-New Source Performance Standard
Ammonium Sulfate Manufacturing Plant
Public
Participation
The promulgated
standards reflect
written comments the
Agency received from
the general public, as
well as comments from
ammonium sulfate
manufacturers and
State air pollution con-
trol agencies. The Background Information
Document for the promulgated standards may
be obtained from the EPA Library (MD-35),
Research Triangle Park, North Carolina
27711, telephone (919) 541-2777. Interested
persons should request "Ammonium Sulfate
Manufacture—Background Information for
Promulgated Emission Standards," report
number EPA-450/3-79-034b.
For further information on the standards,
contact Gene W. Smith, Standards Develop-
ment Branch, Emission Standards and Engi-
neering Division (MD-13), U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park,
North Carolina 27711, telephone number
(919) 541-5421.
The final NSPS for ammonium sulfate manu-
facturing plants were published in the No-
vember 12, 1980 issue of the Federal Register
(45FR74846).
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United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Office of Air Quality
Planning and Standards
Research Triangle Park, NC 27711
November 1980
New Source Performance Standards
&EPA
Ammonium Sulfate
Manufacturing Plants
Final Regulation
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-New Source Performance Standards —
Ammonium Sulfate Manufacturing Plants
Regulatory
Authority
Emission
Limits
Affected
Sources
The Clean Air Act, as amended in 1977, calls
for a comprehensive national program to
reduce air pollution and improve air quality.
The Act requires the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency to establish nationwide
emission standards to prevent air pollution
problems from selected new stationary
industrial sources. These New Source Per-
formance Standards (NSPS), in accordance
The NSPS for ammo-
nium sulfate manufac-
turing plants are de-
signed to reduce emis-
sions of particulate
matter. Particulate
matter usually consists
of dust, soot, ash, and
other inorganic impuri-
ties which become suspended in the air. In
addition to contributing to health problems,
these particulates may corrode metals and
other materials, and damage buildings, sta-
tues, and man-made monuments. Particulate
matter is a major or "criteria" pollutant
subject to Federal control under the Clean Air
NSPS for ammonium sulfate manufacturing
plants were proposed on February 4, 1980,
following EPA's determination that this
industrial source category is a contributor to
air pollution that adversely affects human
health and the environment. All ammonium
sulfate dryers for which construction began
on or after this date are subject to the stand-
ards.
Ammonium sulfate, used primarily as a
fertilizer, is produced synthetically by direct-
ly combining ammonia and sulfuric acid.
Ammonium sulfate also originates as a by-
product from streams generated during
caprolactum manufacturing. In addition,
ammonia recovered from coke oven off-gas is
reacted with sulfuric acid to produce ammo-
nium sulfate.
The NSPS cover dryers used in synthetic,
caprolactum by-product, and coke oven
by-product plants. These three manufactur-
ing categories account for over 90 percent of
with Section 111 of the Clean Air Act, apply
to categories of new, modified, or recon-
structed stationary sources causing or con-
tributing to pollution that could threaten
public health or welfare. EPA recently pub-
lished final NSPS for ammonium sulfate
manufacturing plants; these new NSPS are
discussed below.
Act Amendments.
Nearly all particulate matter emitted during
ammonium sulfate manufacture is found in
gaseous exhaust streams from process dryers.
Other plant processes (such as crystallization,
dewatering, screening, and material handling)
were not found to be significant emission
sources, and thus are not subject to the NSPS.
These standards will limit exhaust emissions
from process dryers to 0.15 kilogram of
particulate matter per megagram of ammoni-
um sulfate produced (0.30 Ib/ton). In addi-
tion, visible emissions from dryers will be
limited to 15 percent opacity.
total ammonium sul-
fate production in the
United States. There
are other types of
ammonium sulfate
manufacture, but EPA
has concluded that the
most significant poten-
tial for emission reduc-
tion exists within these three sectors of the
industry.
The NSPS for ammonium sulfate manufactur-
ing plants cover only new process dryers, or
existing ones that are modified or reconstruc-
ted. Certain physical or operational changes
resulting in increased emission rates are
considered modifications. If the cost of
component replacement in an existing source
is more than 50 percent of the cost to con-
struct a new source, and it is technically and
economically feasible for the source to meet
the standards, that replacement is considered
a reconstruction.
Control
Options
Impacts
The NSPS for ammoni-
um sulfate dryers re-
flect the degree of emis-
sion control that can
be obtained by using
the best technological
system of continuous
emission reduction. In
determining the most
effective controls for the ammonium sulfate
manufacturing industry, EPA considered
economic impacts, as well as health, energy,
and environmental factors unrelated to air
quality. The degree of emission reduction the
standards would require is based on the use of
a medium-energy wet scrubber system as a
pollution control method.
A medium-energy wet scrubber system is con-
sidered compatible with, and complementary
to, operation processes of ammonium sulfate
dryers, and therefore is considered most
suitable for application to these dryers. Wet
scrubbers use a spray of water to capture
Environmental: If controlled only to the
extent required by a typical existing State air
pollution regulation, particulate emissions
from ammonium sulfate dryers could be
expected to reach 737 tons per year by 1985.
Compliance with the promulgated standards is
expected to lower projected 1985 particulate
emission levels to 144 tons per year—an 80
percent reduction from the level a typical
State regulation would allow.
No adverse water or solid waste impacts are
expected to result from compliance with the
standards, since the scrubbing liquids will be
recirculated to the production process.
Energy: Compliance with the standards will
not significantly increase energy consumption
at ammonium sulfate plants. Additional
energy needed to operate the pollution
control devices is 0.10 percent of the total
energy used for a synthetic or coke oven
by-product ammonium sulfate plant, and 0.65
percent of the total energy used for a capro-
particulate matter from the dryers' exhaust
gas stream. The scrubber liquid containing
the particulates is then recirculated to the
ammonium sulfate production process.
To ensure proper operation and maintenance
of control equipment, the owner or operator
of an affected ammonium sulfate dryer will
be required to install a monitoring device that
continuously measures and records the
pressure drops across the emission control
system. The owner or operator must also
install flow monitoring devices necessary for
determining the mass flow of ammonium
sulfate feed material to the process, unless
weigh scales are provided.
EPA Method 5 will be used to determine com-
pliance with the standards. The promulgated
standards also require that a 15-percent
opacity level be maintained; the opacity of
particulate emissions from dryers will be
measured by using EPA Method 9.
lactum by-product am-
monium sulfate plant.
Economic/Industrial:
Costs of compliance
with the NSPS are not
expected to restrict
growth of the ammoni-
um sulfate industry.
It is estimated that by 1985, the standards
will affect dryers at six caprolactum by-
product plants, two synthetic plants, and four
coke oven by-product plants.
Compliance with the standards should result
in capital costs to the industry of about
$1.0 million by 1985. Industry-wide, total
annualized costs of controls to meet the
standards are expected to be $500,000 per
year by 1985. The wholesale price of ammo-
nium sulfate fertilizer is estimated to increase
no more than 0.01 percent as a result of the
NSPS.
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