A Review on the Impact of Black Soot from Artisanal Crude Oil Refining and a Modified Artisanal Refining Process

This report presents a review of the health and economic implication of artisanal refining process in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria as a case study. It also is examines the overall implication for Nigeria as a sub-Saharan country in Africa and the world at large. The reviewed literatures reveal an overwhelming air pollution that has broght death and hardship to the inhaitants of the region mostly affected. The study in response to the seemly uneding challenge, presents a modified artisanal refining process as an immediate option to eliminate air pollution resulting from black soot generated from artisanal refining process, improve on product specification and maximize product yield in the absence of a political will and resources to introduce modular refining to replace the ongoing artisanal refining that produces soot with the attendant fatal consequences in the region. The modified process considering chemical engineering processes, principles consist of an enclosed system with a fume cupboard – chimney for the furnace, four optimized heat exchangers, a Counter Current Flow Packed Tower (CCFPT), a force draft fan, a flue gas tank and a black soot slurry tank. In the modified process the vent gas is collected and used as a fuel for heating the crude oil while the waste water from the soot slurry is collected for further separation and treatment in a water treatment plant. To enable efficient process and equipment control strategy instrumentation of the process with the inclusion of Pressure and temperature gauges.