Comparison of Air Pollutant Emissions from Vaporizing and Air Atomizing Waste Oil Heaters

Information presented in this paper is directed to individuals concerned with emissions from combustion of waste crankcase oil for space heating. Studies were performed to characterize gaseous and particulate emissions and vaporizing pot solid residues resulting from the combustion of waste crankcase oil. Two types of waste oil burners were tested. One was a vaporizing oil burner rated at 35.2 kW (120,000 Btu/h heat input), and the other was an air atomizing oil burner rated at 73.3 kW (250,000 Btu/h heat input). Except for NO_X and SO_X, gaseous emissions were similar to those from conventional distillate oil combustion. NO_X and SO_X emissions were higher due to higher fuel nitrogen and sulfur concentrations. Waste oil from automotive use showed higher inorganic levels than crankcase oil used for truck engine lubrication. Both burner types discharged high levels of metallic species, but the air atomizing unit had much higher stack emission levels than did the vaporizing pot system. Also, particulate loading levels were an order of magnitude higher for the air atomizing burner than for the vaporizing pot burner when firing the waste oils. However, the vaporizing pot burner generated a waste residue containing the majority of its elemental emissions. Elements which exceeded threshold limit values for one or both heaters were cadmium, chromium, cobalt, copper, iron, lead, nickel, phosphorus, and zinc. However, the nickel and much of chromium appeared to be a sampling artifact caused by the stainless steel sampling system.     

Evaluation of Selected Gaseous Halocarbons for Use in source Test Performance Audits

A repository of 38 gaseous organic compounds in compressed gas cylinders has been established by EPA. This repository was established to provide standards for source test performance audits, that is, quantitative quality assurance tests. Among these compounds are ten halogenated organic species, which are the focus of this paper.

Stability studies of all ten compounds have been performed to determine the feasibility of using them as performance audit standards. Results indicate that all of the halocarbons tested are adequately stable to be used as reliable audit standards.

Subsequent to completion of stability studies, four of the ten halocarbons were used in source test performance audits. Results are available at this time for two of the four compounds; the results show agreement within 10% of the concentrations previously established by Research Triangle Institute.     

A Method for Predicting the Effective Volume Resistivity of a Sodium Depleted Fly Ash Layer

Research has been conducted to develop a technique for predicting the effective volume resistivity of a fly ash layer that has been exposed to circumstances leading to a hot-side precipitator problem known as sodium depletion. Eight fly ashes, representing a major portion of U.S. coals, were evaluated by subjecting 0.5 cm ash layers to a continuously applied voltage gradient of 4 kV/cm for periods of time up to 35 days at a temperature of 350°C (662°F). Resistivity was determined at 350°C before the test started and after the long period of applied voltage used to create the sodium depleted situation. In this condition, resistivity was also determined at 280°C (536°F) for an average electric field Intensity of 4 kV/cm and immediately prior to breakdown. This experimental method can be used with any ash sample to estimate resistivity In a sodium depleted condition. But in addition, a correlation resulting from these resistivity data has been developed. This correlation Is combined with an existing technique for predicting resistivity to produce a method for calculating the expected ash layer resistivity after sodium depletion has occurred.     

Hazardous Waste Minimization: Part IV Waste Reduction in the Metal Finishing Industry

The metal finishing industry uses over 40 production processes to produce a wide range of metal products. Waste streams generated include wastewater, waste oils, spent solvents, and spent process solutions. Currently a wide variety of techniques which minimize waste are available. Cost-effective methods to reduce electroplating wastewater contamination include water conservation and drag-out reduction, recovery and management. Ways to cost-effectively reduce the generation of spent metal-working fluids include establishing a fluid management program and installing a fluid recovery system. However, before any techniques are selected, a waste reduction survey should first be conducted.     

An Evaluation of the Semi-VOST Method for Determining Emissions from Hazardous Waste Incinerators

The Semi-Volatile Organic Sampling Train method was investigated to determine its reliability and to determine the bias and precision of the method when used to determine emissions from hazardous waste incinerators. Experiments showed that the matrix and sampling variables usually involved in sampling emissions from a hazardous waste incinerator had no significant effect on the recovery of 11 different organic compounds. Significant losses of the sampled compounds can occur during sample preparation. The degree of loss appears to be directly related to the compounds, vapor pressure. These losses can be corrected for by adding deuterated surrogates to the sample and analyzing the surrogates along with the native compounds.

The bias determination was based on dynamic spiking of the sampling train with five deuterated organic compounds selected from Appendix VIII of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act regulations. The results show biases of from -1 ± 8 percent to -18 ± 27 percent for chlorinated and nonchlorinated compounds. Pyridine, a water-soluble compound, showed a larger bias of-29 ± 13 percent. Particular attention to the recovery of water soluble compounds is necessary to minimize bias in their determinations. Further work is needed to determine the reliability of laboratory-determined retention volumes that are used to determine sampling conditions.     

