Presented before the Divisions of Petroleum Chemistry and Water, Sewage, and Sanitation Chemistry a t the 123rd Meeting of the American Chemical Society, 10s Angeles, Calif. Taste- and Odor-Producing Components in Effluents C. C. Ruchhoft, F. M. Middleton, Harry Eraus, and A.A. Rosen Physical and Chemical Characteristics of Waste Waters Fronk J. Coogan and E. B. Paille Biological Growths in Petroleum Refinery Waste Waters Edwin S. Crosby, Willem Rudolfs, and Hovhoners Heukelekian Treatment of Refinery Emulsions and Chemical Wastes Cecil Phillips, Jr.
................. .........
290
................
296
...............
300
Pollution and pollution abatement are problems that are receiving increasing attention. This is especially true for the period beginning at the end of World War 11. The passage of pollution control legislation on a federal level in 1948 helped to focus nation-wide attention on the problem of impairing the quality of public waters by industrial waste effluents. In current or recent past sessions of state legislatures, many pollution control laws have been revised or newly enacted. Also, there appears to be trend toward a “tightening up” in administering these laws. A l l this testifies to the fact that the interest of the American people in the pollution of the nation’s waterways is indeed high. Another yardstick of public concern is the recent increase in articles on this subject appearing in the newspapers. In most cases such articles are “front page” news, and the text is quite militant in tone. The petroleum industry, as a large water user, was one of the first of the major industries to recognize the seriousness of this problem. As a result, refiners, on both an individual and collective basis, have expended considerable time, effort, and expense in obtaining a thorough understanding of the fundamentals of pollution. Also, they recognize the importance of exchanging technical information on all recent developments in the field.
February 1954
264
Application o f Air Flotation to Refinery Waste Waters Gerard A. Rohlich. Superactivated Sludge Process E. R. Strong and Richard Hatfield. Biological Oxidation of Oil-Containing Waste Water R. J. Austin, W. F. Meehan, and J. D. Stockham. , Reclamation of Refinery Effluents C. D. Eaton, R. R. Evans, and E. G. Kominek Toxicity of Various Refinery Materials to Fresh Water Fish Harry Turnbull, J. G. DeMonn, ond R. F. Weston
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 304 . . . . . . . . 308 . . 3I 6 . . . . . 319 . . . 324
The water, sewage, and sanitation interests are another group that early recognized pollution of natural waters as a critical problem. They have done much to promote interest and research in waste water treatment on both municipal and industrial levels. I t is fitting, therefore, that the Divisions of Water, Sewage, and Sanitation Chemistry and Petroleum Chemistry unite in a symposium on “Industrial Waste Disposal Problems of the Petroleum Industry.” Pollution and pollution abatement involve a series of complex problems. Intelligent decisions regarding their resolution must be based upon a thorough understanding of the fundamentals involved therein. Erroneous decisions made without this understanding may be costly because in many instances waste treatment facilities for pollution abatement involve the expenditure of millions of dollars. The articles presented in this symposium discuss: (1) pollution problems; (2) analytical techniques’; (3) commercially available processes for treating industrial waste waters; and (4) results obtained from pilot scale testing of some of the newer processes.
R. N. GILES “Determination of Phenols in Waste Waters by Ultraviolet Absorption,’’ by L. J. Sohmauoh and H. M. Grubb w i l l be published in the February 1954 issue of Analytical Chemistry. 1
I N D U S T R I A L A N D E N G I N E E R I N G CHEMISTRY
283
