Innovative Cost-Effective Control Device for Wastewater VOC Emissions (As Required by NESHAPs BWON, HON, MON, MACT and Other Regulations)

摘要

The USEPA National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) compliancernregulations require 95 percent or greater removal of regulated Hazardous Air Pollutants (HAPs)rnin off-gas from storage vessels, process vents, and wastewater equipment. Previous to the effortrndiscussed herein, the only Control Technologies, routinely acceptable to the USEPA, were VaporrnPhase Adsorption and Thermal Incineration, including Flares. Both control devices are capitalrnand operationally expensive and generate high carbon footprints. However, the rule allowsrnimplementation of an Alternative Control Device. This paper describes innovative protocols,rndeveloped by the authors and Marathon Petroleum Corporation (MPC) in Garyville, Louisiana,rnto certify a cost-effective Alternative Control Device that has a minimal carbon footprint. Thernauthors have developed bench-scale and full-scale confirmation protocols, which delineate morernrealistic and reliable benzene biodegradation rates (f_(bio)) than the EPA default rates. The biorates,rnthus determined, are more representative of full-scale conditions than the typical USEPArnapproach. Modification of typical, conventional protocols negated the required use of VOCrnbiodegradation rate default values. This benzene-biodegradation system was approved in writingrnby the State of Louisiana and accepted by the USEPA - Research Triangle, North Carolina. It isrnpremised that any properly designed and operated activated sludge system can be qualified as anrnAlternative Control Device when developed with the protocols herein.