Hyperion Will Employ Thermal Oxidizers
September 23, 2009

ELK POINT, S.D. – The Hyperion Energy Center will be the first oil refinery in North America to employ thermal oxidizers on its hydrocarbon storage tanks, Hyperion Vice President Preston Phillips said today.

“We’ve said from the beginning that we’re committed to building the cleanest, most environmentally sound refinery in the country,” Phillips said. “Our initial permit application would have exceeded that goal, and incorporating these capture systems and thermal oxidizers raises the bar even higher.”

The extra emission control devices, which are not required on storage tanks in any other refinery in the country, will cost Hyperion an additional $30 million, Phillips said. This use of thermal oxidizers is a requirement in the final air permit approved by the South Dakota Board of Minerals and the Environment.

“After reviewing the permit, we’ve agreed to make the additional investment and install the thermal oxidizers on the affected tanks,” Phillips said. “We know some will say it’s going overboard because it’s handling such a small amount of vapor, but we agree with the state that it’s the right thing to do to protect the region’s air quality. Sometimes you go the extra mile, even if it doesn’t pencil out.”

As the name implies, thermal oxidizers essentially burn vapors that form in storage tanks as small quantities of the stored liquids, such as crude oil and gasoline, evaporate. The system works by first capturing the small amount of vapor that otherwise would be emitted to the atmosphere. Upon capture, that vapor is then transported via a complex piping system to the thermal oxidizing unit itself, which safely and efficiently destroys any pollutants and transformsthe vapor into carbon dioxide and water.

Thermal oxidizers are sometimes required in other industrial settings, and, for example, will be used to handle emissions from Hyperion’s wastewater treatment plant and sulfur recovery plant. But none are currently employed on hydrocarbon storage tanks in refineries.

The anticipated timetable for the Energy Center is for construction to begin in 2011, with startup in 2015. An average of 4,500 jobs will be created over the four year construction phase, with the Energy Center bringing more than 1,800 permanent jobs to the Siouxland region.

The Hyperion Energy Center will be permitted for a 400,000 barrel-per-day refinery producing ultra low-sulfur gasoline and diesel and an IGCC (Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle) power plant. The center will incorporate green principles in its every day functions and integrate only the most advanced commercially feasible emission control technologies in its operations, as spelled out in the company’s Green Charter.