Control of Coke Oven Emissions by Use of A Closed Pipeline Charging System

The body of information presented in this paper is directed to those individuals concerned with the control of air pollution emissions which occur as a result of the operation of by-product coke plants. It describes a new process which represents a major change in the charging operation wherein preheated coal can be charged to coke ovens via a closed pipeline system thus replacing the conventional larry charging car and thereby eliminating air pollution estimated to be as much as 70% of the total emissions from coke oven operations. Coal is dried and preheated in a continuous fluidized bed process utilizing products of combustion of coke oven gas. The coal is recovered in conventional cyclone collectors and conveyed to the ovens via a new and novel pneumatic conveying system where the gas used is superheated steam. Jet energy repeatedly thrusts the coal upward and forward through the pipe, obtaining a high efficiency of transport of solids ten times that of conventional systems. Major advantages of the process demonstrated to date include (1) elimination of emissions from charging, (2) reduction of emission from pushing, (3) improved battery top working conditions, (4) increased oven productivity as much as 45%.     

Coke Oven Pushing Emission Control System

This report deals with the entrapment, pickup, and transfer of hot gases during a typical coke oven push. Background information that led to the development of the Great Lakes Coke Oven Pushing Emission Control System is presented along with the problems that were encountered and solved during the design, construction, installation, and start-up of a pilot plant entrapment structure on a battery of 40 Simon Carves coke ovens. This unique entrapment structure has operated successfully since April 1972, and has been visited by representatives from almost all coke manufacturers in the U.S., as well as interested groups from several foreign countries. In addition to these operation groups, we have been visited by various state and federal pollution authorities, such as the Environmental Protection Agency, Battelle Institute, and National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health. At the present time we are erecting a similar entrapment structure on the north side of our plant, comprising 18 Koppers and 35 Wilputte ovens.     

Aerial Detection of Vegetation Damage Utilizing a Simple 35-mm Camera System

The body of information presented in this paper is directed to environmental scientists interested in the detection of vegetation damage from air pollution. A dual 35-mm camera bank, manually operated from a small aircraft, was tested as a sensor system for detecting vegetation damage caused by air pollution. The cameras were filled with color and color infrared film and attached to a frame so that simultaneous exposure was possible. This gave a matched pair of photographs for each scene.

A test site was selected that contained three very large coal-fired power plants and a complex of beehive coke ovens. The power plants burn medium-sulfur coal (2 to 3%) which, after coal preparation, results in stack emissions of between 1500 and 2000 ppm sulfur dioxide (S0₂). The coke ovens are relatively old and have effectively no pollution controls. The ovens emit hydrogen sulfide, sulfur dioxide, a variety of benzene-based organics, and heavily dust-laden smoke. The areas near the power plants and coke ovens were monitored by photographic overflights on a regular basis. A variety of aerial photographs were made to test for optimum light conditions, exposure times, and altitudes. Field trips were carried out to examine photographed areas at the ground level.

Two areas were found to have vegetation damage on a scale that made aerial photographs useful. One area was damaged from effluent from the coke ovens; another area exhibited symptoms characteristic of oxidant-type damage where low sulfur dioxide concentrations may have been a contributing factor. In each case the 35-mm camera system was a success in terms of detecting and recording the stress. The chief advantages of such a technique are ease of operation, flexibility, and economy. Compared with conventional aerial photography, the savings are considerable. The disadvantages are small area coverage per photograph and difficulty in obtaining vertical photographs that would have a uniform scale. However, for this particular project, these were not serious drawbacks.     

Fugitive coke oven gas emission profile by continuous line averaged open-path Fourier transform infrared monitoring

