The management of solid residues is meticulously regulated by Spanish legislation. The key text is Law 10/1998, which defines residues as:

Any substance or object pertaining to any of the categories that appear in the annex of this law, of which its owner disposes or of which he/she intends or is obliged to dispose. This nonwithstanding, any entry that appears in the European Catalogue of Residues (ECR), approved by the European Union Institutions shall also be deemed as such.

Currently, the legislation that applies to Refineria Balboa, in addition to the European Union Directives adopted by the national legislation, originates in the Autonomous Community of Extremadura’s Leading Integrated Residue Plan..

These regulations bind Refineria Balboa to a series of differential treatments for residue management.

In terms of their management, residues are classified into two large groups:

1. Non-hazardous residue: Demolition remains, domestic waste. Law 10/1998 and Outline Plan.
2. Hazardous residues: metal catalysts, sludge, contaminated earth. RD 952/1997 and Outline Plan.

Classification of residues is the responsibility of the Administration.

The production of residues is an inevitable consequence of the daily running of the industrial plant. The figure below shows the principle residues generated in a refinery. More than 30% of them are not directly derived from the refining process. The removal of these residues must be undertaken by an authorised body.

Integrated System of Residue Management

The installation of an Environment Management System (SIGMA) must contain elements that reduce the formation of residues and preventative techniques that avoid soil and underground water contamination.

Refinery Balboa, adhering to the strategies laid out in the Guide to Best Available Techniques (BATs), will install an Integrated Residue Management System which will oversee various operations and will be an important component of the aforementioned SIGMA, as the following diagram illustrates.