United States Environmental Protection Agency Industrial Environmental Research ~V. Laboratory "T^rc:- Research Triangle Park NC 27711 Research and Development EPA-600/S2-84-003 Feb. 1984 Project Summary Organic Emissions from Ferrous Metallurgical Industries: Compilation of Emission Factors and Control Technologies R. L. Stallings This report presents a review and analysis of the information and data available in the public domain on organic emissions from the ferrous metallurgy industry, specifically the iron and steel, iron foundry, and ferroalloy industries. Emission sources and information gaps are identified and the credibility ratings of organic emissions data are reported. Organic emission factors for various source categories in these industries are compiled. The content of this report, which reflects accurately the present state of knowledge about organic emis- sions in the iron and steel, iron foundry, and ferroalloy industries, may be used as a guide to plan and direct programs for further studies, particularly a pro- gram to characterize more precisely those classes of organic species (com- prising the volatile organic compound category) that are released from the potential sources identified. This Project Summary was developed by EPA's Industrial Environmental Re- search Laboratory, Research Triangle Park, NC, to announce key findings of the research project that is fully docu- mented in a separate report of the same title (see Project Report ordering in- formation at back). Introduction For the most part, environmental stud- ies and regulatory control activities in the iron and steel, iron foundry, and ferroalloy industries have focused on atmospheric particulate emissions and waste water effluent qualities. The studies relating to organicemissions have involved primarily the emission of poly nuclear organic mate- rials (POMs) from coke production and by-product recovery facilities and lubri- cant organics from mill rolling and finish- ing operations. There is no comprehensive list of volatile organic compound (VOC) emission factors from the ferrous metal- lurgy industry. Purpose and Scope The original purpose of this study was to list VOC emission factors for the iron and steel, iron foundry, and ferroalloy industries based solely on data and information available in the open litera- ture. This would provide information on the present status of VOC emission data from these industries and offer guidance in selecting further study efforts. The study's objectives were: to identify VOC emission sources within these industries; to quantify and rate the credibility of emission factors for the identified sources; to identify information and database gaps; to assess the effectiveness of VOC control technology in use; and to estimate the effectiveness of alternate control technologies, processes, and operating methods on VOC emissions. Once the data collection phase was well under way, it became apparent that virtually no specific VOC emissions data ------- were available. Therefore, the decision was made to broaden the species defini- tion to the general category organic emissions. To provide an overview of organic emission factors of various sources within the ferrous metallurgy industry, engineering analyses and esti- mates have been used to supplement the actual data where data gaps were found. Where significant operating variations occur in a particular process and different types of control systems may influence emissions, several emission factors or a range of emission factors are reported. Caveat Several comments about the overall credibility of the organic emission factors reported herein are warranted to caution the reader in using the results and in drawing conclusions from the data pre- sented. First, the paucity of suitable and com- plete organic emission data required the extensive use of engineering analyses in the estimation of emission factors to provide an overview of the relative organic emissions from the various point sources within the ferrous metallurgy industries. These estimates, based on the available fragmentary data whenever possible and on engineering experience, however, should represent emission factors within the range of process and operating vari- ability that might be found for the iron and steel, iron foundry, and ferroalloy indus- tries. In preparing the engineering esti- mates, assumptions were conservative so that the derived emission factors might represent estimates on the upper bound of the actual organic emissions. This conservative approach ensured that all significant sources of organic emissions in the ferrous metallurgy industries were identified. Second, the ambiguity inherent in the classifications used for reporting organic emissions data (e.g., hydrocarbons, organic solvents, alphatic organics, aromatic or- ganics, extractable organics, and chromato- graphicable organics) made consistent and precise identification of the types of organic