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SOURCE ASSESSMENT: SOLVENT EVAPORATION - DEGREASING OPERATIONS
Citation:
Hoogheem, T., D. Horn, T. Hughes, AND P. Marn. SOURCE ASSESSMENT: SOLVENT EVAPORATION - DEGREASING OPERATIONS. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C., EPA/600/2-79/019F.
Description:
This report describes a study of air emissions from solvent degreasing and fabric scouring operations. This study was completed to provide EPA with sufficient information to determine whether additional control technology needs to be developed for these emission sources. Degreasing operations include: (1) cold cleaning; (2) open top vapor degreasing; (3) conveyorized vapor degreasing; and (4) fabric scouring. These four types consumed an estimated 943,000 metric tons of solvent in an estimated 1,255,000 operating locations in 1974. To assess the potential environmental effect of emissions (hydrocarbons) resulting from degreasing operations, the source severity (defined as the ratio of the time-averaged maximum ground level concentration of a pollutant to a potentially hazardous concentration) was calculated for each solvent emitted from each type of representative degreaser. Methylene chloride (2.2) and perchloroethylene (1.2) from conveyorized vapor degreasing had the two largest source severities. Solvent consumption for degreasing is expected to grow at an annual rate of 4% through 1980. If the 1980 level of emissions control is the same as the 1974 level, emissions from degreasing operations will increase by 26% over that period.