EPA Amends NSPS for Portland Cement Plants
July 3, 2008 // Published as a news service by IHS
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The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed amendments to the new source standards of performance (NSPS) for Portland cement plants.
The NSPS are designed to reduce emissions of criteria pollutants such as particulate matter (PM), nitrogen oxide (NOx) and sulfur dioxide (SO2).
The proposed amendments to the emissions limits apply to new kilns and clinker coolers.
New kilns and clinker coolers would be required to meet a PM emission limit of 0.086 pounds per ton (lb/ton) of clinker. The current opacity limit for existing kilns and clinker coolers would not be revised, said the EPA.
New kilns would be subject to a NOx emission limit of 1.50 lb/ton of clinker on a 30 day rolling average. New kilns would also be subject to a SO2 emission limit of 1.33 lb/ton of clinker on a 30 day rolling average or a performance standard requiring a 90% reduction of SO2 emissions.
Facilities choosing the 90% reduction option for SO2 emissions would be required to monitor the pH level and conduct repeat performance tests.
Bag leak detection systems or PM continuous emission monitoring systems would be required for new kilns and clinker coolers that use a baghouse; predictive modeling would be used to monitor the performance of an electrostatic precipitator.
Continuous emission monitoring systems would be required for new kilns subject to the NOX or SO2 emission limits.
The monitoring and testing requirements for existing sources subject to the NSPS are also being amended to provide better indicators of compliance, said the EPA.
Health and Environmental Benefits and Costs
The EPA estimates that by the year 2014, PM emissions will be reduced by about 890 tons per year (TPY), NOX emissions will be reduced by about 12,000 TPY and SO2 emissions will be reduced by about 29,650 TPY as a result of the proposed amendments.
The proposed amendments would have a capital cost impact of about $190 million and a total annualized cost impact of about $50 million per year on the industry with no significant adverse economic impacts on the industry, claims the EPA.
A small plant may incur an economic impact of between 1% and 2% but would not be considered at risk of closure, said t This rule will affect 20 new kilns over the next five years.
Background
NSPS implement Clean Air Act (CAA) section 111(b) and are issued for categories of sources which cause, or contribute significantly to, air pollution that may reasonably be anticipated to endanger public health or welfare.
Section 111 of the CAA requires that NSPS reflect the application of the best system of emission reductions that (taking into consideration the cost of achieving such emission reductions, any nonair quality health and environmental impacts and energy requirements) the administrator determines was adequately demonstrated. This level of control is referred to as best demonstrated technology (BDT).
The Clean Air Act requires the EPA to periodically review and revise the standards of performance to reflect improvements in methods of reducing emissions.
A copy of the proposed amendments from the EPA's web site can be found at "Recent Actions" at http://www.epa.gov/ttn/oarpg/.
Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).