United States
Environmental
Protection Agency
Office of Research
and Development
Washington, D.C. 20460
Office of Environmental Engineering & Technology
& EPA Program Summary
EPA-600/8-80-020
April 1980
the EPA
Energy/Environmental
Control Technology
Program
-------
"The overall objective of
EPA's energy/environmental
control technology program
is to provide the scientific
information necessary for
developing rational policies
that strike a balance
between ample quantities
of affordable domestic
energy and environmental
quality."
Steven R. Reznek
Deputy Assistant Administrator
Office of Environmental Engineering
& Technology
-------
the EPA
Energy/Environmental
Control Technology
Program
introduction 2
background 3
interairencSr I^jyp. program 4
rSfchallenge 6
rogram 8
scope 9
gement 10
dination 11
funding 13
-------
During the 1950's, the development
of nuclear power preoccupied Federal
energy programs. Official policy was
based on the belief that nuclear power
would someday displace petroleum
and natural gas as the nation's main
source of electricity generation. The
clean fossil fuels, it was thought,
would continue to be in abundant
supply for transportation, home
heating and other uses. Nuclear
power research received greater
emphasis and funding as the
interest in coal research waned.
Simultaneously, the production of oil
and natural gas increased while
mining of coal declined.
In the 19601s, the White House
commissioned the first compre-
hensive review of the nation's
future energy problems. Known as the
Cambel Report, the review embodied
the accepted belief in the two fuels
concept—nuclear fuel for electricity,
and petroleum fuel for transportation.
The 1970's were characterized by
major legislation aimed at reversing
the trend toward environmental
degradation associated with effluents
and emissions from energy and
industrial sources. The Clean Air Act,
the Federal Water Pollution Control
Act, and the Resource Conservation
and Recovery Act have had major
impacts on existing and new energy
facilities. They have required
incorporation of state-of-the-art
control technology to minimize air,
water and land pollution and have
encouraged development of more
effective and less costly controls in
order to improve environmental quality
"We can elect to pay the
environmental and
public health costs with
advanced cost-effective
control technologies, or
burden future
generations with far
higher costs."
Steven R. Reznek
Deputy Assistant Administrator
OEET
By 1967 the White House
questioned energy complacency and
established an Energy Policy Office
within the Office of Science and
Technology. In 1971, the President
delivered the first energy message,
calling for development of flue gas
desulfurization technologies and
production of synthetic high-BTU gas.
Both programs were aimed at finding
ways to make coal a more acceptable
fuel. By 1972, national science policy
makers began to question the
conventional wisdom on our future
fuels availability. A new study was
ordered by the administration to
develop a set of energy research and
development goals. Before that study
could be disseminated, the Arab
world imposed the historic oil
embargo of 1973-74.
Following the embargo, the
President commissioned a Federal
study of energy problems and needed
research programs. That study, "The
Nation's Energy Future" —better
known as the Ray Report — stated
two things quite clearly: first, the cost
of new energy supplies would be
high; energy supply must cease to be
regarded as a public service delivered
to meet any and all demands; the
amount of energy supplied must
reflect its cost of production. Second,
available sources of new energy had
the potential for degrading
environmental quality and impairing
public health; proper choices of future
energy supplies therefore, must
include an evaluation of their potential
impact on human health and the
environment.
Based on recommendations of the
Ray Report, the Office of Management
and Budget (OMB) proposed a
program to develop new and
environmentally acceptable
nonnuclear energy sources. The
fundamental legislation for this
program was the Federal Nonnuclear
Energy Research and Development
Act (Public Law 93-577 enacted in
December, 1974) and the agency
designated to implement the Act was
the new Energy Research and
Development Administration (ERDA).
Section 11 of PL. 93-577 directed the
President's Council on Environmental
Quality to hold annual public hearings
and prepare appropriate reports on
"... the adequacy of attention given to
energy conservation methods and
environmental protection... and the
environmental consequences of the
application of energy technologies."
(Responsibility for this review was
subsequently transferred, under
President Carter's reorganization in
1976, to EPA.)
