Imperial Sarnia's sulphur dioxide emissions reduction project is moving ahead on schedule.
The project is years in the making and is expected to be completed by the end of 2028.
"The Sulphur Dioxide Reduction Project is a project that we're putting in that will reduce our emissions for our complex by more than 90 per cent by the end of 2028. It's a project that we've been working on for a few years now, and making progress on the construction," said Site Manager Jonathan Morgan. "We're putting in some equipment to treat our flare gas. The equipment is commonly known as a wet gas scrubber; the main portion of that equipment removes the sulphur dioxide from the flare gas, and we treat it on-site. It's really a big project that we're bringing in a lot of our contractors to help us with."
The project is also bringing work to other manufacturing sites around Sarnia, as some of the equipment is being fabricated as modules in the city and being brought to the Imperial site in stages.
"Part of the project is being built in modules, so instead of building everything in place on site, we're building it in modules, so I think LAMSAR built 14 modules for us. They're on site now, connecting those modules to the equipment. We have other contractors working with us, like CIMS, ANJ, and even Kel-Gor, also building pieces of equipment, installing pieces of equipment at our site," said Morgan.
The work is a part of the company’s response to the province's regulations targeting Sulphur dioxide emissions from petroleum manufacturing, and it isn't the only work the company is doing to improve their emissions, as a vapour combustion unit is also being built.
"It's a vapour combustion unit; it reduces our benzene emissions from the site. It's designed to control those emissions from multiple sources. A project that's been approved under our ECA, our environmental compliance approval with the MECP. We're targeting completion for that this year," said Morgan. "Overall, I think these projects show our commitment to the community. I think it shows an investment of this magnitude, really shows a commitment to keeping our site up to date, and for years to come."
When it comes to the costs of these projects, Morgan said it's not something they normally share, but it is a significant investment.
