>We are in the era where conservationists keep telling us we should go green. This covers anything from recycling cans to controlling carbon emission. That’s good but have we not gone overboard?
Here’s an article from Temasek Review on yet another green article. This time, it is about sulphur emission from petrol engine vehicles.
NEA refused to disclose sulphur content of petrol sold in Singapore (excerpts)
I wanted the information so that I can choose which petrol to use based on which one has the lowest sulphur levels. Lower sulphur means cleaner fuel, which means less pollution. It also means better fuel economy…….Sulphur content is measured in parts per million (ppm); the lower the number the better. But it seems here in Singapore no one wants to tell you the ppm level of the different types of petrol on the market. I have been told that “it’s below 500 ppm” and “within acceptable limits”.
In Singapore, we use the Euro II vehicular emission standard as the bar – but this is a Third World standard. In Europe they are down to 10 ppm! So, are we closer to 10 ppm or 500 ppm? I have been asking but no one has given me a definitive reply….
…Petrol emission is one of the biggest sources of pollution around and is an issue that urgently needs to be addressed. Surely the authorities should be able to get the petrol companies to divulge the sulphur content of their products sold in Singapore, and display this information at the petrol pumps and on the NEA website?
Prithpal Singh
Sulphur in Petroleum -
Sulphur is found in petroleum. It is very corrosive to equipment and has to be removed. The process of removing this sulphur is done through hydrofining.
In the process of hydrofining, hydrogen is introduced in the presence of a catalyst at high temperature. The hydrogen combines with the sulphur to form a gas, hydrogen sulphide. The gas is then separated from the feed.
Well and good, since we now get rid of most of the sulphur (but not all). Unfortunately, hydrogen sulphide is a highly poisonous gas. Hence, it cannot be released into the atmosphere.
In the old days, up to the 1980s (in Singapore), this poisonous gas was burned in the flare system. Like this….
However, it is claimed that the burned gas when released into the atmosphere, will combine with rainwater to give us acid rain – an environmental problem.
To have a cleaner environment, a more environmentally friendly method of getting rid of hydrogen sulphide needs to be done. Flaring of hydrogen sulphide was stopped and instead, the Sulphur Plant is used to get rid of the poisonous gas. The sulphur plant is otherwise known as the Sulphur Recovery Unit (SRU).
In this process, air and hydrogen sulphide are heated to a high temperature, and we get sulphur in its elemental form and harmless water. See this link.
A simplified schematic process is illustrated below (taken from link above).
A Sulphur Recovery Unit (SRU)
Cost of Lower Sulphur Petroleum Products -
To companies, it is all about profits and costs. It is much cheaper and cost effective to flare the hydrogen sulphide than to put it through the Sulphur Plant. Operating the sulphur plant is an an extra cost.
Needless to say, the higher the standard the government sets for the environment, the higher the cost to the companies. Firstly, the hydrofining plants have to work harder to lower the sulphur content. Secondly, the SRU itself has to work harder too, to keep up with the higher amounts of hydrogen sulphide produced by the hydrofining units.
As can be seen, the whole system works harder, needs more maintenance and more wear and tear occur. On top that, manpower needs to be increased, which again means higher cost to the company again.
So what is the Acceptable Level of Sulphur in End Products? -
So what is the acceptable level of sulphur in end products of petroleum? According to the article found the Temasek Review link, in Europe, it is 10 ppm, while in Singapore it may be as high as 500 ppm.
It is good to have a clean environment, but unless it can be shown that 500 ppm is harmful, we shouldn’t be pushing for a lower bar just for the sake of pushing for a lower bar.
Sulphur is not found only in petrol. It is found in ALL petroleum products, from your cooking gas (Liquified Petroleum Gas or LPG) right down to your lubricants and fuel oil, which is used in power stations.
Hence, every time you cook your meals using cooking gas, you are releasing certain amounts of sulphur into the air. If you think using electricity is more environmentally friendly, you are wrong. The more electricity you use, the harder the power stations work, which means the more fuel oil it burns – again releasing more sulphur into the environment.
For the greenie extremist, if he wants to be carbon and/or sulpur phobia, he will see that the lubricants in your car engine and all machines also release sulphur. Whenever, you run your car engine, some of the lubricants are evaporated due to its high temperature. That’s why you need to check your engine oil regularly. Where do you think that engine oil goes to if the level keeps dropping? Into the air, right?
Engine oil also contains some amounts of sulphur. Want to bring the level of sulphur down in engine oils so that we have a cleaner environment? The list just does not end, does it?
Cost to the Consumer -
As mentioned, for the level of sulphur in these end products to come down, the oil companies will have to hydrofine harder and work their SRUs harder. That is higher cost to the company. And who do you think will pay for that cost?
The domino effect can be quite widespread. The transport companies will have to up their rates because diesel and petrol prices go up. The utility companies will also up their rates, because fuel oil would be much more expensive. Restaurants, hotels will find their cooking gas costs higher. Many business will pay higher utility rates. All this will affect the end consumer – on top of his own petrol and utility bills!
If there is a call for lower levels of sulphur and/or carbon emission, it has to be strongly backed up by scientific data. Otherwise the greenie community will forever ask for lower emission of impurities (which may be totally unnecessary) and burden the community with high costs.
My Conclusion -
Industrialization and use of modern technology comes at a cost – some degree of impurities that will ultimately affect the environment will be released into the air. However as long as the emission does not alter the environment to the point it damages the Earth, we shouldn’t be paranoid and keep asking for lower emissions.
If we are paranoid, we might as well throw ourselves back to the Stone Age, where we don’t have to worry about environmental issues.
Save the Earth. Stop Green Extremism.