Although most coke oven research is focused on the emission of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, well-known carcinogens, little has been done on the emission of volatile organic compounds, some of which are also thought to be hazardous to workers and the environment. To profile coke oven gas (COG) emissions, we set up an open-path Fourier transform infrared (OP-FTIR) system on top of a battery of coke ovens at a steel mill located in Southern Taiwan and monitored average emissions in a coke processing area for 16.5 hr. Nine COGs were identified, including ammonia, CO, methane, ethane, ethylene, acetylene, propylene, cyclohexane, and O-xylene. Time series plots indicated that the type of pollutants differed over time, suggesting that different emission sources (e.g., coke pushing, quench tower, etc.) were involved at different times over the study period. This observation was confirmed by the low cross-correlation coefficients of the COGs. It was also found that, with the help of meteorological analysis, the data collected by the OP-FTIR system could be analyzed effectively to characterize differences in the location of sources. Although the traditional single-point samplings of emissions involves sampling various sources in a coke processing area at several different times and is a credible profiling of emissions, our findings strongly suggest that they are not nearly as efficient or as cost-effective as the continuous line average method used in this study. This method would make it easier and cheaper for engineers and health risk assessors to identify and to control fugitive volatile organic compound emissions and to improve environmental health.     

Role of black carbon in the distribution of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins/dibenzofurans in aged field-contaminated soils

Floodplain soils containing elevated levels of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins/dibenzofurans (PCDD/Fs) were collected from several locations along the Tittabawassee River (Michigan, USA). The PCDD/F profiles of these soils exhibited distinct congener patterns consistent with byproducts from either chloralkali manufacturing or chlorophenols productions. Black carbon (BC) particles were isolated for the first time from floodplain soil impacted by PCDD/Fs. Petrographic analysis showed that BC particles, including coal, oxidized coal, metallurgical coke, depositional carbon, coal tar/pitch, cenosphere, and charcoal, comprised approximately 30% by volume of the organic fraction with size range of 250 μm-2000 μm from a typical floodplain soil. The BC particles with anthropogenic origin such as pitch and coke associated with the chloralkali production process served as both the source and subsequent transporter for the highly hydrophobic PCDD/Fs. These anthropogenic BC particles were enriched with high levels of PCDFs, containing approximately 1000-fold the concentration found in the bulk soil. The strong association of PCDD/Fs with anthropogenic BC directly impacts the physicochemical and biological availability thus the risk associated with these hydrophobic organochlorines in soils and sediments.     

Emission Control in Coking Operations By Use of Stage Charging

At the Clairton Coke Works of the United States Steel Corporation (the world’s largest coke plant), with coal charges of about 30,000 net tons per day, a system designated as “stage charging” has been developed for charging coal into the coke oven chamber without emissions to the atmosphere. The principles of the system are based on controlled sequential flow of the coal from the charging hoppers, during which the oven chamber is maintained under a very slight negative pressure condition by use of steam aspiration in the offtakes for on-the-main charging. The techniques are basic but require knowledge of the coal characteristics, adequate and properly maintained aspirating systems, including clean offtake piping, control of coal volume in the individual hoppers, and last, and probably most important, adherence by the operating crew to specific charging and leveling practices.     

dry coke quenching,air pollution and energy: a status report

Dry quenching of incandescent coke after it has been pushed from the coking ovens is a proved, reliable process that is presently being used in several industrialized countries. Foremost among dry quenching’s advantages are: (1) virtual elimination of air pollutants emitted during quenching; (2) elimination of potential water pollution associated with wet quenching; (3) improvements in the working environment; (4) saving substantial amounts of energy in usable forms; (5) producing more usable coke that is superior to wet-quenched coke. By continuously circulating inert gases through a cooling chamber that contains hot coke, dry quenching recovers waste-heat energy that can be used to produce steam, to produce electricity, to preheat combustion air, to preheat coal, to dry coal, and to preheat feed water supplied to fuel-fired boilers. The pay-out period on the capital investment (approximately $7,100,000) for an installation capable of processing 5500 tons of coke/day is less than four years.     

Environmental Progress and Problems: A Chemical Industry Perspective

From 1995 to 2004, in Genoa, Italy, daily concentrations of twelve polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were measured in particulate phase (PM10), around a coke oven plant in operation from the 1950s and closed in 2002. The study permitted to identify the coke oven as the main PAH source in Genoa, causing constant exceeding of benzo(a)pyrene (BaP) air quality target (1.0 ng/m3) in the urban area till 1,900 meters distance downwind the plant. For this reason the plant was closed. Distance and daily hours downwind the coke plant were the main sources of variability of toxic BaP equivalent (BaPeq) concentrations and equations that best fitted these variables were experimentally obtained. During full plant activity, annual average BaPeq concentrations, measured in the three sampling sites aligned downwind to the summer prevalent winds, were: 85 ng/m3 at 40 m (site 2, industrial area), 13.2 ng/m3 at 300 m (site 3, residential area) and 5.6 ng/m3 at 575 m (site 4, residential area).

