Fossil Fuel Boilers Face New EPA Rules

Posted July 26, 2011 at 4:18 pm

TRSA is providing resources via this website to assist members with compliance with new EPA rules that govern boilers that burn coal, oil, biomass or nonwaste materials. Limits to control mercury, metals and organics emissions are being placed on larger, newer such boilers. Many bigger existing installations will need to undergo one-time energy assessments and their smaller counterparts will need to be tuned every other year.

Below is an explanation of compliance fundamentals. Attached to this page are two documents: one for determining whether the new rule applies to your operation and another for logging any tuneups that might be mandated.

FACT SHEET

On February 21, 2011, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized a rule that will reduce emissions of toxic air pollutants from existing and new industrial, commercial, and institutional boilers located at "area source facilities." A facility is desginated an area source if it emits or could emit less than 10 tons per year (tpy) of any single air toxic or less than 25 tpy of any combination of air toxics.

The final rule covers boilers located at area source facilities that burn coal, oil, biomass or non-waste materials, but not boilers that burn only gaseous fuels or any solid waste.

EPA is regulating area source boilers based on boiler design. Boilers are classified by what kind of fuel they burn and the final rule sets different requirements for large and small boilers.

  • Large boilers have a heat input capacity equal to or greater than 10 million British thermal units per hour (Btu per hour).
  • Small boilers' such capacity is less than 10 million Btu per hour.
     

FINAL REQUIREMENTS

The final rule establishes standards to address emissions of mercury, particulate matter (PM) (as a surrogate for non-mercury metals), and carbon monoxide (CO) (as a surrogate for organic air toxics).

For new boilers, the final rule requires the following:

  • Coal-fired boilers, with heat input equal or greater than 10 million Btu per hour, are required to meet emission limits for mercury, PM, and CO.
  • Biomass and oil-fired boilers, with heat input equal or greater than 10 million Btu per hour, must meet emission limits for PM.
  • Boilers with heat input less than 10 million Btu per hour must perform a boiler tune-up every two years.
     

For existing boilers:

  • Coal-fired boilers, with heat input equal or greater than 10 million Btu per hour, are required to meet emission limits for mercury and CO.
  • Biomass boilers, oil-fired boilers, and small coal-fired boilers are not required to meet emission limits. They must adhere to a work practice standard or a management practice by performing a boiler tune-up every two years.
  • All area source facilities with large boilers are required to conduct an energy assessment to identify cost-effective energy conservation measures.
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