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Pure gas

Pure gas wastes generated by petroleum and related industries cause of some of the biggest headaches that plague environmentalists today. Apart from their massive emission levels, numerous industrial mishaps such as oil spills and accidental leakage have, over the years, been successful in projecting petroleum companies as big, careless monsters bent on polluting every breath we take and each drop of water we drink. Several countries have already faced severe environmental emergencies, thanks to the apathy of these oil giants, whose mottoes often seem to be variations of the old "better-to-pollute-than-lose-out-on-profits" plan.

And now, they want to explore oil fields that - so far - were deemed "too dirty" for commercial use. So far, all the big names in the industry had avoided huge reserves of oil in Latin America, China and what, till a few years back, used to be the Soviet Union because they were too dirty, or contaminated, to tap. The oil in these regions contained large amounts of sulphur and heavy metals that severely affected engine performance. The industry now plans to process this oil and make it perfectly usable and, after having learnt their lessons from previous encounters with the environmentalists, they want it to be perfectly eco-friendly as well.

Sulphur in fuel affects the effectiveness of the cars' catalytic converters because it poisons the catalyst. Many nations, including those in the European Union, are considering tougher limits on the sulphur content of fuel to tackle this environmental menace. The existing method of removing sulphur from oil is a pretty expensive affair. The oil has to be heated to 700

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