-------
Interagency R&D Program
The President's Council on
Environmental Quality and the Office
of Management and Budget estab-
lished two Federal interagency task
forces representing 23 Federal agencies
and departments to ensure that major
environmental problems related to
energy resource development were
anticipated and evaluated. One of
these task forces designed a program
for controlling energy pollutants and
impacts. The other designed a
program for research on environmental
processes and effects of energy
development. They jointly developed a
program structure for the Federal
Interagency Energy/Environment
Research and Development
Program with its two main R&D
areas:
• The Control Technology
Program, and
• The Health and Environmental
Effects Program.
The environmental control technology
portion of the Interagency Program is
administered by EPA!s Office of
Environmental Engineering and
Technology (OEET) within the Office of
Research and Development.
At the time of the Arab oil
embargo, EPA maintained a program
in pollution control technology for
combustion sources. For stationary
sources, this program included the
control of sulfur oxides, nitrogen
oxides and particulate matter. For
mobile sources, the program was
designed to develop alternative, less
polluting power systems. With the
enactment of P.L. 93-577, the division
of responsibility between EPA and
ERDA for energy/environment
research was made clear. ERDA would
develop all new energy technologies
and be responsible for their
environmental performance. EPA
would develop controls for
conventional energy technologies and
assess the environmental performance
of conventional and advanced energy
technologies. These defined
responsibilities remained effective
until Fiscal Year 1979, at which time the
Department of Energy, whose role is to
oversee large-scale demonstration
projects, joined in the program to
develop controls for conventional
combustion sources.
Ibday, EPA and DOE cooperate in
the planning, review and
implementation of the control
technology program, which has three
major types of activities:
• Environmental assessment,
• Regulatory support, and
• Environmental control
technology development.
Environmental assessment is the
process of identifying the types or
quantities of pollutants or
environmental impacts from energy
technologies. The purpose of
assessment is to identify
environmental concerns and to set
priorities for establishing control
requirements. Regulatory support
involves the development of
information bases for establishing
control requirements under the Clean
Air Act, the Clean Water Act, the
Resource Conservation and Recovery
Act and the Ibxic Substances Control
Act. Finally, environmental control
technology development includes
research and development of
laboratory techniques, pilot plants and
demonstration facilities for new
pollution control systems.
One important aspect of this control
technology program is the review,
evaluation and the subsequent
dissemination of the results to those
in the Federal research community,
both within and outside the
interagency program, and to other
individuals and organizations who are
involved in related work.
The goal of EPA's energy/
environment program today is
to assure that the nation can
accomplish the transition from over-
dependence on oil and gas to greater
use of abundant domestic coal
resources and other alternative fuels,
without undue degradation of the
environment. This means, in essence,
that the costs and capabilities of
environmental pollution controls must
be better understood and new
technologies must be designed and
operated to minimize pollution. This
program can help solve the nation's
energy problems by ensuring that
environmental problems associated
-------
total domestic fossil energy 1975/1990/2000
resources
| [ onshore
offshore
eastern underground
• eastern strip
| | western
heavy oil
surface
in-situ
oil shale
2000
1990
1975
gas
2000
1990
1975
oil
2000
1990
1975
coal
2000
1990
1975
requirements
fuels consumed as liquids
imports
50 40 30 20 10 0 quads of energy 0
-------
growth in emissions/wastes from stationary sources
millions of tons
1300
net emissions (after treatment)
1975 1990 2000
*total suspended
particulates "/
"energy and industrial sources
1975 ,1990 2000
*sulfur oxides
1975 1990 2000
*nitrogen
oxides
1975 1990 2000
utility coal ash/
sludges
1975 1990 2000
oil shale
wastes
with alternative fuels are identified
and that new, cost effective control
measures are developed and used.
The Future Challenge
The President has proposed a
comprehensive and aggressive
program to limit the import and
reduce our dependency on foreign oil
and provide the Nation a measure of
energy security.
The program emphasizes exploration,
development and use of domestic
energy supplies - particularly coal, oil
shale, unconventional natural gas and
heavy oil. Energy conservation
measures, related to automobile use
and home and office heating and
cooling, are strongly encouraged.
