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ExxonMobil Refinery (2638), Baton Rouge
Releases of Carbon Monoxide
| LDEQ Accident Number Accident Date |
Point Source(s) | Notes | Amount of Release |
| 05-BB009-1786 2005-06-09 | No9 Pipestills | Cause: occurred when the pipestills controller reduced the opening on the induced draft guide vanes to optimize furnace efficiency. Followup: No Notes: the furnace guide vanes were reopened and the furnace returned to its normal carbon monoxide levels. (no typical report #); this was not preventable because this is a new parameter for the Pipestill controllers; they are learning to control to the new limits and how changes in the furnace affect the carbon monoxide emissions | 126.0 pounds |
| 05-BB009-1780 2005-05-03 | PCLA-3 | Cause: a leak on the fractionator tower at PCLA-3, unit had to be shut down for repair, the unit temperature caused the carbon monoxide to exceed the maximum concentration allowe Followup: No Notes: the temperature in the regenerator was increased to push higher temperature gas to the furnace, which reduced the formation of carbon monoxide; the report stated that this was not preventable because the new regulation requires more experience to meet the limits and it was not known there was a problem with the furnace burne | 3,995.0 pounds |
| No LDEQ Reported 2005-04-30 | FLARE- GLA-3x compressor | Cause: the MEA scrubber on No. 2 Light Ends Unit experienced an operational upset due to a high level in the MEA scrubber to overhead drum; GLA-3x compressor shut down causing the RGCU to become overloaded and a gas leakage which flared Followup: No Notes: operations attempted to restart GLA-3x and then reduced rates to the FCCU to eliminate flaring; a new alarm was added that is more visible and will alert the controller of increased level in the interstage drum; other items identified by the ongoing investigation will be evaluated and implemented; flaring occurred from 3:20 PM to 4:40 PM on April 30th; the Wet Gas Scrubber exceeded its regulatory limit of 500 PPM of carbon monoxide from 4-6PM; the carbon monoxide concentration increased to 639 PPM fhe hour from 1-2 on May 1st | 4,308.0 pounds |
| 05-BB009-1763 2005-04-26 | West Gas Scrubber | Cause: the permit requirements were changed so they had to implement new changes in order to meet the requirements Followup: No Notes: Since this regulation is new and controller experience with these situations is limited, learnings from this event will be shared with all controllers. The new Wet Gas Scrubber Permit requires the CO furnaces to operate at lower excess oxygen concentrations for nitrogen dioxide emissions, thus making the unit more susceptible to carbon monoxide excursions. Additionally, more experience is needed to control the new permit and regulatory limit | 855.0 pounds |
| 05-BB009-1708 2005-01-14 | F-1 furnace at the East Coker | Cause: the temperature indicator on P-2B was not reading. Restart of feed pump caused the temperature to missread the feed temperature and automatically reduced the firing in furnace F-1. Coil outlet temperature then fell and the furnace firing automatically increased. Followup: No Notes: The forward control program has been changed, limiting the potential for error in temperature readings and in turn limits the change feedforward controls can make on furnace firing | 155.0 pounds |
| 88286 2007-07-05 | No. 2 Fluid Catalytic Cracking Unit (PCLA-2) F-201 blowers (A and B) | Cause: the failure of the blower damper in the No. 2 Fluid Catalytic Cracking Unit caused the unit to unexpectedly shutdown. Followup: No Notes: This event was not preventable because there was no indication during the test the previous month that the damper would fail to open properly. Remedial Measures - this event was not preventable is what is stated in this section.A routine maintenance test was being performed on the No. 2 Fluid Catalytic Cracking Unit (PCLA-2) F-201 blowers (A and B). During this test the damper on the B blower failed to open correctly. Because the damper did not open correctly, the furnace sown due to loss of flame. Attempts were made by the assistant operator performing the test to immediately restart the furnace. This was not possible so the B blower was shut down and the A blower restarted. This allowed the furnace to be restarted wi | |
