U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Region 5, Library (PL- 12J)
77 West Jackson Boulevard, 12th Floor
Chicago, IL 60604-3590
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Office of
Research and Development
Washington DC 20460
EPA/600/N-92/002
February 1992
Vol.8
ORD ENGINEERING
HIGHLIGHTS
A bi-monthly compilation of EPA's Office of Research and Development engineering research activities
and results and related research activities in pollution prevention and mitigation. To discuss any of these
activities, contact the ORD lead person listed below. For general information, contact Darlene Watford of
the Office of Technology Transfer and Regulatory Support, Phone : FTS 260-7891.
WHAT'S INSIBE
AIR
Improved Predictors of Transient Emissions
Hydroearb t««J Tests Swceessfot
Measurement of Indoor Radon Levels
New Monitoring Technology to Measure Methane
Emission* from Rfce Fields
WATM
Oil Spilt Cleanup Teeftoolsgies on Inland Surface Water
Biological Treatment lor Chlorinated Benzenes
HAZARDOUS WASTE
Grants to Demonstrate Innovative Clean Technologies
Separating Metals from Sludges, Soil, and Wastewater
REGIONAL OK STATE ASSISTANCE
Underground Storage Tank Technology Demonstrations
Technical Rook on Atmospheric Methane
Software for Gas Emissions Research
AIR
Incinerator Tests Study Improved Predictors of Transient
Emissions
The Air and Energy Engineering Research Laboratory
(AEERL) has completed its first set of research experiments
under the RCRA RD&D permit, which incorporates the
recently installed afterburner/air pollution control system. The
research included theoretical as well as experimental efforts to
determine the effect of waste and sorbent properties on
transient emissions from rotary kirn hazardous waste
incineration. Results indicate that two waste parameters
(stoichiometric oxygen requirement and normal boiling point)
can be used to predict transient magnitudes, and may be better
predictors than the waste heat of combustion, a parameter
often used by industry. Several sorbent parameters were also
found to be of secondary importance. These results are
summarized in a research paper submitted to The Combustion
Institute for presentation at the 24th International Symposium
on Combustion in Sydney, Australia. (W. Linak, AEERL,
629-5792)
Hydrocarb Fuel Tests Successful
AEERL researchers conducted combustion tests of carbon
black, as 50% slurries in fuel oil and methanol, in a 250,000
Btu/hr furnace. Flame stability and emission characteristics
observed with these fuels, which will be produced as a
coproduct by the Hydrocarb process, show promise as clean
nonpolluting substitutes for pulverized coal in the industrial
sector. The principal advantage of the carbon black produced
by Hydrocarb is the absence of ash, sulfur, and nitrogen. Use
of this fuel can, therefore, effectively eliminate the major
pollutants normally formed during combustion of
conventional fuels. (Robert Borgwardt, AEERL, FTS
629-2336)
Diagnostic Measurement Yields Effective Value for Radon
Entry Rate
Under a cooperative agreement with Princeton University,
AEERL sponsored the development of a measurement
technique to assist researchers in better understanding the
causes of elevated indoor radon levels. The method involves
the simultaneous measurement of radon and a tracer gas such
as a perfluorocarbon tracer (PFT) when the emitter is located
in the basement or ground level of the house. Although any
suitable tracer gas could be used, PFTs are preferred because
the method requires an emission rate with a known constant.
This measurement represents a significant development,
because it depends solely on the interaction of the house with
the soil, while the radon concentration depends on the
interaction of the house with both the soil and the atmosphere.
