Environmental standards

Acid plant tail gas ccmtains sulfur dioxide (SO2), sulfur trioxide (SO3), nitrous oxides (NO c), and acid mist (H2SO4). These compounds are toxic. Their concentratiOTis in acid plant tail gas must meet environmental standards. These standards usually apply directly to the acid plant tail gas discharge stack and the areas surrounding the acid plant. Treatment of acid plant tail gas is often used to ensure these standards are met. 

This chapter examines removal of sulfur compounds from acid plant tail gas. Its objectives are to  

Sulfur dioxide is a toxic gas. Damage to human respiratory systems can occur when exposed to low SO2 concentrations for prolonged periods. Exposure to high SO2 concentrations may be fatal (MESA, 2012). Thus, limits have been established throughout the world to minimize human exposure to SO2. Table 28.1 shows typical ground level SO2 and SO3 concentration limits for various regions. 

Acid mist contains small, micron, and submicron diameter H2SO4 droplets. A typical acid mist standard from the U.S. EPA is 0.075 kg/metric toime of acid produced with the acid production being expressed as 100% H2SO4 (USEPA-ECFR, 1997). 

Country Time period Maximum SO2 -1- SO3 (SOJ concentration (ppmv ) 

After studying this chapter, the student will be able to  

Air permits—government-granted licenses that must be obtained for any project that has the possibility of producing air pollutants. 

Air pollution—contamination of the air, especially by industrial waste gases, fuel exhausts, or smoke. 

Community Awareness and Emergency Response (CAER)—a program designed to inform the community surrounding a plant of potentially hazardous situations and of hazardous chemicals found in the plant, to work with the community to develop emergency response programs, and to open the lines of communication between industry and the community. 

Clean Air Act—legislation intended to enhance the quality of the nation s air, accelerate a national research and development program to prevent air pollution, provide technical and financial assistance to state and local governments, and develop a regional air pollution control program. 

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National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). The NIST is the source of many of the standards used in chemical and physical analyses in the United States and throughout the world. The standards prepared and distributed by the NIST are used to caUbrate measurement systems and to provide a central basis for uniformity and accuracy of measurement. At present, over 1200 Standard Reference Materials (SRMs) are available and are described by the NIST (15). Included are many steels, nonferrous alloys, high purity metals, primary standards for use in volumetric analysis, microchemical standards, clinical laboratory standards, biological material certified for trace elements, environmental standards, trace element standards, ion-activity standards (for pH and ion-selective electrodes), freezing and melting point standards, colorimetry standards, optical standards, radioactivity standards, particle-size standards, and density standards. Certificates are issued with the standard reference materials showing values for the parameters that have been determined. 

The lead-bearing components ate released from the case and other nordead-containing parts, followed by the smelting of the battery plates, and refinement to pure lead or specification alloys. The trend toward battery grid alloys having Httle or no antimony, increases the abiHty of a recovery process to produce soft lead (refined). As requited in the production of primary lead, each step in the secondary operations must meet the environmental standards for lead concentration in ait (see Air pollution Lead compounds, industrial toxicology). 

Environmental Standards. Lead in the environment is regulated in the United States because of its potential occupational impact, as well as concern about the impact lead may have on the cognitive and physical development of young children. Standards have been set for lead in air, water, and other environmental media. 

American Ligurian, Inc. (Stanford, Connecticut) is marketing a pyrolysis process developed in Italy, which generates steam for hot water, air heating, dryers, kilns, and similar installations. A modular plant produces 8000 kg/h of steam from 1 tih of tires. The pyrolysis process produces 0.9 t of fuel ok, 270 t of steel, and 54 t of ash annually. Gas emissions meet the strictest environmental standards (16). 

Production processes are given in Table 12. Electrolytic processes are dominant because of lower cost and fewer environmental problems. Production of slab zinc in Tennessee commenced in 1978 when Jersey Miniere Zinc Company began operation of its new 90,000 t/yr electrolytic smelter at Clarksville. Today, Tennessee is the leading producer of slab zinc. Although the U.S. demand for zinc metal in the past 16 years has increased by 47%, smelting capacity has declined by almost 50%. Plants closed because they were obsolete and could not meet environmental standards or obtain sufficient concentrate. Consequendy, slab zinc has replaced concentrates as the principal import form. This situation is expected to prevail up to the year 2000 (69-71). 

In the UK the Environmental Proteetion Aet 1990 established an interloeking framework for pollution eontrol. Integrated Pollution Control (IPC) introdueed a new approaeh with waste minimization at its eentre and a eommitment to higher environmental standards. The latter is based upon seleetion of the Best Praetieal Environmental Option (BPEO), i.e. ... 

