Correlation and regression analysis of the investment attractiveness of the petroleum refining industry

The article presents the results of the analysis of the investment attractiveness of the petroleum refining industry using correlation and regression methods. It has been suggested to evaluate the level of investment attractiveness of the petroleum refining industry through capital productivity. A system of indicators affecting the investment attractiveness of the petroleum refining has been formed in the context of resource and production, financial, economic and social groups of factors. This methodology of correlation and regression analysis for modeling factors affecting investment attractiveness has been presented. The methodology includes the construction of a pair correlation, the selection of factors, the construction of a generalised correlation matrix using the “Correlation” tool in the “Data Analysis” package Microsoft Excel, the regression analysis based on the finally selected factors, the construction of the regression equation, the justification of the obtained dependence using the “Regression” tool in the “Data Analysis” package MS Excel.According to the results of calculations for the type of economic activity “Production of coke and petroleum products” in the Russian Federation in dynamics for 2012 –2019, a strong correlation has been revealed between the output-capital ratio and such factors as the oil refining depth, profit from sales and labor productivity.The results of the study can be used to identify significant factors affecting the investment attractiveness of the petroleum refining industry in order to further optimise them.

Research on Hazardous Waste Removal Management: Identification of the Hazardous Characteristics of Fluid Catalytic Cracking Spent Catalysts

Fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) spent catalysts are the most common catalysts produced by the petroleum refining industry in China. The National Hazardous Waste List (2016 edition) lists FCC spent catalysts as hazardous waste, but this listing is very controversial in the petroleum refining industry. This study collects samples of waste catalysts from seven domestic catalytic cracking units without antimony-based passivation agents and identifies their hazardous characteristics. FCC spent catalysts do not have the characteristics of flammability, corrosiveness, reactivity, or infectivity. Based on our analysis of the components and production process of the FCC spent catalysts, we focused on the hazardous characteristic of toxicity. Our results show that the leaching toxicity of the heavy metal pollutants nickel, copper, lead, and zinc in the FCC spent catalyst samples did not exceed the hazardous waste identification standards. Assuming that the standards for antimony and vanadium leachate are 100 times higher than that of the surface water and groundwater environmental quality standards, the leaching concentration of antimony and vanadium in the FCC spent catalyst of the G set of installations exceeds the standard, which may affect the environmental quality of surface water or groundwater. The quantities of toxic substances in all spent FCC catalysts, except those from G2, does not exceed the standard. The acute toxicity of FCC spent catalysts in all installations does not exceed the standard. Therefore, we exclude “waste catalysts from catalytic cracking units without antimony-based passivating agent passivation nickel agent” from the “National Hazardous Waste List.”