&EPA
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Industrial Environmental EPA-600/8-79-002
Research Laboratory January 1979
Research Triangle Park NC 27711
Research and Development
Executive Briefing
Conventional Combustion
Environmental Assessment
Program
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Research and Development
&EPA Executive Briefing
Conventional Combustion
Environmental Assessment
Program
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This publication is part of the EPA
Information Transfer/Environ mental
Assessment executive briefing series.
The purpose of the series is to inform
government and private sector
managers of significant results of EPA
Office of Research and Development
studies that may be helpful to them. This
publication was prepared for EPA's
Industrial Environmental Research
Laboratory in Research Triangle Park,
North Carolina, by Northrop Services,
Inc.
NOTICE: Mention of trade names or
commercial products does not con-
stitute endorsement or recommenda-
tion for use by the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency.
ON THE COVER: Tangentially fired
boiler, modified for nitrogen oxides con-
trol.
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HIGHLIGHTS
THE PURPOSE
THE RESULTS
To provide a comprehensive approach
to protection of our health, and our air,
land, and water resources from
combustion-related pollution.
THE SCOPE
To identify, acquire, and analyze all
information relevant to the environ-
mental assessment of conventional
combustion processes.
A defensible base for the development
and promulgation of accurate control
standards, a comprehensive informa-
tion base for the accurate definition of
control technology development needs,
a reference list of CCEA-related
research projects, and studies to fill
identified gaps in available data and
information.
THE BENEFITS
Standards and control technologies
based on a holistic examination of
combustion processes and emissions,
of their effects on human health and the
environment, and of energy and
economic costs and impacts.
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THE PURPOSE OF THE CCEA PROGRAM
Fossil-fuel-fired electric power generating station.
The increasing demand for energy in
the United States is projected to be met
in part by a significant increase in fossil
fuel combustion. The environmental
penalties associated with fossil
fuel combustion include air pollution,
water contamination, and land
degradation. Pollutant transformation,
synergistic interaction between two or
more pollutants, and potential solutions
often generate still other undesired
effects. Considerable research to iden-
tify and evaluate environmental im-
pacts and to develop control methods
has been conducted by a wide variety of
private and government organizations.
More often than not, these studies have
had specific and, therefore, limited
objectives; coordination and informa-
tion exchange between efforts has also
been limited.
Recognizing that a comprehensive
program was needed to provide
information on combustion-related
environmental impacts, the EPA In-
dustrial Environmental Research
Laboratory (IERL-RTP) in Research
Triangle Park, North Carolina, initiated
the Conventional Combustion Environ-
mental Assessment (CCEA) Program in
February 1 977. The primary purpose of
the Program is to assess the environ-
mental, economic, and energy impacts
of stationary conventional combustion
processes in order to define specific rec-
ommendations for control technology
and control standards development.
The CCEA Program will provide
valuable information and data for tech-
nological and managerial decision-
makers who are responsible for the
continued and expanded use of con-
ventional combustion processes at
reasonable environmental, economic,
and energy costs.
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THE SCOPE OF THE CCEA PROGRAM
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Electron microscopy, used in the CCEA Program, allows detailed inspection of coal fly ash particles
The CCEA Program addresses the full
range of impacts that stationary
conventional combustion processes
(utility, industrial, commercial, and resi-
dential) and associated control equip-
ment have on the environment. The
CCEA Program includes consideration
of the combustion process, com-
bustion-related emissions (gaseous,
liquid, and solid waste), health effects,
ecological impacts, existing and future
environmental goals and objectives
(including standards and regulations),
projected process use, total pollutant
load estimations, and available control
alternatives.
CONSOLIDATE CCEA
INFORMATION INTO A
SYSTEMATIC, INTEGRATED
DATA BASE
The focal point of the CCEA Program is
the CCEA Methodology. This Meth-
odology provides a systematic approach
for compiling information and data
describing the effects of combustion-
related emissions, and for the compari-
son of these effects with acceptable en-
vironmental goals and objectives.
