Comment Re:Plastic (Score 1) 28
Most refineries also include hydrogenation units to recycle some of the heavier catalytic products into lighter more profitable products.
The "lights", such as propane, butane, etc. are fed into reactor units and cooked into styrene monomers and polyols used for plastics feedstocks.
Almost nothing is wasted. The flares you see are maintained for emergency purposes. If an accident takes place, process gasses are dumped into the emergency flare and burned off. The small flame you usually see is maintained as an ignition source.
The "lights", such as propane, butane, etc. are fed into reactor units and cooked into styrene monomers and polyols used for plastics feedstocks.
Almost nothing is wasted. The flares you see are maintained for emergency purposes. If an accident takes place, process gasses are dumped into the emergency flare and burned off. The small flame you usually see is maintained as an ignition source.
