency.

Works Cited

McKibben, B. & Gore A. American Earth: Environmental Writing Since Thoreau Michigan: Literary Classics of the United States, 2008.

Low Sulfur Mogas Project (2008) Retrieved May 15, 2010 from, http://www.jhkelly.com/projects/ExxonMobil-Mogas-Project.html

Toledo, J. (2005) Highly Activated Sulfided CoMo Catalyst on Nano-Structured TiO2 Retrieved May 15, 2010 from, http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6TFG-4GY8940-F&_user=10&_coverDate=10%2F15%2F2005&_rdoc=1&_fmt=high&_orig=search&_sort=d&_docanchor=&view=c&_searchStrId=1335806741&_rerunOrigin=google&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=d11b51e17429ee100a8de63687c190b4

Matsis, V. (2006) Stripping of n-Mercaptins in the Environment Retrieved May 15, 2010 from, http://www.gnest.org/journal/Vol8_No2/103-112_MATSIS_405_8-2.pdf

Sulfur Dioxide (1999) Retrieved May 15, 2009 from, http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/tfacts116.html#bookmark03