Specific recommendations for stan-
dards and control technology develop-
ment result from this Methodology.
COMPILE INFORMATION
DESCRIBING CCEA-RELATED
RESEARCH
The CCEA Program also compiles in-
formation describing the hundreds of
completed and ongoing CCEA-related
studies. This activity, which uses a
specially developed program matrix
approach, defines exactly the research
that has been or is being conducted and,
thus, identifies the areas where addi-
tional research is needed. The result-
ing data base, planned as a tool for
energy and environmental decision-
makers, should help to reduce duplica-
tion of research efforts and increase the
return from available resources.
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THE SCOPE OF THE CCEA PROGRAM
The CCEA Program also includes identifica-
tion of health and ecological impacts...
MANAGE CCEA-RELATED
RESEARCH PROJECTS
Management of CCEA-related research
efforts is also a function of the CCEA
Program. Four projects that are ongoing
within IERL-RTP have been
incorporated into the Program. As
resources allow, additional projects will
be conducted to acquire information
needed to complete assessments.
TRANSFER ACQUIRED INFORMA-
TION TO POTENTIAL USERS
The CCEA Program involves the
acquisition and analysis of a sub-
stantial amount of information. Dis-
semination of this information to a
broad audience of potential users will
be accomplished through numerous
mechanisms including technical
reports, briefings and conferences, and
annual CCEA symposia.
Development of environmental goals and objectives.
And evaluation of alternative control strategies.
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THE CCEA METHODOLOGY
The CCEA Methodology is an iterative
process that is carried out simulta-
neously with technology development to
identify and evaluate the full range of
impacts of combustion processes and
associated control equipment on the
environment. It consists of three
information assimilation steps and a
mechanism for the comparison of
identified health and environmental
impacts with established environ-
mental goals and objectives. Specific
recommendations for standards and
control technology development result
from this methodology.
STEP ONE
Characterization of the Combustion
Process/Technology and its Emissions
is Step One in CCEA. The objectives of
this Step are to: (1) develop a compre-
hensive base of available data on
combustion-related pollutants; (2) ob-
tain new data from field tests to fill
identified data gaps; (3) examime ex-
isting sampling and analysis methods
and, if necessary, recommend addi-
tional development; and (4) charac-
terize emissions/effluents from each
major type of stationary conventional
combustion process.
The Characterization Step includes
identification of the pollutants emitted
from the process, determination of the
quantities emitted, and establishment
6f the properties of the emissions.
Detailed information on fuels, process
technologies, input/output charac-
teristics (that establish the relation-
ships among the process variables), and
standard sampling and analysis tech-
niques are accumulated. Field tests and
surveys are conducted to quantify and
characterize the emissions based on a
detailed, phased-screening, analysis
and monitoring protocol that provides
three levels of waste stream charac-
terization.
The information and data collected in
Step One serve as an input to Step Two,
Health and Ecological Impacts Assess-
ment.