compound emissions virtually impossible. Consequently, comparative evaluation of organic emissions factors from different point sources is uncertain because a consistent basis for calculation of the emission factors could not be established. For example, in some cases the organic emissions (on a mass basis) were expressed as methane, which dis- torts the actual mass emissions of or- ganics; and in other cases, only POM or extractable emissions were measured and reported. Although the above problems encoun- tered in this study impact the determina- tion of the true organic emission factors for the point sources within the ferrous metallurgy industry, the reported emis- sion factors should be with in the range of process and operating variability that exists for similar sources throughout this industry. Also, this study does reflect accurately the present state of knowledge about organic emissions in the iron and steel, iron foundry, and ferroalloy indus- tries. It can be used asa guide to plan and direct programsfor further studies, partic- ularly a program to characterize more precisely those classes of organic species (comprising the VOC category) that are released from the potential sources identi- fied in this study. Summary The ferrous metallurgy industry (which includes the iron and steel, iron foundry, and ferroalloy industries) is one of the largest industries in the U.S. in terms of annual sales, people employed, and pro- duction volume. Over the past decade, however, this industry has been under economic stress; and has undergone a forced state of change, characterized by dramatic shifts in annual production, by major plant closings, by business diversification of major steel corporations, and by a general, although variable, decline in the work force. Although the ferrous metallurgy industry has reduced its production capac- ity significantly through plant closings, the industry is presently still operating well below its available capacity. Domes- tic production in the ferrous metallurgy industry over the past two decades has declinedto 1981 annual production levels of 120,828,000 tons of steel, 12,390,000 tons of iron foundry castings, and 1,274,000 tons of ferroalloys, while do- mestic consumption of these commod- ities has shown generally a steady in- crease over the same period. Although the ferrous metallurgy indus- try, specifically the iron and steel industry, is not generally viewed as a major indus- trial source of VOC emissions when compared with the petroleum and organic chemicals industries whose products themselves are largely volatile organics, this industry can be potentially a signifi- cant contributor to VOC emissions as well (as other classes of organic compounds) because of its very large size and the quantities of organic materials used in the manufacturing process. For example, the iron and steel industry consumes annually more than 343,000 tons of lubricants of which up to about 15 percent may enter the atmosphere as organic pollutants. This industry is an even larger consumer of other organics such as coal and fuels, a portion of which also become organic pollutants in the atmosphere. This study was initially directed toward a review and analysis of the information and data available in the public domain on VOC emissions from the ferrous metal- lurgy industry, specifically the iron and steel, iron foundry, and ferroalloy indus- tries. However, the available emission data, for the most part, do not include specific measurements of VOC emissions. Since VOCs represent a component of organic emissions from point sources in the ferrous metallurgy industry, this study examined the broader class of organic emissions from this industry to provide an upper limit or bound on the potential amount of VOC emissions. Therefore, the organic emissions factors reported herein represent more precisely total organic emissions to the atmosphere rather than the more specific VOC emis- sions. Table 1 summarizes the organic emis- sion factors for various source categories in the iron and steel, iron foundry, and ferroalloy industries. The emission factor ratings included in the table reflect the relative credibilities of the emission fac- tors for estimation of organic emissions for the source categories. Also included in the table is an estimate of the annual organic emissions from these three indus- tries based on 1981 production data. The credibility rating assigned to each emission factor in the table is an estimate of the factor's reliability orcredibility as an accurate and representative measure of the emissions for the particular source throughout the industry. These ratings are based on the procedures and scales in the report "Technical Procedures for Developing AP-42 Emission Factors and Preparing AP-42 Sections," 1980, pre- pared by EPA's Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards. As can be seen from the table, the organicemissionsfromthe iron and steel