Assuming that these proposed
conservation and production
initiatives are successful, projections
indicate a massive increase in
coal mining and use, as well as
major growth in other fossil energy
sources. Coal mining in the United
States will increase from the current
700 million tons annually to 1.4 billion
tons in 1990 and 1.9 billion tons
by the end of the century.
Although most of this growth in coal
use is associated with conventional
combustion, 120 million tons are
projected to be used for the
production of synthetic liquids and
gases in 1990 and 300 million tons in
2000. We can also expect that the
1980's will see the oil shale industry
emerge as a significant supplier of
fuel, producing up to 40,000 barrels
per day by 1990 and 1.2 million barrels
per day by 2000.
Such projections indicate a trend
away from traditional and less
environmentally damaging energy
sources, toward potentially more
damaging fossil fuel sources such as
coal, oil or gas from the Outer
Continental Shelf, and western oil
shales.
-------
These major shifts toward increased
use of fossil fuels can pose a
significant threat to human health
and the environment. Potential
negative impacts are likely to result
from the extraction, processing and
utilization phases of each major fuel.
For example, increases in coal and oil
shale mining can create erosion and
subsequent surface water siltation
problems; groundwater quantity and
quality are also likely to be affected.
Processing coal and oil shale to
synthetic liquids and gases may yield
toxic emissons and, despite current
regulations, an increase in coal
combustion will result in increased
production of nitrogen oxides, sulfur
oxides and solid wastes.
Many of the adverse impacts on
health and environmental quality can
be controlled or avoided: most mined
land can be reclaimed; particulate
matter and the oxides of nitrogen and
sulfur can be scrubbed from flue gas;
acid precipitation and its effects on
agricultural and forest production can
be reduced.
Controlling these pollutants
increases the monetary cost of energy,
but failure to control them lowers the
productivity of our natural resources,
degrades the quality of our
environment, and imperils the health
'of our population. We can elect to pay
the environmental and public health
costs of increased use of fossil fuels
now with improved reclamation
practices and advanced cost-effective
control technologies, or we can
burden future generations with the far
higher costs of a barren planet whose
air, water, land, and human resources
have been dissipated.
Photo Courtesy Hoffman-Muntner
Coal cleaning facility in
Greene County,
Pennsylvania.
Photo Courtesy Department o; Energy
Pulverized coal being
loaded.
-------
The overall objective of EPAs energy/
environmental control technology
program is to provide the scientific
information necessary for developing
rational policies that strike a
balance between ample Quantities
of affordable domestic energy and
environmental quality In order to
achieve this objective, the Agency is
conducting, in conjunction with other
Federal agencies, a comprehensive
research, development and
demonstration program focused on
evaluating and developing cost-effective
pollution control technology. The major
thrust of the program is to generate
technical and cost information on
which reasonable environmental
standards can be based.
Scope
In light of the potential increases in
coal use for conventional combustion
and synthetic fuel production, and the
emergence of oil shale and offshore oil
as major liquid fuel sources, the EPA
control technology program is focused
on the following areas of energy
research:
• Extraction of coal, oil shale and
offshore oil;
• Fuel processing, with emphasis
on synthetic fuels from coal, oil
shale and biomass; and
• Coal combustion, with
emphasis on sulfur oxides
(SOx), nitrogen oxides (NOx),
particulates, unregulated
pollutants, ashes and sludges;
• Other emerging energy
technologies, particularly
geothermal, waste-as-fuel and
solar technologies.
"OEET is developing
advanced
environmental
control technologies
to provide
an energy-secure
economy
and a healthy human
environment."
Frank T. Princiotta
Director, Energy Processes Division
OEET
The control technology program is
comprised of six subprograms:
Fuel Extraction. This program deals
with environmental quality problems
associated with the technologies and
processes for obtaining fuels, such as
offshore oil or natural gas extraction, oil
shale development, or coal mining. It is
intended that this research program (1)
assess the existing and potential
adverse environmental impacts from
active and future resource extraction,
production, storage and transportation,
(2) develop methods, technologies and
equipment to prevent, control, and
abate environmental pollutants from
these operations (including spill
clean-up), and (3) document the
technical/operational feasibility and
cost effectiveness of environmental
control options.
