Abstract
<jats:p>The article addresses an актуal environmental and technological problem related to oil losses due to evaporation and emissions of hydrocarbon vapors into the atmosphere during oil loading into railway tank cars. It is shown that the most significant oil losses occur during loading operations, which are accompanied by the displacement of a vapor–gas mixture from the internal volume of the tank cars. Special attention is paid to imperfections in the sealing of loading devices, particularly the insufficient tightness of sealing covers against the tank car manholes, resulting in intensive and uncontrolled emissions of oil vapors into the ambient air. It has been established that hydrocarbon vapor emissions negatively affect the economic performance of oil transportation enterprises due to irreversible losses of raw materials and also worsen the sanitary and environmental conditions in areas adjacent to loading racks. The problem becomes especially socially significant when industrial facilities are located close to residential areas, where emissions are accompanied by persistent strong odors, deterioration of air quality, and an increase in public complaints. The article analyzes the main causes of insufficient sealing of loading devices, including wear of sealing elements, design imperfections, and violations of operational requirements. A methodology for calculating oil evaporation losses during loading into railway tank cars is presented, and a quantitative assessment of potential economic and environmental damage is performed. Based on the calculation results, the high efficiency of implementing improved sealing covers and vapor recovery systems is demonstrated, allowing oil evaporation losses to be reduced by 85–90%.</jats:p>