Product Guide/1975

Measurements conducted on full-scale hazardous waste incinerators have occasionally shown a relationship between carbon monoxide (CO) emissions and emissions of toxic organic compounds. In this study, four mixtures of chlorinated C₁ and C₂ hydrocarbons were diluted in commercial-grade heptane and burned in a water-cooled turbulent flame reactor (TFR) under two different excess air levels. No correlation between CO and organic emissions could be discerned. Reasons for this lack of observable correlations are discussed in terms of combustion and chemical reaction kinetic theory.     

Improvement of Ambient Sulfur Dioxide Concentrations by Conversion from Low to High Stacks

A study of the “before” and “after” ground-level S0₂ concentrations near the Muskingum River Plant of the American Electric Power System shows that the conversion from low to high stacks has accomplished marked reductions in ambient concentrations. These reductions are in reasonable agreement with theoretical calculations and are most apparent within 5 km of the source. EPA Standards are now being met in this area despite the presence of the 1440 MW power plant burning 5% sulfur fuel with no treatment of the stack gas.     

The Change of Concentration Standard Deviations with Distance

Calculations of pollutant concentrations at various downwind and crosswind distances from an elevated point source are frequently based on diffusion models and parameter values contained in Turner’s Workbook of Atmospheric Dispersion Estimates.1 These calculations can be made much more speedily on a computer or on a currentgeneration, programmable desk calculator, if the values of the horizontal and vertical standard deviations of plume concentrations distributions are stated explicitly as a mathematical function of downwind distance. The alternative is to read the values from Turner’s Figures 3-2 and 3-3 and input them into the calculation for each individual value of downwind distance.     

The Use of Nahcolite Ore and Bag Filters For Sulfur Dioxide Emission Control

This paper describes some technical and economic aspects of the nahcolite ore injection process for the simultaneous removal of fly ash and sulfur oxides from stack gases. The process is capable of removing greater than 99% of the particulate matter and greater than 70% of the sulfur oxides present in such gases. In the process, nahcolite ore, a naturally occurring material containing 70 to 90% sodium bicarbonate, is ground to 90% passing through —200 mesh screens. Approximately 20% of the ground ore is used to precoat the filter bags in a baghouse filter while the remainder of the material is fed into the flue gas Just ahead of the baghouse. The flue gas is drawn through the baghouse by induced draft fans and sent up the stack. Most of the SO₂ and practically all of the fly ash in the flue gas can be removed as the gas passes through the filter bags. The spent nahcolite ore and fly ash are collected and conveyed to waste disposal as landfill, or alternatively processed for insolubilization by coprecipitation prior to landfilling. The technical feasibility of the process has been demonstrated in both bench scale and pilot scale engineering studies. Economic analyses performed for the cases of plants located in the midwest and southwest indicate lower capital costs for the nahcolite injection process when compared to wet scrubbing. On an annual cost basis, the nahcolite ore Injection process is comparable in cost to wet scrubbing for the case of the southwestern power plant, and somewhat more expensive for the case of the midwestern plant.     

Methylcyclopentadienyl Manganese Tricarbonyl as an Antiknock: Composition and Fate of Manganese Exhaust Products

Methylcyclopentadienyl manganese tricarbonyl (MMT) has been marketed as a combustion improver for fuel oil and turbine fuel. Use concentrations for this purpose are about 0.025 g manganese/gal in fuel oil and 0.08 to 0.5 g/gal in turbine fuels. In addition, it has been used to a small extent in gasoline.     

Economics and Alternatives for Sulfur Removal from Coke Oven Gas

Two processes are currently being employed in North America for the desulfurization of coke oven gas, the Vacuum Carbonate System, and the Stretford System. A third, the Sulfi-ban Process, which was recently announced, now has several plants scheduled for construction. Overall operating requirements for each of these processes are considered in detail. Emphasis is placed on an identification of power and steam requirements, the types and amounts of solid and/or liquid waste streams produced together with methods for their treatment, and the net desulfurization efficiencies achieved by each process. Detailed estimates of capital and operating costs for desulfurization are considered, and equipment needs for environmental control requirements are discussed.     

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.     

A Policy of Options

As many of you know, I previously served as Deputy Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency at a time when the problem of air pollution control was reaching a peak of public awareness. The work of the Air Pollution Control Association in investigating facts and accelerating the development of solutions earned my high respect then and my continued admiration now.     

Cooling Towers and the Environment

Measurements of natural draft cooling tower plume behavior, as well as meteorological variables, were obtained from aircraft flights near major power plants of the American Electric Power System. Persistence of the visible plume to great distances depends essentially on ambient humidity. Atmospheric stability at plume elevation was also important. Cooling tower-induced fog at ground-level was never observed in any of the tests, and aerodynamic downwash of the visible plume was absent also. The cooling towers did cause modification of natural clouds and they occasionally shadowed some local areas from the sun. Merging of the stack and cooling tower plumes was a common occurrence.