For cases in which entry is dominated by the pressure-driven
flow of radon-containing soil gas, the entry rate will depend
on the degree of depressurization of the building. Princeton
has made extensive use of this measurement technique in the
natural ventilation study. Radon entry models agree
qualitatively with these measurements. Absolute verification
is not possible because an independent measurement method
is not known. (Ronald Mosley, AEERL, FTS 629-7865)
Coating Emissions Prevention
AEERL is sponsoring the evaluation of coating
technologies for prevention of volatile organic compound
(VOC) and air toxics emissions. The technologies will be
evaluated in five source categories: 1) Flexographic Printing,
2) Rotogravure Printing, 3) Graphic Arts, 4) Architectural and
Printed on Recycled Paper
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Industrial Maintenance Coatings, and 5) Consumer/
Commercial Adhesives. The probability of technical and
commercial success and the potential impact on emissions of
coating technologies will be assessed. Research and/or
demonstrations will be completed for the highest ranked
opportunities. These projects are part of the Administrator's
2% Set-aside Pollution Prevention program. Participants
include AEERL; the South Coast Air Quality Management
District; and the Center for Emissions Research, Analysis, and
Certification. (Michael Kosusko, AEERL, 629-2734)
Radon Research Continues
The Florida Radon Research Program (FRRP) and AEERL
completed their second year of cooperative effort in radon
research. FRRP is a $1.348 million joint effort between the
Florida Department of Community affairs and AEERL, in
which AEERL consults and assists in managing the
state-supported radon research program. The goals of FRRP
are to provide the technical basis for effective, practical, and
enforceable new construction standards and to advance the
understanding of radon generation, transport, entry, and
distribution in buildings. Fundamental mathematical models
are used to design, evaluate, and interpret the results of radon
control experiments and demonstrations. Results will
ultimately assist decision-makers in determining cost-effective
radon control strategies. FRRP objectives for FY 1992
include: (1) establishing a radon potential mapping basis for
the state of Florida, (2) determining the effectiveness of fill
materials and concrete slabs as construction barriers to radon,
(3) establishing radon resistant construction criteria for
crawlspace houses, and (4) continued demonstration of the
effectiveness of the current new construction standards. (D.C.
Sanchez, AEERL, FTS 629-2979)
ORD Develops Measurement of Methane Emissions from Rice
Fields
Wetland rice fields are a major source of methane, a crucial
greenhouse gas responsible for global climate change.
Scientists at the Environmental Research Laboratory in
Corvallis, Oregon (ERL-Corvallis), in collaboration with the
National Center for Atmospheric Research, have developed a
new technology for continuous monitoring of methane
emissions without the necessity for field enclosures. The basis
of the new technology is a computer controlled conditional
system to automatically select air samples based on vertical
wind speed, coupled to a state-of-the-art flame ionization
detector to measure atmospheric methane concentrations. This
new technology applies small-scale (micrometeorological)
principles to produce reliable real-time methane emissions
measurements. This method will be useful to measure not only
methane emissions for the global methane budget but also the
impacts of climate, soils, and human agricultural practices on
emission rates. A better understanding of these contributing
factors will provide insight into mitigation practices to reduce
methane emissions from rice fields. (David Olszyk,
ERL-Corvallis, FTS 420-4311)
Replacement of CFCs and Halons as Refrigerants
At the International CFC and Halon Alternatives Conference
in Baltimore, Maryland, December 3-5, 1991, the Office of
Research and Development presented results of its efforts to
find new chemicals to replace CFCs and halons. These results
indicate that several partially fluorinated propanes and
fluorinated ethers are attractive as potential alternative
refrigerants. Based on the thermophysical properties of these
compounds, computer modelling of their performance in
refrigeration cycles has shown these compounds to be
comparable or superior to the currently used CFC refrigerants.
The compounds have no ozone-depleting chlorine or bromine
atoms. In addition, they are expected to be relatively
short-lived in the atmosphere and to be of low toxicity and
flammability. Performance testing of the most promising of
these refrigerants is the next step toward their potential
commercialization. One or more of these may prove to be a
long lasting replacement for stratospheric ozone-depleting
chemicals in refrigeration systems. (N. Dean Smith, AEERL,
FTS 629-2708)
WATER
Effects of Oil Spill Cleanup Technologies on Inland Surface
Waters
The Risk Reduction Engineering Laboratory (RREL)
provided input for a manual that evaluates the impact of major
cleanup technologies on a particular habitat (e.g., large
river/open water, wetlands or marsh, etc.) and its biota and
then evaluates that technology on spills of different typical
oils. The oil types considered were: gasoline, #2 fuel
oil/diesel, #6 fuel oil/bunker C, and medium-grade crude oil.
