Category: Industrial Wastewater Air Pollution and Solid And Hazardous Wastes

Introduction BACT is defined as An emission limitation … based on the maximum degree of reduction for each pollutant … taking into account energy, environmental, and economic impacts and other costs … through application of production processes or available methods, systems, and techniques… This section reviews the important elements in this definition and describes the… Continue reading  Best Available Control Technology

Federal laws governing air pollution are designed to protect ambient air quality and public health. The USEPA, acting with authority of such laws, establishes federal regulations that limit the emissions allowed from various sources. The specific regulations for various industrial categories are documented in the Code of Federal Regulations (e.g. 40 CFR Part 60) and… Continue reading An Overall Permitting Process

Introduction The Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) program was established on 7 August 1977, after the US Congress substantially amended the federal CAA and outlined a detailed PSD program. The federal PSD program is set forth in Part C of the federal CAA (Sections 160 through 169B). The PSD program was developed to prevent significant… Continue reading Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) Permitting Process

Title III of the amendments deal with air toxics. Toxic air pollutants (TAPs) or air toxics, and also known as hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) are airborne pollutants that are known to have adverse human health effects, such as cancer. Currently, there are about 189 chemicals identified on the CAA list of HAPs or TAPs (Table… Continue reading Air Toxics: Toxic Air Pollutants

Air pollution is woven throughout the fabric of our modern life. A by‐product of the manner in which we build our cities, air pollution is waste remaining from ways we produce our goods, transport ourselves, and generate the energy to heat and light the cities where we live, work, and play. The major cause of… Continue reading Air Pollution Perspective

Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) Rule Under the CWA, the states in the United States are required to identify surface waters that do not meet specified water‐quality standards or do not meet the designated beneficial uses (USEPA 1991a). In the 1990s, a significant percentage of the nation’s waters were found to be impaired based on quality… Continue reading Example NPDES Permits (for Refinery and Aluminum Smelter are shown in Section D.1)

The NPDES permits program is authorized by the CWA (CWA Section 402, 33 U.S. C. 1342). The initial permits issued in the 1970s and early 1980s focused on POTWs and industrial wastewater – typically “process” wastewater and cooling water where applicable. An NPDES Permit is required for a discharge of wastewater to waters of the United States… Continue reading NPDES Wastewater Discharge Permits for Point Sources

Water quality modeling involves the prediction of water pollution using mathematical simulation techniques. A typical water quality model consists of a collection of formulations representing physical mechanisms that determine position and momentum of pollutants in a water body. Models are available for individual components of the hydrological system such as surface runoff; there also exist… Continue reading Water Quality Modeling

The Streeter–Phelps equation determined the relation between the dissolved oxygen concentration and the biological oxygen demand over time (Streeter and Phelps 1925). The concentration of DO in a river is an indicator of general health of the river. All rivers have some capacity for self‐purification. As long as the discharge of oxygen demanding wastes is well… Continue reading Streeter–Phelps Equation and DO Sag Curve in a River

Electromagnetic flow meter operation is based on the fact that the voltage induced by a conductor moving at right angles through a magnetic field will be proportional to the velocity of that conductor as it moves through the field. In the case of the electromagnetic flow meter, the conductor is the stream of water to… Continue reading Electromagnetic Flow Meter