Fuel Processing, Preparation and
Advanced Combustion. This
program is involved with the
development of advanced technologies
for fossil fuel processing by providing
environmental assessments,
bench-scale research, technology
assessments and guidance in process
control technology. The program will tie
in with DOE's process development and
environmental programs to identify and
quantify all residuals from synthetic
fuels from coal processes, oil shale
development, fluidized bed combustors,
and coal cleaning. Comprehensive
environmental assessments will be
performed for these technologies to
anticipate the severity of each
environmental problem and the
corresponding means for its control.
Flue Gas Sulfur Oxide Control. This
program develops and evaluates
alternative technologies for the removal
of sulfur oxide emissions from
combustion flue gas. The goal of this
program is to develop technical data on
which EPA may establish emission
standards for sulfur-emitting sources.
Efforts are underway to evaluate
existing sulfur oxides removal
installations and to assess other
impacts of flue gas desulfurization
(FGD) technology and the applicability
of FGD technology to industrial boilers
and other sulfur oxide sources.
Nitrogen Oxide (NOX) Control. The
objective of this program is to develop
the best practicable combustion
technology for the control of NOX
emissions from the leading categories of
stationary sources including utility
boilers, commercial/industrial boilers,
residential heating systems, stationary
engines, and advanced combustion
processes. Advanced combustion
processes such as staged coal
burners and coal burner systems are
being studied and fundamental
engineering and analytical support
studies are also being conducted to
evaluate the potential of these
-------
advanced methods of NOX emission
control and energy conservation. Major
emphasis is being placed on developing
and demonstrating low NOX burners for
new and existing utility and industrial
boilers.
Flue Gas Particulate Control. This
program identifies and develops
effective practicable technology to
control aerosol emissions from
man-made sources. Source categories
addressed include utility and industrial
coal combustion. Major research efforts
in the program are: assessment and
extension of the capability of
conventional systems (electrostatic
precipitators, scrubbers, or fabric filters)
for abating aerosol emission; exploration
of new and improved methods of
control; and bench-scale investigation
of specific control methods for major
problem sources including low-sulfur
coal combustion, new fuels, power
production, and selected industrial
processes.
Environmental Impacts of Con-
ventional and Advanced Energy
Systems. This program includes en-
vironmental assessment and toxic pol-
lutant control technology development
for coal and oil combustion facilities,
from residential furnaces to utility
boilers; advanced energy systems,
such as geothermal and solar, and
conservation technologies, particularly
waste-as-fuel operations. Emphasis is
placed on unregulated pollutants such
as polycyclical organic materials, trace
elements, sulfur compounds, and
ashes and sludges. The program also
provides analysis of environmental,
economic, and social impacts of
alternative energy supply and use
patterns on both a regional and na-
tional level.
R&D Management
The Office of Research and Devel-
opment (ORD) has made a major
commitment over the last several
years to upgrade the relevance, im-
pact and quality of EPA's research
program. Particular emphasis has
been placed on assuring that the
research program is focusing on im-
portant Agency regulatory and en-
forcement issues. Toward this goal,
ORD has instituted twelve research
committees comprised of ORD and
Program Office representatives who
are involved in' developing the re-
search program. ORD's Office of En-
vironmental Engineering and Technol-
ogy supports the research committee
approach and also maintains close
communications with EPA's regulatory
offices.
In order to manage the energy
program effectively, ensuring that it is
responsive to the Agency needs, ORD
has instituted a management system
that identifies major OEET research
projects and places them in one of
three categories. Category I desig-
nates projects in direct response to
near term and specifically scheduled
Program Office needs. Category n
projects are desired by the Program
Office but are not required by a
regulatory schedule. Category HI proj-
ects are of interest to one or more
Program Offices, but are usually de-
signed to anticipate a regulatory re-
quirement and are motivated by re-
search interests.
EPA is also establishing a Synfuels
Steering Committee, co-chaired by
ORD and the Office of Planning and
Management, whose responsibility
will be to coordinate all research and
regulatory activities relating to
synthetic fuels. The day-to-day
functioning of this committee will
help assure the relevance of the
energy program to EPA's mission.