This information will be useful for On-Scene Coordinators
and other spill responders, Regional Response Teams, public
interest groups, and others involved in environmental
decision-making. The information for the manual was
provided by experts who recently attended a workshop
sponsored by the American Petroleum Institute in Dearborn,
Michigan. (John S. Farlow, RREL, FTS 340-6635)
Biological Treatment for Chlorinated Benzenes
The Robert S. Kerr Environmental Research Laboratory
(RSKERL) and the U.S. Air Force have joined forces to
evaluate a biological treatment system for chlorinated
benzenes in ground water at the Tyndall Air Force Base, near
Panama City, Florida. RSKERL engineers will lead the field
evaluation of the system, utilizing the microbial populations
developed at Tyndall. RSKERL engineers have spent a
considerable amount of time at Tyndall preparing equipment
for the field work and organizing bench-scale studies, which
will be performed at RSKERL. The field study is anticipated
to begin by mid-spring after completion of lab studies and
equipment preparations. (D. Miller, RSKERL, FTS 743-2263)
HAZARDOUS WASTE
Fourteen Small Businesses Awarded Grants to Demonstrate
Innovative Clean Technologies
In the second year of the Agency's Innovative Clean
Technologies Program, 14 small businesses recently received
awards of up to $25K to demonstrate innovative pollution
prevention technologies. RREL reviewed 204 proposals and
made the final selection with EPA's Office of Small &
Disadvantaged Business Utilization. Research briefs of the
demonstrations will be written to promote the transfer of
successful pollution prevention methods. The resulting
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selections are very encouraging. Of the 14 proposals, 12 are
for source reduction methods and two are reuse/recycling
techniques. Last year, 17 projects were selected for
demonstration. Reports of last year's demonstration will be
available in the spring of 1992. (Kenneth Stone, RREL, FTS
684-7474)
Oil Spill Treatment Technologies to be Compared
The design for an experiment to compare oil spill treatment
technologies on a deliberate oil spill was recently discussed at
a meeting held in Seattle, Washington. The field portion of
the bioremediation project will take place in British Columbia,
close to the Alaskan border, in the summer of 1992. The
critical issues addressed by the project include the ecological
impact of spill countermeasures, the subsurface oil problem,
and the role of bioremediation. The type of beach desired for
this spill would have coarse sediment, porous mixed sand and
gravel, and low to medium wave energy. The original
experimental design proposed in the December 1990,
workshop called for 12 beach sites and 5 treatments (oiled
beaches with and without treatments, unoiled beaches with
and without treatments, and no replicates). (Dr. Albert D.
Venosa, RREL, FTS 684-7668)
Separating Heavy Metals from Sludges, Soil, and Wastewater
Two technologies for separating heavy metals from sludges,
soils, and wastewater were discussed as possible RREL
research projects with IT Corporation: 1) Alkaline Hydrolysis
Sludge Treatment, which employs thermochemical digestion
to separate metals for subsequent precipitation, ion exchange
or other conventional removal processes could offer a less
costly alternative to the Zimpro wet air oxidation process or
incineration; and 2) the Electromembrane process, a soil
treatment that involves chelation and electrodeposition of lead
from a contaminated soil. Under a National Science
Foundation grant, IT conducted a bench-scale study which
determined the feasibility of a soil treatment process involving
chelation and electrodeposition of lead from a contaminated
soil. The process may be applicable to a wide variety of
lead-containing wastes. (Ronald J. Turner, RREL, FTS
684-7775)
ERL Laboratory Researches Non-Target Analytes
Chemists at the Environmental Research Laboratory in
Athens, Georgia (ERL-A) have estimated that identifications
of compounds other than target analytes, which are made by
computer matching of low-resolution electron impact mass
spectra, are correct for only about 25% of the chemicals
"identified" from samples taken at Superfund sites. By
elucidating structures on the basis of additional spectral
information, the Lab's multispectral identification team can
identify, with > 99% reliability, compounds that are not even
among the ten million chemicals in the Chemical Abstracts
Services Registry. Spectra from high-and low-resolution
electron impact mass spectrometry, high and low resolution
chemical ionization mass spectrometry, and Fourier transform
infrared spectroscopy are analyzed by the team in an iterative
mode to define an unknown compound's structure. This
capability, unique to ERL-A, allows much more
comprehensive risk assessments than can be made by
addressing only the few hundred priority pollutants and target
analytes and also would permit the accurate identification of
hundreds of chemical compounds that have a high frequency
of occurrence in Superfund sites. The 125 target analytes
typically represent less than 2% of the potentially hazardous
chemicals in wastewater and solid waste. Currently, ERL-A is
looking at additional samples to support these observations.