industry represent nearly 96 percent of the total organic emissions from the whole ferrous metallurgy industry. By- product cokemaking and sinter production account for about 43 percent and 36 percent, respectively, of the total emis- sions based on emission factors given a ------- Table 1. Summary of Organic Emission Factors for the Iron and Steef. Iron Foundry, and Ferroalloy Industries Organic Emission Factor fib/ton}'-3 Rating Iron and Steel Industry^ Byproduct cokemaking Blast furnace ironmaking Sinter production Basic oxygen process steelmaking Electric arc furnace steelmaking Open hearth furnace steelmaking Hot forming and finishing operations Total Iron Foundry Industry" Cupola furnace melting Electric arc furnace melting Inoculation Metal pouring and cooling Casting shake out Total Ferroalloy Industry' Open submerged arc furnace smelting Silicon metal alloys Ferrosilicon alloys Ferromanganese alloys Ferrochromium alloys Covered submerged arc furnace smelting Ferrosilicon alloys Ferromanganese alloys Ferrochromium alloys Total Total for ferrous metallurgy industry: 11.5 1.98 4.80 0.0029 0.348 0.168 0.643 0.181 0.347 0.0052 0.136 1.23 51.6' 4.4 3.72 4.06 4.48 0.80 3.14 C D C C C D C C C C C - B B B D B B D - Normalized Organic Emission Factor lib/ton/"1 3.90 1.17 3.20 0.0018 0.0995 0.0188 0.184 8.57 0.195 0.1 6O 0.0013 0.209 1.89 2.46 10.2 1.86 0.34O 0.645 0.225 0.0479 0.0614 13.4 Annual Organic Emissions (1 981! (tons f 235.614.6 70.684.4 193.324.8 108.7 6.011.2 1.135.8 11.116.2 517.995.7 1.208.0 991.2 8.1 1.294.8 11.708.6 15.210.7 6.497.4' 1.184.8 216.6 410.9 143.3 30.5 39.1 8,522.6 541.729.0 'Emission factors based on ton of process or operation product output (e.g., coke, iron, sinter). "Emission factors normalized to Ib/ton finished product (i.e., total steel products, net castings, total ferroalloys). C1981 steel production 120.828,000 tons. "1981 iron casting production 12,390.000 tons. '1981 ferroalloy production 1.274,000 tons. 'Emission factors and annual organic emissions do not include low boiling point (Ci-CeJ hydrocarbons. 'Conversion factors: 1.0 Ib/ton = 0.5 kg/MT(MT = metric ton = 1.0 Mgj and 1.0 ton - 0.9072 MT. restricted use of scrap and mill scale containing high levels of oil contaminants have significantly reduced organic emis- sions and have been generally adopted as standard practice. Similarily in the iron foundry industry, an increase in the cooling time of castings before mold shakeout significantly reduces organic emissions during shakeout operations. "C" reliability rating. On a per ton of finished product basis, however, the ferroalloy industry has the highest overall organic emission factor, with the iron and steel industry second, and the iron found- ry industry the lowest. But the ferroalloy industry has the lowest quantity of organic emissions of the three industries because of its low production level. The organic emission factors summa- rized in the table represent uncontrolled organic emissions which, in some cases, include emissions released to the atmos- phere through particulate pollution con- trol devices in current use. Except for some by-product cokemaking facilities, the pollution control devices in use are designed primarily to control particulate emissions to the atmosphere. These devices include mainly baghouses, wet scrubbers, and electrostatic precipitators (ESPs). Although data on the efficiency of these devices in capturing organic emis- sions from ferrous metallurgical industry sources are very limited, wet scrubbers, as might be expected, appear to be more effective in organics removal than the other devices. For example, in the ferro- alloy industry, scrubber efficiences for organics of 65 to 88 percent compared to 13 to 65 percent for baghouses have been reported. In some cases, changes in production procedures and operating practices have been used to reduce organic emissions. Most notably in the iron and steel indus- try, for example, the use of fresh quench water in the coke quench tower and the ------- R. L. Stall ings is with Research Triangle Institute, Research Triangle Park, NC 27711. ft. C. McCrillis is the EPA Project Officer (see below). The complete report, entitled "Organic Emissions from Ferrous Metallurgical Industries: Compilation of Emission Factors and Control Technologies," (Order No. PB 84-141 548; Cost: $13.00, subject to change) will be available only from: National Technical Information Service 5285 Port Royal Road Springfield, VA 22161 Telephone: 703-487-4650 The EPA Project Officer can be contacted at: Industrial Environmental Research Laboratory U. S. Environmental Protection Agency Research Triangle Park, NC 27711 ft U.S GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE. 1984-759-015/7307 United States Environmental Protection Agency Center for Environmental Research Information Cincinnati OH 45268 BULK RATE POSTAGE & FEES I EPA PERMIT No. G-3 Official Business Penalty for Private Use S300 ------- |