The Office of Environmental
Engineering and Technology
recognizes that energy research
results are not only important within
the Agency, but are also important to
potential users outside the Agency.
These others users may include
energy facility designers and
operators, state and local government
environmental officials, control
technology firms and other research
organizations, such as DOE, the TVA
and the Electric Power Research
Institute. The Office of Environmental
Engineering and Technology is
conducting an agressive information
and technology transfer program to
reach these important groups. The
program sponsors internationally-
recognized symposia, in selected
technology areas, where federal and
other researchers may present
their results to others. Among
the major, regularly scheduled
conferences are the Flue Gas
Desulfurization Symposium,
Stationary Source Combustion
Symposium, Symposium on Transfer
and Utilization of Particulate Control
Technology and the Conference on the
Environmental Impact of Fuel
Conversion. The Energy/Environment
R&D Decision Series reports are
another approach utilized for
technology transfer. The Decision
Series, inaugurated in 1976, presents,
in an easily understood and concise
manner, key issues and findings of the
research program.
10
-------
simplified U.S. domestic fuel flow: 1990
PRIMARY FUELS TCONVERSIONfTREATUENT
EXTRACTION PROCESS
SECONDARY FUELS
UTILITY
ELECTRIC POWER
TRANSMISSION/TRANSPORT
UTILIZATION DEVICES
nNUCLEAR
J POWER PLANTS
metallic processes
lighting Nxtures
space
home/office appliances
ndustrfaf machinery
transportation vehicles
water healing
air conditioning
ELECTRICAL
POWER LINES
DIVERTED TO
PETROCHEMICAL
INDUSTRY
LIQUID/GASEOUS DEVICES
transportation vehicles
fumaces/bollers/sloves
gas turbines
water heating
space nesting
TRUCK/TRAIN
OTHER VEHICULAR
SOLID FUEL DEVICES
• furnaces/boilers
LEGEND; major energy-related pollution potential
| WATER (r%) LM4D
Interagency Coordination
Since the program's inception, EPA
has maintained a close working
relationship with other Federal
Agencies involved in energy-related
research. In fact EPA often funds other
agencies when their expertise or
unique facilities enable them to
perform the required research,
development or demonstrations more
effectively. Major partners in these
"pass-through" efforts have been the
Tennessee Valley Authority in the flue
gas desulfurization (FGD) area, the
Department of Interior in mining and
coal cleaning, and the Department of
Energy in the assessment of synfuel
processes. Efforts to work even more
closely with DOE have intensified
over the last year since DOE
embarked on a large coal combustion
control technology program.
11
-------
Photo Courtesy EPA-IERL-RT?
Testing experimental
"package boiler" for
reduced NOX emissions.
Synthetic fuels plants
produce liquid and
gaseous fuels from coal.
Photo Courtesy S Gage
In order to best use the resources
available for the development of
economical and reliable coal
combustion pollution control
technology a cooperative planning
and review system has been formed
to support the objectives of the joint
EPA/DOE program. The two agencies
have agreed on two broad goals to
guide their efforts:
• Support the increased use of
coal, as specified in the
National Energy Act.
• Ensure that coal use is
managed in a manner that will
protect public health and the
environment.
To fulfill these goals, EPA and DOE
have developed a set of specific
objectives for their cooperative effort:
first, improve the reliability and
performance of available
environmental control technologies for
use by electric utilities and industry;
second, reduce the capital -and annual
costs associated with environmental
control; and third, develop and
demonstrate methods of disposing of,
or using, solid waste created by coal
use.
The joint planning arrangement is
formulated in a proposed Cooperative
Agreement whose goals are to
coordinate interagency activities,
maintain interagency cooperation in
areas of mutual interest, and
formulate an overall management
structure for implementing joint goals.
Provisions include semi-annual
reviews of the cooperative program
and mechanisms for the transfer of
funds between the agencies.
