Manage refinery spent cuastic efficiently

摘要

Processing low-sulfur fuels will require refiners to use more polishing ans sweetening processes to strip out sulfidic and acidic compounds. Caustic pre-washings and gasoline sweetening processes effectively remove mercaptans and disulfides from hydrocarbon streams. However, the spent caustic is considered a hazardous stream and must be handled as such. It cannot be directly managed by biological wastewater treatment processes. Thus, refiners must dispose of this product offsite or use other treatment methodologies. Consequently, as refiners use more cleaner fuels, disposal/treatment of spent caustic is more crucial.