Soda Ash Manufacturing
United States
Proposed Rule: Mandatory Reporting of Greenhouse Gases ^aimrriental Prot9ction
Under the proposed Mandatory Reporting of Greenhouse Gases (GHGs) rule, owners or
operators of facilities that contain soda ash manufacturing (as defined below) would report
emissions from soda ash manufacturing processes and all other source categories located at the
facility for which methods are defined in the rule. Owners or operators would collect emission
data; calculate GHG emissions; and follow the specified procedures for quality assurance,
missing data, recordkeeping, and reporting.
How Is This Source Category Defined?
Under the proposal, a soda ash manufacturing facility is any facility that produces soda ash by the
calcination of trona.
What GHGs Would Be Reported?
The proposal calls for soda ash manufacturing facilities to report the following emissions:
• Carbon dioxide (CO2) process emissions from calcination, reported for each kiln.
• CO2, methane (CFL^, and nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions from fuel combustion at each kiln and
each stationary combustion unit by following the requirements of 40 CFR part 98, subpart C
(General Stationary Combustion Sources). The information sheet on general stationary fuel
combustion sources summarizes the proposal for calculating and reporting emissions from these
units.
In addition, each facility would report GHG emissions for any other source categories for which
calculation methods are provided in other subparts of the rule.
How Would GHG Emissions Be Calculated?
For CO2 emissions from soda ash kilns, the proposal calls for facilities to use one of two methods, as
appropriate:
• Soda ash kilns with certain types of continuous emissions monitors (CEMS) in place would
report using the CEMS and follow the methodology of 40 CFR part 98, subpart C to report total
CO2 emissions from calcination and fuel combustion. At other soda ash kilns, the use of CEMS
would be optional.
• Facilities without CEMS would calculate CO2 process emissions using one of two alternative
methods:
1 . The trona input method calculates the calcination emissions using:
o Monthly mass of trona input (required to be measured);
o The average monthly mass-fraction of inorganic carbon in the trona (required to be
measured daily); and
o The ratio of CO2 emitted for each ton of trona consumed.
2. The soda ash output method calculates the calcination emissions using:
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o Monthly mass of soda ash produced (required to be measured);
o The monthly average mass-fraction of inorganic carbon in the soda ash (required to be
measured daily); and
o The ratio of CO2 emitted for each ton of soda ash produced.
What Information Would Be Reported?
In addition to the information required by the General Provisions at 40 CFR 98.3(c), the proposal calls for
each facility to report the following information for each kiln:
• CO2 emissions.
• Annual soda ash production.
• Annual soda ash production capacity.
• Annual trona consumed.
• Daily analysis and monthly averages of the inorganic carbon content of the trona or soda ash.
• Number of operating hours in the calendar year.
Facilities that use CEMS would also report the data specified in 40 CFR 98.34(d) of subpart C (General
Stationary Fuel Combustion Sources).
For More Information
This series of information sheets is intended to assist reporting facilities/owners in understanding key
provisions of the proposed rule. However, these information sheets are not intended to be a substitution
for the rule. Visit EPA's Web site (www.epa.gov/climatechange/emissions/ghgrulemaking.html) for more
information, including the proposed preamble and rule and additional information sheets on specific
industries, or go to to access the rulemaking docket (EPA-HQ OAR-2008-0508).
For questions that cannot be answered through the Web site or docket, call 1-877-GHG-l 188.
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