Not all of the non-nuclear research
and development is supported by
Federal organizations. Private
12
-------
energy control technology funding, FY 79 and FY 80
dollars (in thousands)
25
FY79—EPA
total 58,805
I extraction
coal combustion
| sulfur oxide control
| nitrogen oxide control
environmental assessment
Hi particulate control
| [fuel processing
FY 79—from DOE/DOI
total'3,900
FY80—EPA
total 53,275
endeavors, principally the Electric
Power Research Institute and the
Gas Research Institute, administer
substantial research programs. EPA
coordinates and undertakes joint
program reviews with these two
organizations. EPA staff serve on the
Research Coordinating Committee of
GRI.
Funding
The accompanying table summarizes
program funding, by subprogram
area, for Fiscal Years 1979 and 1980.
It also indicates FY 79 "pass-through"
funding from DOE and DOI to EPA.
In Fiscal Year 1979, DOE funded
$3.4 million in the coal combustion,
fuel processing and environmental
assessment areas, and DOI funded
$500 thousand toward an EPA/DOI
project that evaluated the
environmental effectiveness of selected
mining reclamation techniques.
Program Highlights
The energy control technology
program has been and will continue to
be unusually productive in terms of
generating information that makes a
significant positive impact on
environmental quality. The program
has improved the quality of data used
in Agency decisions and has affected
the types of equipment and
performance of commercial pollution
control systems.
Several on-going or recently
completed activities have made or
have the potential to make a
significant impact on the goal of
environmental quality with acceptable
cost. These activities may:
• Support EPA's program offices
directly,
• Advance the state-of-the-art
for commercial control
technology, or
• Define control requirements by
the types and quantities of
pollutants or environmental
impacts (environmental
assessments).
13
-------
Selected projects highlighting direct
support of EPA program offices are
described below:
Coal Ash And Sludge Disposal.
Information has been compiled to
establish economically achievable
guidelines or regulations for the
disposal of ashes and sludges from
coal-fired power plants and non-coal
mining wastes.
Synfuel Pollution Control Guidance
Documents. Pollution control
guidance documents are being
prepared for the emerging synthetic
fuels industries, e.g., oil shale, coal
liquefaction and gasification, and
ethanol from biomass. These
documents will provide engineering
and cost data for the issuance of
permits and will provide background
information and the development
documents needed for the
promulgation of technology-based
regulations.
Offshore Oil & Gas Effluents. EPA
is currently producing an information
document dealing with the effluent
characteristics of discharges from
offshore oil and gas production
facilities.
Utility and Industrial NSPS
Support. Data, technology
assessments and economic impact
analyses are being provided to the
Office of Air Programs to allow them
to establish New Source Performance
Standard (NSPS) for the electric utility
industry and for industrial steam
production which are economically
and reliably achievable.
Inhalable Particulate
Characterization. The program is
characterizing inhalable particulate
matter emissions from major energy
and industrial sources. This
information will be required to allow
selection of the most economical
control strategies to achieve a
possible inhalable or fine particulate
ambient standard.
Stationary Gas Turbine NSPS
Support. A new, low-cost,
energy-efficient technique to lower
NOX emissions from stationary gas
turbines has been developed. This
Technology, known as "dry NOX
control," can lower oil consumption by
about 3 percent while complying with
existing emissions regulations.
Typical of the program's activities
designed to advance the
state-of-the-art of environmental
control technologies are the following:
Particle Precharger. EPA is currently
developing and testing, at pilot scale,
an advanced electrostatic precipitator
which includes a precharger stage
that holds promise of greatly reducing
the cost of particulate control for
coal-fired boilers. Such a device is
particularly attractive for low-sulfur
coal applications where the ash's
electrical properties lead to a
requirement for a large and costly
precipitator.
Low-Nox Coal Burner. EPA
developed a low NOX coal burner,
which can lower NOX emissions rates
by a factor of 4 while maintaining or
improving fuel efficiency. The new
burner is of very low cost. Full-scaled
demonstrations on two
industrial-sized boilers will begin in
1980. A demonstration on one 300
MWe utility-scale boiler will begin in
1981.