FUELS
CHARACTERISTICS
Type and source
Physical characteristics
Chemical characteristics
Energy content
Fuel handling
Availability
COMBUSTION PROCESS
TECHNOLOGY
CHARACTERISTICS
Process state-of-the-art
Process economics
Energy efficiency
INPUT/OUTPUT
CHARACTERISTICS
Material balance
Steady-state, transient,
and malfunction
pollutant loadings
STANDARD SAMPLING AND
AND ANALYSIS
TECHNIQUES
Sampling techniques
Analysis techniques
Bioassay techniques
FIELD TESTS AND SURVEYS
Control systems testing
Combustion process testing
Comprehensive waste
stream characterization
(Level 1, Level 2, Level 3)
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THE CCEA METHODOLOGY
STEP ONE
CHARACTERIZATION OF
COMBUSTION PROCESS/TECHNOLOGY
AND EMISSIONS
STEP TWO
IDENTIFICATION OF HEALTH
AND ECOLOGICAL IMPACTS
STEP TWO
DEVELOPMENT OF
ENVIRONMENTAL
GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
STEP TWO
QUANTIFICATION OF
POLLUTANT IMPACTS
STEP THREE
EVALUATION OF ALTERNATIVE
CONTROL STRATEGIES
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR CONTROL
STANDARDS AND TECHNOLOGY
DEVELOPMENT
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THE CCEA METHODOLOGY
STEP TWO
Step Two establishes the impacts of
pollutants identified in Step One and
results in the evaluation of alternative
control strategies (Step Three) and/or
recommendations for standards devel-
opment or modifications. Assessment
of the health and ecological impacts
of the combustion process and its
emissions includes (1) identification of
health and ecological impacts; (2)
development of environmental goals
and objectives; and (3) quantification of
pollution impacts. A comparison
mechanism to ascertain whether the
identified health and ecological impacts
are acceptable by current environ-
mental goals and objectives is also
included in Step Two.
2.1. IDENTIFICATION OF HEALTH
AND ECOLOGICAL IMPACTS
Identification of the health and ecolog-
ical impacts of the combustion process
includes detailed analyses of the
response of the environment and of the
exposed population to the process
pollutants. Data and analyses relating
to the air, water and land quality,
ecology-related effects, increased mor-
bidity and mortality rates, and quanti-
fied media degradation alternatives are
compiled. This information is acquired
from Step One and the following activi-
ties: (1) identification of ecological
impacts to quantify such concepts as
media degradation; (2) evaluation of
dose-response data to translate en-
vironmental pollutant concentrations
into an estimate of the number and type
of specific biological impacts to be.
expected in an exposed population;
consideration of chronic or acute
responses such as cancer, leukemia,
and respiratory disease; (3) application
of pollutant transport, transformation,
and fate models to calculate pollutant
concentrations and exposure levels; (4)
bioassays to identify the effects of
varying concentrations of pollutants on
living organisms; and, (5) development
of epidemiological data from occupa-
tional exposure-related health informa-
tion.
STEP TWO
IDENTIFICATION OF HEALTH
AND ECOLOGICAL IMPACTS
2.2. DEVELOPMENT OF ENVIRON-
MENTAL GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
Development of combustion-related
environmental goals and objectives is
the second activity in Step Two. Stan-
dards or indices of acceptability are
defined by this activity. These indices
are based on a variety of interrelated
factors including health effects, eco-
logical effects, physical effects, socio-
economics, and institutional/political
and legal constraints. The environ-
mental goals and objectives may be
expressed as process/pollutant emis-
sion rates, ambient pollutant con-
centrations in the air, land or water, or
environmental nondegradation criteria.
Four major functional categories —
statutory constraints, emission or am-
bient level goals, social/economic/
political/institutional considerations,
and existing pollutant background
levels, — are addressed in develop-
ing the environmental goals and objec-
tives.
IERL-RTP has established a format for
evaluating the information in each of
the functional categories in order to
develop measures of acceptability for
each pollutant. These Multimedia En-
vironmental Goals (MEG's) are similar
to emission or ambient level goals but
include consideration of the other three
functional categories. MEG's have
currently been established for more
than 650 organic and inorganic sub-
stances.
ECOLOGICAL IMPACTS
Ecology related impacts
Air, water, and land quality
Quantified media degradation
2.1
DOSE-RESPONSE DATA
Threshold limit values (TLV)
Life-shortening chronic exposure
Cancer and leukemia
Respiratory disease
2.1
TRANSPORT,
TRANSFORMATION,
FATE MODELS
Meteorological and
hydrologic data
Model development
Exposure level calculations
Transformation chemistry
2.1
BIOASSAY DATA
Bioassay techniques
Bioassay criteria
Control process stream
bioassay
2.1
EPIDEMIOLOGICAL DATA
Industry related health data
Increased sickness and death
2.1
8
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THE CCEA METHODOLOGY
STEP ONE
CHARACTERIZATION OF
COMBUSTION PROCESS/TECHNOLOGY
AND EMISSIONS
EMISSION OR AMBIENT
LEVEL GOALS
Permissible media
concentration
Criteria for establishing
priorities
Control technology limits
MATE
2.2
STATUTORY CONSTRAINTS
Federal /state standards
and regulations
Research data base
for standards 2.2
SOCIAL/ECONOMIC/
POLITICAL/
INSTITUTIONAL
CONSIDERATIONS
IMonpollutant impact goals
(energy, social, economic, etc.)
