(AlbertaIndex, July 28, Monday) --- The Alberta Energy and Resources Conservation Board (ERCB) said emissions from the province’s sour gas plants have fallen by 45% since 2000, and by 17% from 2006 to 2007.

       The figures were highlighted in the Statistical Series (ST) 101: Sulphur Recovery and Sulphur Emissions at Alberta Sour Gas Plants (ST 101), which summarizes sulphur recovery results for sour gas plants across the province between 2000 and 2007.

ST-101 provides an annual progress report on industry’s compliance with the board’s Interim Directive (ID) 2001-03: Sulphur Recovery Guidelines for the Province of Alberta (ID 2001-03), issued August 29, 2001. The guidelines established stringent requirements for sulphur emissions, provided a schedule for existing plants to meet the same sulphur recovery requirements as new plants, and encouraged operators to take early action to improve performance.

The 2008 report shows improvements due to improved performance and decreased sulphur throughput in grandfathered plants --- those which did not meet ID 2001-03 requirements for new plants in 2001 --- when compared to the 2000 baseline.

According to the report, sulphur emissions have decreased from 2000 to 2007 for both grandfathered acid gas flaring plants (down 73%) and grandfathered sulphur recovery plants (down 40%).

The report also shows emissions reduced approximately 37% from 2000 to 2007 for non-grandfathered plants. Sulphur inlet at these plants went down approximately 29% during that time period.

Overall, emissions from grandfathered plants have fallen by approximately 47% from 2000 through 2007. This represents a decrease of approximately 90 tonnes of sulphur emissions (180 tonnes of sulphur dioxide emissions) per day in Alberta.

Since 2000, the board said 15 plants have made upgrades to meet the new requirements, twelve plants have been relicensed, and seven plants have ceased operating.

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