| 89401 2007-07-05 | Motor Feed Pump on the No. 3 Fluid Catalytic Cracking Unit | Cause: pump failure. The main motor operated feed pump tripped off at the No. # Fluid Catalytic Cracking Unit. The turbine kicked in however failed to pump the rate required to keep the unit steady. As a result, the preheat furnace tripped due to low flow and the reactor temp. began to fall due to a lack of heat inpu Followup: No Notes: This incident was not preventable because there were no indications that the motor pump would fail. Remedial Measures - mechanical personnel will evaluate the turbine system to determine if the feed surge caused by the turbine can be prevented. During the Upset, the MACT II hourly limit for carbon monoxide and the maximum hourly permit limit and the maximum hourly concentration limit for carbon monoxide from 63 CFR Subpart UUU were exceeded at the WGS.The failure of the feed pump is covered undhe unit's Startup, Shutdown, Malfunction Plan and is considered a malfunction. Likewise, the exceedance of the permit limit is considered an Upset pursuant to LAC 33:III.507.J. and thus ExxonMobil claims the Upset Provision affirmative defense pu | 1,210.0 pounds |
| 89742 2006-07-05 | Check Valve on the Fluid Catalytic Cracking Unit | Cause: -during a routine maintenance check of the boiler feed water circulation pumps on the F-301 furnace, a check valve failed to function properly. As a result, the turbine operating the feed pump tripped off and the boiler feed water flow to the furnace was lost Followup: No Notes: This incident was not preventable because the failure of the check valve to function properly was not expected, and there were no indications that this valve might malfunction. Remedial Measures - the check valve will also be replaced on the sistertrain for F-201. The carbon monoxide maximum hourly permit emission limit and the maximum hourly concentration limit from 63 CFR Subpart UUU were exceeded. The MACT II hourly limit for carbon monoxide and the maximum hourly permit limit for carbon mode were exceeded at the WGS. However, because the failure of the check valve is covered under the unit's Startup, Shutdown, Malfunction Plan and is considered a malfunction, the exceedance of the permit limit is considered an Upset pursuant to LA | 1,011.0 pounds |
| 90822 2006-07-05 | F-201 Furnace | Cause: during a routine maintenance check of the air feed system on the F-201 furnace, air flow into the furnace was unexpectedly lost when an air louver failed to open Followup: No Notes: This incident was not preventable because the failure of this system was unexpected and there were no known indications that this system would fail. Remedial Measures - an investigation is ongoing and the appropriate follow-up actions will be completed. During this Upset, the MACT II concentration limit for carbon monoxide and the maximum hourly permit limit for carbon monoxide were exceeded at the wet gas scrubber. The failure of the air feed system is covered under the unit's Startup, Shun, Malfunction Plan and is considered a malfunction. The exceedence of the permit limit is considered and upset pursuant to LAC 33:III.507.J. Exxon intends to claim the Upset Provision affirmative defense pursuant to LAC 33:III.507.J. Carbon Monoxide | 2,529.0 pounds |
| 98423 2007-08-04 | Air blower malfunction | Cause: atlernate blower did not supply air to furnace Followup: Yes Notes: Airflow to the furnace was reestablished. Investigation is ongoing, necessary follow up procedures will be complete | 28,760.0 pounds |
| 97336 2007-06-22 | Leak-Idle stream line | Cause: Internal acid corrosion Followup: Yes Notes: Under Investigation- If investigation shows different causal factor, a follow up will be given. The leaking portion of the line was clamped to stop releas | 108.0 pounds |
| 97285 2007-06-02 | failed system | Cause: STORMS-Heavy rains(air blower system failed) Followup: Yes Notes: Airflow to the furnace was reestablished. | 36,625.0 pounds |
| 117813 2009-09-07 | No Information Given | Cause: PCLA unit in the F201 furnace was upset. Followup: No Notes: Release is BRQ. LABB only has access to LDEQ and SPOC reports. | 489.0 pounds |
| 126200 2010-09-07 | No Information Given | Cause: A 4 inch pipe to an air line was severed releasing carbon monoxide. Followup: No Notes: No reportable quantities were exceeded. The pipe was isolated. | |
| 122774 2010-04-14 | FLARE: PCLA-2 [CCU] | Cause: Facility was called after smoky flare was noticed. A level instrument critical to unit operations that malfunctioned caused flaring.
Exceeded RQ for SO2. Follow-up letter states that a recent analysis of the refinery flare system resulted in updated release amount: 1653 lbs Followup: No Notes: The unit was shut down to end the release. This incident is under investigation to determine the root cause in order to prevent reoccurrence. This release exceeded the 1,000 pound RQ value for SO2. LDEQ incident report indicate that this incident is #122774 and State police #10-01932. However, the refinery letter indicates that this incident is incident #s 122774, 123224, and 124285 and state police numbers 10-01932, 10-02386, 10-03389. |
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