FGD and DeNOx
NEWSLETTER       

February 2011
No. 394

Consent Decree with Murphy Oil Includes SCR for FCCU

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Justice Dept. announced a settlement with Murphy Oil USA. Murphy Oil USA has agreed to pay a $1.25-million civil penalty to resolve violations of the Clean Air Act at its petroleum refineries in Meraux, LA and Superior, WI. As part of the settlement, the company will spend more than $142 million to install new and upgraded pollution control equipment at the refineries. Murphy allegedly violated the New Source Review (NSR), Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD), New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) and the National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) provisions in the Clean Air Act (CAA) with regard to the facilities emissions of SO₂, NO_x, VOCs and benzene.

The consent decree requires fluidized catalytic cracking units (FCCUs) and heaters and boilers by September 30, 2012 to limit NO_x emissions to no more than 20 ppm on a 365-day rolling average basis and 40 ppm on a 7-day rolling average basis at the Meraux refinery. The Superior refinery will implement a program to demonstrate the lowest emissions achievable using NO_x-reducing catalyst additives in conjunction with other operational requirements to minimize NO_x emissions. The final NO_x emissions limit at the Superior refinery will be no higher than 40 ppm on a 365-day rolling average and 80 ppm on a 7-day rolling average basis. The consent decree will require the installation of SCR, Ultra Low NO_x Burners, or equivalent technology that is designed to achieve an emission rate of 0.040 lb NO_x/MMBtu on heaters and boilers greater than 40 MMBtu/hr at each refinery.

Back to FGD and DeNOx Newsletter No. 394 Table of Contents