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ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT OF COKE BY-PRODUCT RECOVERY PLANTS
Citation:
VanOsdell, D., D. Marsland, B. Carpenter, C. Sparacino, AND R. Jablin. ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT OF COKE BY-PRODUCT RECOVERY PLANTS. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C., EPA/600/2-79/016.
Description:
The report gives results of an initial screening study, initiating a multimedia environmental assessment of coke by-product recovery plants in the U.S. The study included both the gathering and analysis of existing data and sampling and analysis at one plant based on EPA's Industrial Environmental Research Laboratory-RTP Level 1 protocol. Process data concerning design and operation of existing plants and processes were examined. Many variations of all process types exist, forcing an examination of the industry to determine the commoner processes. Sampling and analysis utilized a basic EPA Level 1 format, tailored for organic vapor sampling. Specific samples were also analyzed for cyanide. Air was sampled at all suspected pollution sources, most of them storage tanks. The largest single source was the final cooler cooling tower: aromatics at greater than 50 g/Mg coke and cyanide at 278 g/Mg coke were both significant. Polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) compounds were indicated, but not quantified. Concentrations of pollutants in the vapor above storage tanks were measured, but actual emission rates were not determined because of the difficulty in measuring working and breathing losses for the tanks sampled. Water sampling data from the same plant, developed by EPA's Effluent Guidelines Division, were included in the overall study analysis.