Quantified nonpollutant
impacts
Siting criteria
Critical materials impacts 2 2
EXISTING POLLUTANT
BACKGROUND LEVELS
Data collection and evaluation
2.2
STEP TWO
DEVELOPMENT OF
ENVIRONMENTAL GOALS
AND OBJECTIVES
MULTIMEDIA .
ENVIRONMENTAL I
22
GOALS
STEP TWO
QUANTIFICATION OF
POLLUTANT IMPACTS
STEP THREE
EVALUATION OF ALTERNATIVE
CONTROL STRATEGIES
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR CONTROL
STANDARDS AND TECHNOLOGY
DEVELOPMENT
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THE CCEA METHODOLOGY
STEP ONE
CHARACTERIZATION OF
COMBUSTION PROCESS/TECHNOLOGY
AND EMISSIONS
STEP TWO
IDENTIFICATION OF HEALTH
AND ECOLOGICAL IMPACTS
STEP TWO
DEVELOPMENT OF
ENVIRONMENTAL
GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
REFINE DATA BASE
AND/OR ANALYSIS
ARE
GOALS
MET?
CCEA COMPLETED
ARE GOALS MET?
Comparison of the health and eco-
logical impacts (first activity) with the
environmental goals and objectives
(second activity) is a major decision
point in the CCEA Methodology. "Are
these goals met?" is the question that is
resolved, resulting in the following im-
plications:
The health and ecological impacts
are acceptable by current goals and
objectives, therefore the environ-
mental assessment is complete.
The acceptability of the impacts are
questionable due to insufficient or
unreliable data, therefore data
refinement and reevaluation are
necessary to draw conclusions.
The impacts of the combustion
process and its emissions are unac-
ceptable according to current
environmental goals and objec-
tives, therefore the impacts must be
quantified and methods to amelio-
rate or control the impacts must be
identified.
This determination is made by analyses
of studies that (1) establish combustion
process use projections to determine
the distribution of the combustion
process now and in the future; (2)
identify synergistic and multimedia
impacts, including atmospheric trans-
formation, leaching, and additive
transformation or enhancement effects
of two or more pollutants; (3) develop
total pollutant load calculations that
reflect the amount of pollutant to be
expected to occur in the atmosphere
due to the pertinent combustion source,
other man-made sources, and natural
background; and (4) evaluate regional
geographic data, including regional
population growth projections, and
local hydrology and meteorology, in
terms of regional total pollution load
and health effects data.
2.3. QUANTIFICATION OF POLLU-
TANT IMPACTS
The third activity of Step Two is con-
ducted following the determination that
the impacts of the combustion process
and its emissions are unacceptable.
This quantification effort results in
pollutant priority rankings based on the
above data and degree of hazard
calculations. This ranking will reflect
the significance of the health and
ecological impacts, as well as identify
areas where information is lacking, and
will aid in identifying standards or
pollution control technology needs.
