EMISSION FACTORS FOR GRAIN RECEIVING AND FEED LOADING OPERATIONS AT FEED MILLS

摘要

The Federal Clean Air Act (FCAA) Amendments of 1990 have impacted the process used by State Air Pollution Regulatory Agencies (SAPRAs) in regulating air pollution attributed to agricultural facilities, including feed mills. The maximum allowable emission rate (AER), annual emission rate and Title V emission fee for a pollution source are calculated using AP-42 emission factors published by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). For proper enforcement, there is a need to be as accurate as possible in establishing emission factors for any emitting source. The 1988 AP-42 emission factors for feed mills totaled 4905 grams of particulate/tonne (9.8 lb/ton) of grain handled. These factors were grossly in error. EPA published interim factors in 1996 based on data obtained from air sampling performed at grain elevators. There are differences in the operations of grain elevators and feed mills associated with feed yards that could significantly affect emission factors. Additionally, no data was available to EPA on the emission rate and emission factor associated with loading feed. This study was directed at developing accurate emission factors for unloading grain and loading feed at feed mills associated with cattle feed yards. The resulting emission factors were determined to be 20 grams/tonne (0.04 lb/ton) for unloading grain and 2.5 gram/tonne (0.005 lb/ton) for loading feed.