Page 152 - Environmental Control in Petroleum Engineering

CHAPTER 4

Environmental

Transport of

Petroleum Wastes

The environmental impact of most releases of petroleum industry
wastes would be minimal if the wastes remained at their points of
release. Unfortunately, wastes can migrate away from a release point
by a number of pathways. These pathways include transport along the
surface of the earth or along the surface of a body of water, transport
through the soil through the pore structure, and transport through the
air. These migration pathways are briefly discussed below.

4.1 SURFACE PATHS

Surface pathways of transport are those where the released material
travels along either the soil or open water surface. Surface transport
of petroleum wastes from releases on land occurs primarily when high
volumes of liquid wastes are discharged onto the ground or when
stormwater sweeps through a site. These liquids then flow down
topographical drainage features until they either mix with existing
surface waters, evaporate, or enter the pore network of the earth they
flow over. Dikes and diversion trenches can be used to control such
surface migration.
Surface transport of petroleum wastes on open water can occur
with hydrocarbons because they are lighter than water. This trans-
port of hydrocarbons will be controlled by natural water currents and
wind. Because virtually all natural water currents are parallel to the
shoreline, the primary direction of transport will be parallel to the

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