10
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THE CCEA METHODOLOGY
COMBUSTION PROCESS
USE PROJECTIONS
Current market size
Future market projections
Fuel supply/demand
projections 2 3
TOTAL POLLUTANT
LOAD CALCULATIONS
Process loading
Other sources loading
Natural background
2.3
SYNERGISTIC AND
MULTIMEDIA IMPACTS
Multimedia pollutant
distribution loads
Additive, transformation.
and enhancement effects,
'2.3
REGIONAL
GEOGRAPHIC DATA
Demographic and land use
patterns and trends
Hydrology and meteorology
2.3
STEP TWO
QUANTIFICATION OF
POLLUTANT IMPACTS
:L
POLLUTANT _
PRIORITY I
RANKING
2.3|
STEP THREE
EVALUATION OF ALTERNATIVE
CONTROL STRATEGIES
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR CONTROL
STANDARDS AND TECHNOLOGY
DEVELOPMENT
11
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THE CCEA METHODOLOGY
CONTROL SYSTEMS
Research and development
Demonstration
Economics
Energy requirements
Effectiveness
Availability
CONTROL ALTERNATIVES
Add-on devices
Combustion modification
Fuel switching/mixing
3.
CONTROL SYSTEMS
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS
Waste disposal options
Secondary environmental
impacts
Cross-media impacts
Source analysis models
STEP THREE
EVALUATION OF ALTERNATIVE
CONTROL STRATEGIES
Step Three of the CCEA Methodology is
Evaluation of Alternative Control
Strategies. This Step is taken once it has
been determined that remedies are
needed to correct the environmental
degradation caused by a certain
process This Step is heavily dependent
on the results of the first two Steps. All
reasonable alternatives are identified
for further evaluation and study. Alter-
natives considered include not only
add-on control systems, but also such
strategies as combustion modification
or fuel switching/mixing.
The environmental impact, energy re-
quirements, economics, effectiveness,
and availability of the control alternative
are considered. Information on the
effectiveness of a control alternative is
generally site-specific since ambient
concentration levels and local
meteorology and hydrology are impor-
tant factors. EPA has developed a set of
Source Analysis Models (SAM's) to rank
sources and effluents in priority order
and to evaluate the environmental ef-
fectiveness of control alternatives.
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR
STANDARDS
DEVELOPMENT
Standards modifications
Standards development
Criteria for priorities
Time frame
CONTROL TECHNOLOGY
DEVELOPMENT
Control technology
modifications
Quantified R&D needs
Criteria for priorities
Time frame
12
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THE CCEA METHODOLOGY
STEP ONE
CHARACTERIZATION OF
COMBUSTION PROCESS/TECHNOLOGY
AND EMISSIONS
STEP TWO
IDENTIFICATION OF HEALTH
AND ECOLOGICAL IMPACTS
STEP TWO
DEVELOPMENT OF
ENVIRONMENTAL
GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
NO
STEP TWO
QUANTIFICATION OF
POLLUTANT IMPACTS
THE CCEA METHODOLOGY IS AN
ITERATIVE PROCEDURE
Once a control alternative is identified
for a given combustion process, the
environmental assessment is repeated.
Ideally, the methodology is repeated
until all impacts on health and the
ecology caused by the combustion
process fall within the acceptable limits
of current environmental goals and
objectives.
Specific recommendations for the
promulgation of stricter environmental
standards and/or for the development
of additional control technologies are
made if the impacts are serious or if
optimum existing technologies are
inadequate. These recommendations
fulfill the primary purpose of the CCEA
Program.
Standards Development Recom-
mendation s a re made when the impacts
of the combustion process or its
emissions on human health or the
ecology are serious and no Govern-
ment standards exist to control these
impacts or existing standards a re inade-
quate. Recommendations for standards
development or modification are ranked
in order of priority and are justified by
specific data. Information on the degree
of control desired and a time frame for
promulgation accompany these rec-
ommendations.
Control Technology Development Rec-
ommendations are made when existing
or developmental alternatives for con-
trolling adverse environmental impacts
are inadequate. These recommenda-
tions are quantified and ranked in
priority order for consideration by tech-
nological and managerial decision-
makers. The priority recommendations
are justified on engineering and
environmental bases and include
information on the degrees of control
required, additional research and
development requirements, develop-
mental cost estimates, and projected
developmental schedules.
