OPERATIONS & MAINTENANCE
THENEW NORMAL
Lowering river levels, rising uncertainty – what can the petrochemical industry do? Andreas Eßmann explores how plants and refineries reliant on waterways for cooling processes can adapt to these new circumstances
I
n March 2023, Germany’s cabinet made history. Responding to weeks of high temperatures and low rainfall, it agreed on the country’s
first national water strategy, prioritising conservation. This was unsurprising, as water levels for rivers such as the Rhine – a vital commercial artery for the nation – have plummeted in recent years, with cargo ships unable to use it during the 2022’s record-breaking summer heatwaves. But water scarcity is not an issue
confined to the Rhine alone. According to the Germany Environment Agency (UBA), the nation’s ongoing phase-out of coal power and lignite mining could see water levels in Berlin’s main river,
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the Spree, drop by up to 75% during the summer months. This is, in part, owing to the use of water to fill abandoned coal mines, and groundwater pumped to help extract these fossil fuels no longer being used. UBA’s President Dirk Messner is
already warning of potentially severe scarcity issues across Brandenburg, Berlin and Saxony if existing dams and water reservoirs are not upgraded. However, construction on projects like these can take years, and water shortages across Germany are already acute. This is to say nothing of the intense heat Europe experienced this summer, which further underlines the fact that German industry needs to
start putting plans in place to mitigate potential disruption. After all, any further scarcity will impact all levels of society and shift the country’s industrial policy even further, so standing still is not an option.
PETROCHEMICAL PROBLEMS Widescale droughts pose particular problems for petrochemical plants, as they are commonly situated on a riverbank or coastal region and use an open-loop system in which water is taken from the adjacent body then used for integral processes such as reactor and alkylation unit cooling, as well as cracking – where heavy
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