By OGJ editors
HOUSTON, June 21 -- Vela International Marine Ltd. cut emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) by nearly one-half during tanker loading of crude oil in tests of a system that increases vent pressure and recombines escaped gases with the cargo.
Vela, a subsidiary of Saudi Aramco, and Venturie AS on June 11 tested a system that raised vent pressure, usually atmospheric, to 1,200 mm water gauge, the normal discharge pressure, while the Gemini Star very large crude carrier loaded Arabian Light crude at the Ju'aymah terminal in Saudi Arabia.
The system gathered vapors escaping the cargo surface in the ship's inert gas system and reinjected them into the cargo liquid with a Venturie absorption unit.
The system operated with loading rates as high as 80,000 bbl/hr, cutting VOC emissions by as much as 47%, Vela said. VOCs react in sunlight to form ozone smog.