Particulate,Carbon Monoxide,and Acid Emission Factors for Residential Wood Burning Stoves

Emissions from residential wood burning stoves are of Increasing concern in many areas. This concern is due to the magnitude of the emissions and the toxic and chemical characteristics of the pollutants. Recent testing of standard and new technology woodstoves has provided data for developing a family of particulate and carbon monoxide emission factor curves. This testing has also provided data illustrating the acidity of woodstove emissions. The particulate and carbon monoxide curves relate the actual stove emissions to the stove size and operating parameters of burn rate, fuel loading, and fuel moisture. Curves relating stove types to the acidity of emissions have also been constructed.

Test data show actual emissions vary from 3 to 50 grams per kilogram for particles and from 50 to 300 grams per kilogram for carbon monoxide. Since woodstove emissions are the largest single category of particulate emissions in many areas, it Is essential that these emissions be quantified specifically for geographic regions, allowing meaningful impact analysis modeling to be accomplished. Emission factors for particles and carbon monoxide are presented from several stove sizes and burn rates.

The acidic nature of woodstove emissions has been clearly demonstrated. Tests indicate woodstove flue gas condensate solutions to be predominantly in the 2.8 to 4.2 pH range. Condensate solutions from conventional woodstoves exhibited the characteristic buffering capacity of carboxylic acids when titrations were performed with a strong base. The environmental impact of buffered acidic woodstove emissions is not currently well understood; however, it is possible with the data presented here to make semi-quantitative estimates of acid emissions from particulate and carbon monoxide emission factors and wood use inventories.     

The Mutagenic Activity of Particulate Organic Matter Collected with a Dilution Sampler at Coal-Fired Power Plants

The Deep Creek Lake Study of 1983 provided an opportunity to obtain emission samples from coal-fired power plants with a dilution sampler for mutagenicity testing. Stack and ambient samples of particulate matter were collected with a dilution sampler at three coal-fired power plants in West Virginia. Samples were sequentially extracted with cyclohexane (CX), dichloromethane (DCM) and acetone (ACE) and tested for mutagenicity in the Ames Salmonella/microsome assay using TA98 (-S9). For the stack samples, the CX, DCM and ACE fractions constituted 1.0, 0.7 and 98.1 percent of the total extractable organic material (EOM), respectively, compared to 28.5, 7.4 and 64.1 percent for the ambient samples. In contrast, the mutagenic activity of the organic fractions was concentrated in the CX and DCM fractions.

The cyclohexane- and dichloromethane-soluble fractions of the stack samples from all locations exhibited mutagenicity when tested in the plate incorporation assay. No significant response was observed with the acetone fraction. When tested with Kado's modification of the preincubation assay, the acetone-soluble fraction did exhibit mutagenic activity comparable to that of the other fractions when expressed in units of revertants per milligram of particular matter. Chemical analyses of one of the acetone-soluble fractions indicated that half of the mass was sulfuric acid while the remainder consisted of C, H and O. More than 30 peaks were detected in the high pressure liquid chromatogram of this fraction.

Although little mutagenic activity was detected in the polar ACE fraction of the diluted stack emissions samples with this single bioassay, in view of the large mass of this fraction, further investigation of the chemical composition and genotoxic activity of this fraction would be prudent.     

Experimental Characterization of Atmospheric Diffusion in Complex Terrain with Land-Sea Interactions

The body of information presented in this paper is directed to scientists working in atmospheric dispersion research and model development. Two years of field measurements in the coastal area of Bilbao in northern Spain show that the diffusion behavior in this complex terrain can be classified into several well defined patterns, which correspond to certain meteorological conditions. The approach taken has been the systematic use of SO₂ remote sensors (COSPEC) and ground level monitors in moving platforms which are used to follow and document the flow of the air mass. Results to date show that complex reentry cycles can occur and that synoptically different flows may be indistinguishable by wind sensors at ground level (affected by channeling), and yet result in totally different observed pollution levels by a fixed monitoring network (affected by topographical effects). These results are being used to parameterize the cause-effect relationships and guide the modeling efforts in this area of complex terrain.     

Evaluation of the Use of Solar Irradiation for the Decontamination of Soils Containing Wood Treating Wastes

Laboratory evaluation of the efficacy of soil phase photodegradation of recalcitrant hazardous organic components of wood treating wastes is described. The photodecomposition of anthracene, biphenyl, 9H-carbazole, m-cresol, dibenzofuran, fluorene, pentachlorophenol, phenanthrene, pyrene and quinoline under UV and visible light was monitored over a 50-day reaction period in three test soils. Methylene blue, riboflavin, hydrogen peroxide, peat moss and diethylamine soil amendments were evaluated as to their effect on the enhancement of compound photoreaction rates in the test soil systems. Dark control samples monitored over the entire study period were utilized to quantify non-photo mediated reaction losses. Compounds losses in both the dark control and irradiated samples were found to follow first order kinetics, allowing the calculation of first order photodegradation reaction rate constants for each test soil/compound combination. Degradation due to photochemical activity was observed for all test compounds, with compound photolytic half-lives ranging from 7 to approximately 180 days. None of the soil amendments were found to improve soil phase photodegradation, although photosensitization by anthracene was shown to significantly enhance the rate of photodegradation of the other test compounds. Soil type, and its characteristic of internal reflectance, proved to be the most significant factor affecting compound degradation rates suggesting the necessity for site specific assessments of soil phase photodegradation potential.