Vectors Petroleum Industry

by Marius S. Vassiliou (Author)
The petroleum industry is unique: it is an industry without which modern civilization would collapse. Despite the advances in alternative energy, petroleum’s role is still central

Detailed knowledge of petroleum products at the molecular scale has always been essential to understanding the mechanisms leading to their formation, to design thermodynamic and kinetic models employed in the refining processes, and to predict their physical properties.

Today, pollution control regulations define how complex technological systems interact with natural ecosystems and competing human uses of the environment. Redefining Efficiency examines the evolution of this industrial ecology in the United States by tracing numerous pollution concerns associated with the production, transportation, and refining of petroleum over the course of the twentieth century. In doing so, this book demonstrates that a pollution control ethic based on the efficient use of resources emerged early in the century and met with enough success to undermine the first calls for strict government-enforced regulations.