Dry SO2 Control. Research and
Development is leading to the
application of dry SO2 control
technologies to industrial and
utility-scale boilers. Dry S02 control
appears to offer substantial
reductions, about 30-70 percent, in
capital and annual revenue
requirements while achieving levels of
SO, reduction comparable to
conventional wet scrubbers. Three
different approaches are being
pursued: post combustion spray dryer
SO2 control technology, coal/limestone
pellets, and simultaneous
limestone/injection coal combustion
in the low NOX burner.
Additives for Improved SO2
Control. Chemical additives are
being tested to improve flue gas
desulfurization (FGD) reliability and to
lower costs.Additives, such as adipic
acid, can improve the operational
reliability of utility scale FGD systems
by eliminating the effects of sudden
changes in coal sulfur content or
equipment variability on FGD
performance. These additives will
lower the amount of limestone
required to remove SO2. The use of
adipic acid in conjunction with forced
oxidation of scrubber sludge to
gypsum can yield a solid waste which
is easier and cheaper to dispose than
conventional lime/limestone scrubber
sludge.
14
-------
components of domestic coal utilization
1975 1990 2000
electric utilities
1975 1990 2000
industrial
1975
1990 2000
conversion
Residential Oil Furnace. EPA is
completing the evaluation of a new,
EPA-developed residential oil
furnace. This furnace, which has
undergone two years of testing in
New York and Massachusetts, could
lower fuel costs by an average of 18
percent. Improving fuel utilization
while simultaneously lowering NOX,
soot, and hydrocarbon emissions,
demonstrates that effective
environmental control can be
achieved without increasing costs.
The following brief descriptions
highlight program activities related to
environmental assessment:
Emissions/Effluents From Coal and
Oil Shale Synfuel Processes. A
comprehensive environmental
assessment program has been
conducted over the last three
years. The program is aimed at
characterizing emissions/effluents
and control options for processes
producing synthetic fuels from coal.
This program has allowed
prioritization of waste streams for
their potential environmental impact
based on their potential for health and
ecological damage.
Fundamental Combusion
Phenomena. Fundamental
combustion phenomena which yield
SOg, Nox, soot and polynuclear
aromatic hydrocarbons have been
investigated to determine more
effective ways of controlling these
pollutants prior to their formation.
Emission/Effluents From
Emerging Non-Fossil Fuel
Facilities. Potential, environmentally
damaging non-fossil fuel energy
technologies are being assessed;
prominent are geothermal and
waste-as-fuel operations.
15
-------
For many decades, this country
experienced plentiful and inexpensive
energy supplies. The cost of energy
decreased, due in part from expanded
discoveries of easily obtainable fuel,
in part from technological innovation,
and in part from investments
in the production and transportation
eeniipment capital necessary to make
energy delivery efficient.
The first 74 years of this century
saw investments of capital and labor
returning increased amounts of useful
energy in the form of electricity, home
heat, and transportation fuel. Today,
however, the cost of new energy
sources is increasing, and we wiH use
increasing amounts of our productive
capacity to obtain decreasing
amounts of energy The challenge will
be to stimulate investment in these
high-cost/low-yield techniques.
The present situation has created
remarkably difficult problems for our
economic and social systems which
are unique to a hitherto vigorously
expanding country. As a society, we
have found it enormously difficult to
accept the fact that inexpensive fuels
are disappearing and that we must
now not only pay more, but use less.
Foreign or domestic oil interests may
exploit the situation to realize large
profits, but this does not deny the
fundamental reality—the American
people will have to pay more for their
energy and use less. The nation must
change from a society oriented to
resource exploitation to one oriented
to resource conservation.
We are currently embarked on an
energy path that will require, along
with conservation, the continuing
expansion of our domestic energy
resources and exploration of new
sources. Many of these fuels will be
more difficult to extract, and wiH be
"dirtier" to use. But the hazards to
human health and to the environment
can.be avoided, through the vigorous
development and capital investment
in pollution control systems. The EPA
Office of Environmental Engineering
and Technology is pursuing just such
a program to develop advanced
cost-effective environmental control
technologies, which will allow this
nation an energy secure economy and
a healthy human environment.
16
-------
epilogue
------- |