Implementation plan A plan that makes practical provision to ensure that set environmental standards are met. 

A As z company we have adopted ISO 9000 and today most of our staff are familiar with this system. Changing to a different system would cause confusion. We did consider adopting ISO 14000, the new environmental standard. However, we have no experience with ISO 14000, and I consider it prudent to stick with something we already know. The integration itself will introduce enough changes in the way we work. We may revisit this decision is a few years when some of our competitors have tried out ISO 14000 ... 

A wide variety of control technologies have been installed by utilities throughout the United States to reduce the emissions of these pollutants. At the same time, research on new technologies is being conducted to ensure compliance with future environmental standards. 

Three major compliance options for SOj emissions available to utilities using coal-fired boilers are to switch fuels, purchase/sell SO, allowances, or install flue gas desulfurization (FGD) technologies. Costs, availability, and impact on boiler operation must be considered when evaluating switching to low-sulfnr coal or natural gas. As more utilities enter the free market to purchase SO, allowances, prices will rise. Therefore, to minimize costs and, at the same time, meet environmental standards, power producers should continuously monitor the tradeoffs among these three options. 

The CCT program involves a number of projects that achieve reduction of SO, NO, and particulate emissions in a single processing unit. The technologies described arc uniquely combined to achieve project goals and, at the same time, to provide commercial-scale validation of technologies for utilities to consider in order to meet environmental standards. 

Green pricing assumes that an objective environmental standard exists for consumers to compare... 

The problem has been recognized by many of the developers concerned, who have consequently themselves adopted the environmental standards of other industrialized nations. In the absence of national controls this is a responsible and laudable approach. However, the piecemeal adoption of standards taken from elsewhere does not take account of local conditions. These conditions may either enhance or limit the ability of the environment to disperse and attenuate or assimilate pollutants (e.g. the occurrence of temperature inversions will limit the dispersion of air pollutants). Similarly, the use to which local resources are put may demand particularly high standards of environmental quality (e.g. the use of sea water or river water as the basis of potable water supply). The choice of standards must also take into account local practices and existing local administration. 

Standardization. Standardization in analytical chemistry, in which standards are used to relate the instrument signal to compound concentration, is the critical function for determining the relative concentrations of species In a wide variety of matrices. Environmental Standard Reference Materials (SRM s) have been developed for various polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH s). Information on SRM s can be obtained from the Office of Standard Reference Materials, National Bureau of Standards, Gaithersburg, MD 20899. Summarized in Table VII, these SRM s range from "pure compounds" in aqueous and organic solvents to "natural" matrices such as shale oil and urban and diesel particulate materials. 

The ISO 14000 series of environmental standards and their implications for the plastics industry are discussed. Aspects of ecolabelling and life cycle analysis and different options for recycling and waste disposal are examined. 

This act completely reformed arrangements for controlling pollution at national and local levels and created a complete interlocking framework for pollution control. It introduced integrated pollution control (IPC), a new approach with waste minimization at its centre and a commitment to higher environmental standards via the concept of the best practical environmental option (BPEO). The reform of waste disposal is designed to minimize waste and maximize recycling. 

Gladney ES (1980) Elemental concentrations in NBS biological materials and environmental standard reference materials. Anal Chim Acta 118 385-396. 

Mao Xueying, Chai Chieang (1995) Evaluation of the homogeneity of the environmental standard reference material - Estuarine Sediment SRM 1646 by INAA and SRXRF. Fresenius J Anal Chem 352 174-178. 

Replacing PVC with PP allows compliance with environmental standards in some pharmaceutical markets. These materials are cold formed instead of being thermoformed. Such packages require more packaging materials than thermoplastic plastic films for the packaging of the same number and same size of tablets or capsules. 

New Stricter Environmental Standards based on UN Protocols Kyoto (GHGs) Montreal (ozone-depleting chemicals CFCs, etc) (e.g., Canada s New Model Energy Code for Housing that reduces GHGs). 

Since the late 1980s, several developed countries have made major public sector commitments to build awareness of cleaner production, also referred to as pollution prevention and waste minimization. These commitments, most notably in Denmark, the Netherlands, the U.K. and the U.S., have led the private sector to investigate and implement pollution prevention measures for existing processes and products. As a result, cleaner production is now seen in these countries as a potentially cost-effective complement to pollution abatement in meeting environmental standards. 

After issuance, permits may need to be modified to allow facilities to implement technological improvements, comply with new environmental standards, respond to changing wastestreams, and generally improve waste management practices. These modifications can be initiated by either the facility or the permitting agency. 

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