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Alon Refining (3116), Krotz Springs

Releases of Sulfur Dioxide

LDEQ Accident Number
Accident Date		 Point Source(s) Notes Amount of Release
118242

2009-09-27		FLARE
Cause: The refinery units had problems with their FCCU wet gas compressors during start up; this caused ongoing flaring.

Followup: No

Notes: The fire department has been called, and the incident was secured within a few hours. Verbal report only, no written report from the refinery. No information given on quantities.
117848

2009-09-09		Pump, Tank Farm Area 18
Cause: Small pump fire and spill in the tank farm area 18.

Followup: No

Notes: The spill was cleaned up.		3.3 pounds
117771

2009-09-04		flare
Cause: Crude unit upset resulted in intermittent flaring from 3 different process vessels.

Followup: No

Notes: Reduced rates and shutdown isomerzation and LRU unit to minimize flaring until flow rates could be stabilized. Same issue as the release on the previous day.
117731

2009-09-03		flare
Cause: Crude unit upset caused flaring from 3 different process vessels.

Followup: No

Notes: Reduced rates and shutdown isomerzation and LRU unit to minimize flaring until flow rates could be stabilized.		0.4 pounds
111872

2009-01-07		FCC Flare 5-85
Cause: Incident occurred when a line plugged causing the pressure relief system to divert ATS acid gas to the FCC Flare.

Followup:

Notes: Full RCA to be completed by 3/7/09		11,067.0 pounds
127252

2010-10-25		FLARE - FCCU flare
Cause: "Loss of power in Complex II caused operating and utility units to shutdown. This even resulted in flaring from the FCCU flare" Due to the loss of power, the complex II steam producers shut down, therefore the flare steam assist was lost. This resulted in smoking flares. This released the following chemicals: SO2, H2S, NOx, VOC, Hexane, and 1,3 Butadiene. FLARE.

Followup: No

Notes: A power feed was connected from Complex I to Complex II, and boilers were restarted to produce steam to assist the FCCU flare, and shutdown procedures was continued. No LDEQ report. Refinery Letter only.		110.6 pounds
135089

2011-12-22		Crude Unit Flare and FCCU Unit Flare
Cause: Extreme cold front moving through area with heavy rains and "tomadic" winds. Power trip upset that resulted in unusual flaring. During severe weather and winds, power feeding the plant from the utility company tripped off, shutting down the entire refinery.

Followup: No

Notes: Safety reliefs vented to the flares as designed to control the upset. Permit limits were exceeded, but no reportable quantities were released. Flares smoked for approximately 5 minutes in compliance with Title V permit conditions.		455.6 pounds
135219

2011-11-14		FLARE: FCCU
Cause: FCC unit started up after 2 weeks of planned maintenance. Relief valves opened to flare when weight gas compressor for FCCU malfunctioned. Two odor complaints received by LDEQ connected to this accident. Starting unit for the wet gas compressor on the FCCU malfunctioned. 2 Citizen Complaints included: 135203 and 135197

Followup: No

Notes: Report states that Title V permit limits were exceeded. A site visit was made on 11/15/2011. Unit started up after two weeks of maintenance. Unauthorized Discharge Notification Report received 11/22/11. Report states that the maximum hourly permit limit was exceeded for hexane but no reportable quantities were exceeded. they did not realize until the next morning that RQ was exceeded.		636.0 pounds
141825

2012-08-05		Complex I
Cause: Operators received an alarm that the Complex I flare SO2 had exceeded 500lbs in 24 hours. The technician concluded that the flow meter had malfunctioned. The instrument vendor assessed that debris had probably entered the probe(s) and affected ultrasonic capabilities.

Followup: No

Notes: The technician was instructed to remove and clean the transducer probes. Upon re-installation, flow was back to normal.		174.0 pounds
138331

2012-03-25		FLARE: FCCU flare
FCCU regenerator stack
Cause: A leak in a slurry pump caused a flash fire and triggered the shutdown of the FCCU and associated units. Safety reliefs vented to the FCC Unit flare.

Followup: No

Notes: The flash fire was extinguished. Safety devices functioned until units were fully down.		797.0 pounds
151752

2013-10-21		FCCU Flare
Cause: Hydrocarbon carryover from the Amine Unit to the Ammonium Thiosulfate Unit (ATS) cause the ATS incinerators to reach an unsafe operational temperature. Therefore, to stabilize the ATS incinerators and downstream equipment, the Amine Reflux drum was drained to the flare causing an increase in Sulfur Dioxide emissions from the flare.

Followup: No

Notes: Once the ATS unit was stable, the Amine Reflux drum drain was closed to the flare.		1,012.0 pounds
149682

2013-07-15		Complex 1 & 2 Flares, FCCU Stack
Complex 2 Flare
Cause: On July 15, 2013 at approximately 12:28 pm, Alon Refining Krotz Springs (ARKS) suffered a facility-wide power loss. This power loss caused a facility-wide emergency shutdown. Due to the emergency shut down, there were smoking flares, maximum hourly CO emissions were exceeded, and the 24-hour SO2 limit was exceeded.

Followup:

Notes: ARKS was, at the time prior to the power outage, being properly operated. All emission control devices were operating properly and no emission exceedances were noted prior to the power outage. ARKS took all reasonable steps to minimize levels of emissions that exceeded the emissions standards and other requirements in the permit. All emission control devices were operating properly and the emergency shutdown was conducted in accordance with the Startup, Shutdown, Malfunction Plan (SSMP).		500.0 pounds
159509

2014-10-18		Boiler B-8203
Cause: B-8203 boiler tripped due to an instrument malfunction followed by a B-8204 boiler trip due to low boiler feed water. Loss of boiler steam caused the FCCU to trip, resulting in excess emissions from the Fluid Catalytic Cracking Unit (FCCU) stack and Complex 2 flare.

Followup: No

Notes: FCCU and all adjoining units in Complex 2 were shutdown along with the LRU, MSAT and Isom at Complex 1. System cleared and emissions stopped. Boilers repaired then units brought back on line per startup procedures.		1,469.0 pounds
154265

2014-03-04		FCCU
Cause: On March 4, 2014, there was an air release caused by a flare flame-out at the ALON Krotz Springs Refinery. The release was caused by a loss of the FCCU flare flame for 6 minutes during the shutdown of Complex II/FCCU due to freezing conditions. Caused unburnt gas to be released to the atmosphere for 6 minutes.

Followup: No

Notes: Re-lit flare LDEQ incident report states that 7-day notification was received on March 13, 2014. Document did not exist in EDMS search.		4.8 pounds