ENV-09-50 Greenhouse Gas Emissions Estimation For Petroleum Refinery Operations in California: A Case Study of the Mandatory Reporting Rule

Description:

This paper presents the experiences at California refineries in addressing the requirements of the new Mandatory Reporting Rule, identifies gaps in past voluntary GHG reporting procedures and provides insight to new capital expenditure and labor resource requirements. The primary type of CO2e emissions from these sources is carbon dioxide (CO2) mostly from combustion activities; however the calculations include CO2e emissions estimates for methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O). Numerous refinery emission sources were evaluated and emission calculations procedures were examined for compliance with the reporting requirements of the rule. The new rule requires additional fuel flow metering, fuel carbon content and high heating value (HHV) measurements and emissions calculations for non-stationary combustion sources. This paper includes discussions on specific technical issues that were identified during rule requirement ”gap” analysis reviews, such as accurate fuel flow measurement and fuel carbon content measurement, and how refineries are likely to address these issues. Finally, the paper addresses the certain future activities related to verification of the GHG emission inventory, and possible installation of CO2 Continuous Emission Monitors (CEMs) for the direct measurement of GHG gases.