Soon after the coke oven's closure (February 2002) BaPeq concentrations (annual average) measured in residential area, decreased drastically: 0.2 ng/m3 at site 3, 0.4 ng/m3 at site 4. Comparing 1998 and 2003 data, BaPeq concentrations decreased 97.6% in site 3 and 92.8% in site 4.

Samples collected at site 3, during the longest downwind conditions, provided a reliable PAH profile of fugitive coke oven emissions. This profile was significantly different from the PAH profile, contemporary found at site 5, near the traffic flow.

This study demonstrates that risk assessment based only on distance of residences from a coke plant can be heavily inaccurate and confirmed that seasonal variability of BaPeq concentrations and high variability of fugitive emissions of PAHs during coke oven activities require at least one year of frequent and constant monitoring (10-15 samples each month).

Implications: Around a coking plant, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), concentrations depend mainly on downwind hours and distance. Equations that best fit these variables were experimentally calculated. Fugitive emissions of an old coke oven did not comply with the threshold BAP air concentration proposed by the World Health Organization (WHO), up to 1,900 m distance. The study identified the PAH profile of fugitive emissions of a coke oven, statistically different from the profile of traffic emissions. During its activity, in the Genoa residential area, 575 m away from the plant, 92.8% of found PAHs was due to coke oven emission only.     

A Microscopic Classification of Settled Particulates in the Vicinity of a Found Coke-Making Operation

The purpose of this study was the specific identification of the components of settleable particulate samples collected near a coke-making operation. The identification technique employed is a new application of reflected-light microscopic examination of polished sections of the material. The inherent optical characteristics of the individual particles are utilized to classify them as coal (high?, medium?, and low-volatile), coke (coke balls, pyrolytic carbon, slot-oven coke, and char), fly ash or mineral matter. The application of this method of analysis is unique in that classification of particles is based on these inherent optical properties and not on shape, color, or other subjective criteria. This microscopic classification technique is based on accepted methods and should be generally applicable by petrographers on the basis of the photomicrographs and the detailed procedures which are included. On the basis of the data obtained during a six-month study near a coke-making operation it is concluded that material handling and stockpiling operations are major contributors to settled particulate deposition, while coke oven charging was not a major source. This study has shown that a broad program of engineering control will be required to significantly reduce settled particulate deposition in the immediate vicinity of a coke-making operation.     

Economics of Coke Oven Charging Controls

This study was undertaken to determine which of several alternative air pollution abatement systems affords the most economical solution to the control of atmospheric emissions during the charging of coal into by-product coke ovens. The study was limited to the consideration of existing by-product batteries, and the assumption was made that no coking plant has the alternative to do nothing nor will the plant choose to delay abatement through legal procedures. The data indicate that a jumper pipe installation with a new larry car provides the most economical control.     

Characterisation of volatile organic compounds and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in the ambient air of steelworks

Investigations have been undertaken at two integrated steelworks in the UK to characterise airborne organic micro-pollutants and to assess the contribution of iron ore sintering and coke making operations on the air quality. Concentrations of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), namely benzene, toluene and p-xylene, were measured continuously within the boundary of a coking plant using for the first time differential optical absorption spectrometry (DOAS) between 2004 and 2006. Concentrations were obtained along two monitoring paths surrounding the coke plant and the average benzene concentration measured along both paths over the campaign was 28 μg m^?3. Highest benzene concentrations were associated with winds downwind of the coke oven batteries. Concentrations of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in ambient air were measured during 27 consecutive days in 2005 at three different locations on an integrated steelworks. PAH profiles were determined for each sampling point and compared to coke oven and sinter plant emission profiles showing an impact from the steelworks. The mean benzo [a] pyrene concentration determined in the immediate vicinity of the coke ovens downwind from the battery was 19 ng m^?3, whereas for the two other sites average benzo [a] pyrene concentrations were much lower (around 1 ng m^?3). Data were analysed using principal components analysis (PCA) and results showed that coke making and iron ore sintering were responsible for most of the variation in the PAH concentrations in the vicinity of the investigated plant.     

