Chemical Engineering March 2012 - 20

Newsfront
TABLE 1. ESTIMATED CAPITAL
35 existing units because installation
of a fabric filter is expected to achieve
the mercury emission limits, except
in cases where a unit already has a
fabric filter and does not meet the
limits. CIBO does not agree that fabric
filters will be sufficient to reduce
mercury emissions to some of the ultra-low
levels in this rule. " There is a
flaw in the logic that fabric filters are
expected to achieve mercury emission
limits when there are many boilers in
the database that are equipped with
fabric filters and have measured mercury
emissions higher than the applicable
limit. EPA's estimated industrywide
capital cost for activated carbon
injection [5] is extremely low, at only
$115,000 per unit "
* EPA has estimated costs to install
packed-bed scrubbers for HCl control.
CIBO notes, however, that " industrial
boilers do not use packedbed
scrubbers for acid-gas control,
as the limitations of these devices
make them impractical for use on applications
with high flowrates, high
PM loading, and high inlet-pollutant
concentration. EPA's own fact sheet
on these devices lists the limitations
of these devices and indicates that
they are only used in applications
up to 75,000 scfm, which limits their
use to small units only. " Facilities
will instead install wet scrubbers,
dry scrubbers, or semi-dry scrubbers
to control acid-gas emissions from
industrial boilers, CIBO says
Calling for regulatory relief
Given the delicate state of the U.S.
economy, the significant costs at stake
and the uncertainty that still looms,
industry groups like CIBO and ACC
have stepped up lobbying efforts.
" Without legislation specifically interpreting
the act or telling EPA and
the courts how to do it, the uncertainty
is increased regarding ENGO
[environmental, non-governmental
COST TO UPGRADE ALL AFFECTED
SOURCES (BY EMISSION TYPE)
$5 billion
PM
HCl
Hg
CO
Total
$6 billion
$468 million
$2.8 billion
$14.3 billion
organizations] and the DC Circuits
ruling on certain litigation to follow, "
says CIBO's Bessette. " Any of the good
things EPA has done, like work practices,
could be lost, which could result
in gas-fired boilers needing controls -
and that could be another $50 billion
in capital costs for industry. "
At this point, their hopes are pinned
on the EPA Regulatory Relief Act. The
House of Representatives introduced
its version of the bill (H.R. 2250) in
June 2011 and passed it in October
2011. The Senate's version of the legislation,
S. 1392, currently has 41 bipartisan
cosponsors. " We are and will
be trying to make sure H.R. 2250 language
or something like it is included
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20 CHEMICAL ENGINEERING WWW.CHE.COM MARCH 2012
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Chemical Engineering March 2012

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Chemical Engineering March 2012