13
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THE CCEA PROGRAM MATRIX
In addition to providing the recom-
mendations resulting from the CCEA
Methodology, the CCEA Program also
seeks to provide information that will
allow the most efficient use of the
resources available to investigate com-
bustion-related pollution. To meet this
goal, a CCEA Program Matrix was
developed to compare and integrate
information pertaining to past, ongoing,
and planned CCEA-related research.
This Matrix delineates the objective(s)
of each study by codes that describe (1)
type of fuel, 13 categories; (2) use
sector, 4 categories including utility and
industry; (3) combustion process/tech-
nology, 15 categories; (4) pollution
control technology, 47 categories; (5)
media, i.e., air, water, or land; (6)
environmental assessment elements,
72 elements to define whether the
study addresses fuels, control alterna-
tives, health effects, etc.; and (7) pollu-
tants addressed, 14 categories in-
cluding sulfur oxides, particulates,
organics, thermal, and ions.
Program matrices have been developed
for a selected set of core studies. This
preliminary information base will
provide the foundation upon which a
more complete CCEA matrix will be
built. This comprehensive, easily
accessed reference list of past and
current CCEA research will facilitate
planning by identifying important areas
where no studies are being conducted.
Complementary efforts being con-
ducted by different organizations will
also be identified so that results can be
integrated and studies will not be dupli-
cated
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CCEA RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT
One of the purposes of the CCEA
Program is to provide coordination
among individual research efforts to
ensure that information pertinent to
high priority assessments is or soon will
be available. Inherent in the achieve-
ment of this purpose is the CCEA
Program Matrix which will provide
management outside of IERL-RTP the
information needed to identify the
research that is ongoing or planned, the
data and information from other studies
that could be integrated into planned
research efforts, and the areas where
additional research is needed.
The outputs from the CCEA Program
Matrix will provide identical input to
IERL-RTP management; but, within the
Laboratory, integrated and coordinated
management of CCEA-related projects
and available funding will help to ensure
that the objectives of CCEAare met in the
most timely and efficient manner. To
date, four CCEA-related projects have
been incorporated into the CCEA
Program. These ongoing IERL-RTP
studies, which were included in the
original set of Program Matrix core
studies, are:
Characterization of Emissions from
Conventional Combustion, which
provides a systematic characteriza-
tion of emissions from conven-
tional combustion processes.
Environmental Assessment of
Combustion Processes Modified for
NOX Control, which provides com-
prehensive information on the im-
pacts of combustion control tech-
nologies.
Environmental Assessment of
Residual Oil Processing, which
involves environmental assess-
ment of residual oil/derivatives
utilized in conventional combus-
tion processes, and
Environmental Assessment of
Waste (Liquid and Solid) Streams,
which characterizes the liquid and
solid streams from combustion
processes and control tech-
nologies.
Research conducted by the CCEA Program will help to fill the gaps in available conven-
tional combustion data and information.
15
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CCEA INFORMATION TRANSFER
The CCEA Program will result in the
acquisition of a substantial information
base, in numerous analyses of the
collected information, and in specific
recommendations based on these
analyses. This information and
technical data must be communicated
to a broad audience of potential users if
the CCEA Program is to be effective in
directing combustion-related research
and development onto a course com-
patible with reconciling the harmful
effects of combustion processes with
acceptable environmental goals and
objectives.
To accomplish the needed information
transfer, IERL-RTP will publish annual
reports on the status of the CCEA
Program and technical reports on
results of individual CCEA projects.
Status briefings, conferences, and
annual symposia will also contribute to
this transfer objective. The first annual
symposium will be held in Denver,
Colorado, October 2-5, 1979.
For additional information on the CCEA
Program, contact:
Utilities and Industrial Power Division
Industrial Environmental Research Laboratory
U. S. Environmental Protection Agency
Research Triangle Park, North Carolina 27711
Attn: Warren D. Peters (919) 541-2915
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