Exposure to particle number,surface area and PM concentrations in pizzerias

The aim of this work was to quantify exposure to particles emitted by wood-fired ovens in pizzerias. Overall, 15 microenvironments were chosen and analyzed in a 14-month experimental campaign. Particle number concentration and distribution were measured simultaneously using a Condensation Particle Counter (CPC), a Scanning Mobility Particle Sizer (SMPS), an Aerodynamic Particle Sizer (APS). The surface area and mass distributions and concentrations, as well as the estimation of lung deposition surface area and PM₁ were evaluated using the SMPS-APS system with dosimetric models, by taking into account the presence of aggregates on the basis of the Idealized Aggregate (IA) theory. The fraction of inhaled particles deposited in the respiratory system and different fractions of particulate matter were also measured by means of a Nanoparticle Surface Area Monitor (NSAM) and a photometer (DustTrak DRX), respectively. In this way, supplementary data were obtained during the monitoring of trends inside the pizzerias. We found that surface area and PM₁ particle concentrations in pizzerias can be very high, especially when compared to other critical microenvironments, such as the transport hubs. During pizza cooking under normal ventilation conditions, concentrations were found up to 74, 70 and 23 times higher than background levels for number, surface area and PM₁, respectively. A key parameter is the oven shape factor, defined as the ratio between the size of the face opening in respect to the diameter of the semicircular oven door, and particular attention must also be paid to hood efficiency.     

Fabric Filter Applications on Coke Oven Pushing Operations

Coke oven pushing emissions containing quantities of tars and dust require new approaches to adapt fabric filter collectors. This paper deals with the Wheelabrator/Taisei precoat filter systems being used on coke oven pushing operations. The Taisei test program and the filter installation at Tokyo Gas are discussed. The variables to be evaluated in the design of a fabric filter emission control system are examined.     

Volatile Organic Compounds from Coal Tar and Soil Vapor Samples at MGP Sites

This study characterized organic compounds found in New York State manufactured gas plant (MGP) coal tar vapors using controlled laboratory experiments from four separate MGP sites. In addition, a limited number of deep (0.3–1.2 m above coal tar) and shallow (1.2–2.4 m above coal tar) soil vapor samples were collected above the in situ coal tar source at three of these sites. A total of 29 compounds were consistently detected in the laboratory-generated coal tar vapors at 50°C, whereas 24 compounds were detected at 10°C. The compounds detected in the field sample results were inconsistent with the compounds found in the laboratory-generated samples. Concentrations of compounds in the shallow soil vapor sample were either non-detectable or substantially lower than those found in deeper samples, suggesting attenuation in the vadose zone. Laboratory-generated data at 50°C compared the (% non-aromatic)/(% aromatic) ratio and indicated that this ratio may provide good discrimination between coal tar vapor and common petroleum distillates.     

焦炉装煤烟尘治理方案的探讨

焦炉装煤烟尘含有害物质,污染环境,危害人体健康。袋式除尘器的使用,消除了烟尘的污染,但因投资大、运行费用高、操作复杂,难以得到快速、广泛的推广。根据实验结果和已有应用情况,本文推荐了三相流化床除尘装置和颗粒层除尘器,它们可用于焦炉装煤烟尘治理,其投资和运行费用会大大降低。     

AISI-EPA-Battelle Coke Oven Door Sealing Program

The problem of coke oven door leakage is generally recognized as one for which no proven solution exists. In 1974 the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the American Iron and Steel Institute entered into a jointly funded research project with Battelle Columbus Laboratories. The initial project was to define the problem by literature search, operator interviews and profile measurements of jambs and doors.

Numerous concepts of seal designs were developed and then rated by industry and Battelle reviews. It was determined that a metal-to-metal seal offered the greatest probability of success. It was felt that jamb warpage was the most serious problem to be solved.

In the fall of 1976 another contract was signed by EPA and AISI assigning Battelle the task of developing to the point of fabrication a system to eliminate or significantly reduce leakage from coke oven end closures. This program included mathematical modeling, physical modeling, field data collecting, analysis, and full scale unit design.

