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

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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

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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

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    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
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