(William Donaldson, ERL-Athens, FTS 250-3183)
REGIONAL OR STATE ASSISTANCE
Underground Storage Tank Technology Demonstrations
At a meeting at New York's Department of Environmental
Conservation (NYDEC) regional office on December 12,
1991, RREL presented a new integrated approach that consists
of a soil vapor extraction system and an air sparging unit for
cleaning up both saturated and unsaturated zones at leaking
underground storage tanks sites. The potential application and
demonstration of this new approach at Exxon's site in
Brooklyn, New York, was discussed. Representatives from
the EPA's Region n Office of Underground Storage Tanks
(OUST); NYDEC Spill Prevention and Response Programs;
Exxon Company, U.S.A.; and EA Engineering, Science, and
Technology, Inc., were all interested in testing this new
technology. During the meeting, RREL's QA/QC requirements
and the details of a quality assurance project plan (QAPP)
were discussed. A copy of the proposed generic QAPP for
UST Demonstration Projects was distributed to EPA's Region
II, OUST, NYDEC, and Exxon for their use as a reference in
developing a demonstration QA project plan for the site.
(Chi-Yuan Fan, RREL, FTS 340-6924)
TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER
AEERL Emission Research Described at International
Meeting
At the invitation of the Secretariat of the Intergovernmental
Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), an AEERL researcher
attended a workshop recently on greenhouse gas emissions
methodology in Geneva. The workshop, which hosted 73
participants from 41 countries, was convened to assess and
improve methodology for estimating global emissions of
greenhouse gases. The AEERL has been actively involved in
estimating greenhouse gas emissions since 1988, and is
developing PC software to provide a repository for the data.
The software will present emission estimates on thematic
maps, pie and bar charts, printed records, and gridded
information for use with the Geographical Information
System, and will enable users to update inventories easily. The
software will be available in prototype form in mid-1992. (Lee
Beck, AEERL, FTS 629-0617)
Atmospheric Methane
Three AEERL staff members have been asked to author two
chapters of a NATO book on atmospheric methane's sources,
sinks, distributions and role in global change. The book is
expected to be the authoritative source of the latest and most
credible data and information regarding global methane
emissions. The AEERL researchers will write chapters on
global waste management providing methane emission data
and information on global waste management trends as well as
industrial methane sources, including deep and surface coal
mining, oil and natural gas production, transmission and
•&V.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE: mi - CM4M/401M
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distribution facilities, and combustion sources. The book, to
be published in spring 1992, will be distributed extensively
throughout the world. (Richard Stem, AEERL, FTS 629-2973)
Water Pipe System Symposium
The Second International Symposium on Water Pipe
Systems was held in Kobe City, Japan, from December 11-13,
1991. The symposium, "Challenges for Water Pipe Systems
in the 21st Century," was sponsored by the Japan Water Pipe
System Research Center and the Kobe City Water Utility. Dr.
Robert Clark of the RREL presented information on the Safe
prinking Water Act and its Amendments, and their
implication for design, operation, and maintenance of drinking
water distribution systems in the upcoming decade. Japan is
currently undergoing a review of its drinking water regulations
and is especially interested in U.S. activities in this area.
(Robert M. Clark, RREL, 684-7201)
1991 S02 Control Symposium
AEERL's 1991 SO2 Symposium, cosponsored by the
Electric Power Research Institute and the U.S. Department of
Energy, attracted over 850 attendees from 21 countries. Over
90 papers and 20 posters presented research and operating
results on SO2 control technologies, including economic,
regulatory, and technical information. The emission
allowance marketing program in the recently passed Clean Air
Act Amendments was the focus of an opening day panel
discussion by utility, regulatory, legal, and brokerage
representatives. There was also considerable renewed interest
in organic acid additives for limestone scrubbers, a technology
developed by AEERL which is currently being used at 12
utility plants in the United States. (Brian K. Gullett, AEERL,
FTS 629-1534)
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