A retrofittable door seal design has been developed and preparations are underway for operating evaluation at eight steel plants. The design is retrofittable to the two principal coke oven doors in service and should accommodate the worst jamb warpage usually found.     

焦炉装煤烟尘治理方案的探讨

焦炉装煤烟尘含有害物质，污染环境，危害人体健康。袋式除尘器的使用，消除了烟尘的污染，但因投资大、运行费用高、操作复杂，难以得到快速、广泛的推广。根据实验结果和已有应用情况，本文推荐了三相流化床除尘装置和颗粒层除尘器，它们可用于焦炉装煤烟尘治理，其投资和运行费用会大大降低。     

Estimating risk at a Superfund site using passive sampling devices as biological surrogates in human health risk models

Passive sampling devices (PSDs) sequester the freely dissolved fraction of lipophilic contaminants, mimicking passive chemical uptake and accumulation by biomembranes and lipid tissues. Public Health Assessments that inform the public about health risks from exposure to contaminants through consumption of resident fish are generally based on tissue data, which can be difficult to obtain and requires destructive sampling. The purpose of this study is to apply PSD data in a Public Health Assessment to demonstrate that PSDs can be used as a biological surrogate to evaluate potential human health risks and elucidate spatio-temporal variations in risk. PSDs were used to measure polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the Willamette River; upriver, downriver and within the Portland Harbor Superfund megasite for 3 years during wet and dry seasons. Based on an existing Public Health Assessment for this area, concentrations of PAHs in PSDs were substituted for fish tissue concentrations. PSD measured PAH concentrations captured the magnitude, range and variability of PAH concentrations reported for fish/shellfish from Portland Harbor. Using PSD results in place of fish data revealed an unacceptable risk level for cancer in all seasons but no unacceptable risk for non-cancer endpoints. Estimated cancer risk varied by several orders of magnitude based on season and location. Sites near coal tar contamination demonstrated the highest risk, particularly during the dry season and remediation activities. Incorporating PSD data into Public Health Assessments provides specific spatial and temporal contaminant exposure information that can assist public health professionals in evaluating human health risks.     

High Volume Air Sampler: An Orifice Meter as a Substitute for the Rotameter

Abstract

NOX control employing several combustion modification techniques is studied in batch annealing furnaces and ammonia combustion ovens in steel plants. The fuels of the annealing furnace and ammonia oven are by-product fuel gases and ammonia vapor, respectively, which are generated in the same steelworks. Study of the emission characteristics of the annealing furnace show that delayed combustion can effectively reduce NOX emissions. Delayed combustion is accomplished by air-staging in burners, off-symmetric mixing of fuel and air, and air-biasing in the furnace, and these modification can operations achieve 60%, 40%, and 26% of NOX reductions, respectively. For the ammonia oven, NOX emission from combustion of ammonia vapor is remarkably reduced by staging the air injected into the oven, adjusting the total air rate, and adding by-product fuel gases to the combustion system.     

Odor Control In Los Angeles County

Abstract

Concentrations of 38 gas-phase organic air toxics were measured over a 2-yr period at four different sites in and around Pittsburgh, PA, to investigate spatial variations in health risks from chronic exposure. The sites were chosen to represent different exposure regimes: a downtown site with substantial mobile source emissions; two residential sites adjacent to one of the most heavily industrialized zones in Pittsburgh; and a regional background site. Lifetime cancer risks and non-cancer hazard quotients were estimated using a traditional and interactive risk models. Although study average concentrations of specific air toxics varied by as a much as a factor of 26 between the sites, the additive cancer risks of the gas-phase organic air toxics varied by less than a factor of 2, ranging from 6.1 × 10^-5 to 9.5 × 10^-5. The modest variation in risks reflects the fact that two regionally distributed toxics, formalde-hyde and carbon tetrachloride (CCl₄), contributed more than half of the cancer risk at all four sites. Benzene contributed substantial cancer risks at all sites, whereas trichloroethene and 1,4-dichlorobenzene only contributed substantial cancer risks at the downtown site. Only acrolein posed a non-cancer risk. Diesel particulate matter is estimated to pose a much greater cancer risk in Pittsburgh than other classes of air toxics including gas-phase organic, metals, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and coke oven emissions. Health risks of air toxics in Pittsburgh are comparable with those in other urban areas in the United States.