continuous emissions monitors for toxics need more work

1
incinerators that burn hazardous waste. Fear of new hazardous waste regulations would lead a slow drive toward pollution pre- vention, he added. However, EI surveys show that no commercial hazardous waste incineration firms will leave the business, he said. Instead, they will make the pollution control modifications called for and hope new business will come their way when owners of on-site incinera- tors and cement kilns are eventu- ally faced with large expenditures for new control equipment. He added that commercial burners may also receive new business when and if the boiler and indus- trial furnace rule comes out. —JEFF JOHNSON Continuous emissions monitors for toxics need more work Continuous emissions monitors (CEMs) for air toxics may be available, but they are not de- pendable or commercially viable, according to federal engineers and scientists who spoke Dec. 10-11 at a technical workshop at EPA's offices in Research Triangle Park, N.C. The "emissions and process monitoring" workshop was sponsored by the Depart- ment of Energy (DOE), EPA, American Society of Mechanical Engineers, and Air and Waste Management Association to dis- development of CEMs for toxic air pollutants The most prominent driver of CEM devel- opment for this application is DOE's disposal needs and EPA's hazardous waste incineration reg- ulation now stalled in part be- cause of the lack of field-ready CEMs (see story above) Much discussed at the work- shop was a DOE program to de- velop CEMs for use in destroying its stockpile of mixed hazardous and low-level nuclear wastes stored at DOE facilities across the country. DOE, along with the De- partment of Defense and EPA, has created a $41 million annual federal technology development budget for treating mixed hazard- ous and nuclear waste, according to Stephen Priebe, an engineer at the DOE Idaho National Engi- neering Laboratory. Much of this funding llHS 20116 into develop- ment of CEM technologies that can be used to measure particu- lates mercurv metals volatile organic compounds various chlo- rinated comDOunds, and dioxin emissions from incinerators Overall, Priebe stressed that although CEM technologies are available for these air pollutants, most need further development before they can meet current reg- ulatory requirements. Closest to commercialization, he said, are CEMs for particulates and mer- cury, but even these need more testing. Farthest off is a dioxin CEM, although a German tech- nology is undergoing tests at the agency's North Carolina facility. Priebe also noted that high on EPA's and DOE's priority list was development of multimetal CEMs. He said DOE and EPA hope their seed funds will bring a commercially viable multimetals CEM to market in 12-18 months. Priebe noted that DOE re- cendy put together a 100-page background strategy document to guide the federal, multiagency CEM research agenda. Mean- while, he said, federal officials are "encouraged by what is out there." Increasingly, the need for pro- cess controls—rather than regula- tory requirements—was becom- ing the main CEM driver, Priebe added; in other words, the need for treatment system operators to understand and control incinera- tion is pushing CEMs. "CEMs can provide valuable data that may help in negotiations with regula- tors to set permitting and testing requirements." In DOE's case, CEMs offer in- cinerator operators the opportu- nity to avoid expensive, danger- ous, and difficult tests to characterize mixed wastes before burning them. Real-time emis- sions monitoring holds the po- tential to give operators the abil- ity to adjust burn parameters and feed requirements immediately and to control emissions from a hodgepodge of wastes. Character- ization of the contents of drums of long-buried mixed wastes he said is one of the biggest prob- lems facing DOE's cleanup pro- gram .—JEFF JOHNSON EPA's rotary kiln incinerator simulator at its Research Triangle Park laboratory is being used to test continuous emissions monitors for metals. Shown above is the kiln's afterburner in which metals are added to the exiting gas stream to challenge the mon- itoring equipment. (Photo courtesy of EPA) VOL. 31, NO. 2, 1997/ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY / NEWS • 7 9 A

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Page 1: Continuous emissions monitors for toxics need more work

incinerators that burn hazardous waste. Fear of new hazardous waste regulations would lead a slow drive toward pollution pre­vention, he added.

However, EI surveys show that no commercial hazardous waste

incineration firms will leave the business, he said. Instead, they will make the pollution control modifications called for and hope new business will come their way when owners of on-site incinera­tors and cement kilns are eventu­

ally faced with large expenditures for new control equipment. He added that commercial burners may also receive new business when and if the boiler and indus­trial furnace rule comes out. —JEFF JOHNSON

Continuous emissions monitors for toxics need more work Continuous emissions monitors (CEMs) for air toxics may be available, but they are not de­pendable or commercially viable, according to federal engineers and scientists who spoke Dec. 10-11 at a technical workshop at EPA's offices in Research Triangle Park, N.C. The "emissions and process monitoring" workshop was sponsored by the Depart­ment of Energy (DOE), EPA, American Society of Mechanical Engineers, and Air and Waste Management Association to dis-

development of CEMs for toxic air pollutants The most prominent driver of CEM devel­opment for this application is DOE's disposal needs and EPA's hazardous waste incineration reg­ulation now stalled in part be­cause of the lack of field-ready CEMs (see story above)

Much discussed at the work­shop was a DOE program to de­velop CEMs for use in destroying its stockpile of mixed hazardous and low-level nuclear wastes stored at DOE facilities across the country. DOE, along with the De­partment of Defense and EPA, has created a $41 million annual federal technology development budget for treating mixed hazard­ous and nuclear waste, according to Stephen Priebe, an engineer at the DOE Idaho National Engi­neering Laboratory. Much of this funding llHS 20116 into develop­ment of CEM technologies that can be used to measure particu­lates mercurv metals volatile organic compounds various chlo­rinated comDOunds, and dioxin emissions from incinerators

Overall, Priebe stressed that although CEM technologies are available for these air pollutants, most need further development before they can meet current reg­ulatory requirements. Closest to commercialization, he said, are CEMs for particulates and mer­cury, but even these need more

testing. Farthest off is a dioxin CEM, although a German tech­nology is undergoing tests at the agency's North Carolina facility. Priebe also noted that high on EPA's and DOE's priority list was development of multimetal CEMs. He said DOE and EPA hope their seed funds will bring a commercially viable multimetals CEM to market in 12-18 months.

Priebe noted that DOE re-cendy put together a 100-page background strategy document to guide the federal, multiagency CEM research agenda. Mean­while, he said, federal officials are "encouraged by what is out there."

Increasingly, the need for pro­cess controls—rather than regula­tory requirements—was becom­ing the main CEM driver, Priebe added; in other words, the need

for treatment system operators to understand and control incinera­tion is pushing CEMs. "CEMs can provide valuable data that may help in negotiations with regula­tors to set permitting and testing requirements."

In DOE's case, CEMs offer in­cinerator operators the opportu­nity to avoid expensive, danger­ous, and difficult tests to characterize mixed wastes before burning them. Real-time emis­sions monitoring holds the po­tential to give operators the abil­ity to adjust burn parameters and feed requirements immediately and to control emissions from a hodgepodge of wastes. Character­ization of the contents of drums of long-buried mixed wastes he said is one of the biggest prob­lems facing DOE's cleanup pro-gram .—JEFF JOHNSON

EPA's rotary kiln incinerator simulator at its Research Triangle Park laboratory is being used to test continuous emissions monitors for metals. Shown above is the kiln's afterburner in which metals are added to the exiting gas stream to challenge the mon­itoring equipment. (Photo courtesy of EPA)

VOL. 31, NO. 2, 1997/ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY / NEWS • 7 9 A