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Gaseous Contaminant Emissions as Affected by Burning Scrap Tires in Cement Manufacturing
Author(s) -
Carrasco F.,
Bredin N.,
Heitz M.
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
journal of environmental quality
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.888
H-Index - 171
eISSN - 1537-2537
pISSN - 0047-2425
DOI - 10.2134/jeq2002.1484
Subject(s) - scrap , environmental chemistry , pollutant , naphthalene , environmental science , cement , particulates , coal , chlorobenzene , nox , pollution , chemistry , environmental engineering , metallurgy , combustion , materials science , ecology , biochemistry , organic chemistry , biology , catalysis
We studied the environmental impact (gaseous emissions) of using scrap tires as a fuel substitute at a cement plant that produces one million tons of cement per year. Using a combination of tires and coal as opposed to only coal caused variations in the pollutant emission rate. The study recorded a 37% increase in the rate of emission for CO, a 24% increase for SO 2 , an 11% decrease for NO x , and a 48% increase for HCl when tires were included. The rate of emission for metals increased 61% for Fe, 33% for Al, 487% for Zn, 127% for Pb, 339% for Cr, 100% for Mn, and 74% for Cu, and decreased 22% for Hg. On the other hand, the emission rate of organic compounds dropped by 14% for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, 8% in naphthalene, 37% in chlorobenzene, and 45% in dioxins and furans. We used a Gaussian model of atmospheric dispersion to calculate the average pollutant concentration (1‐h, 24‐h, and annual concentrations) in the ambient air at ground level with the help of the ISC‐ST2 software program developed by the USEPA. When tires were used, we observed (i) a 12 to 24% increase in particulate matter, this range considering the concentration variation depending on the average used (1‐h, 24‐h, and annual basis), 31 to 52% in CO, 22 to 34% in SO 2 , 39 to 52% in HCl, 12 to 27% in Fe, −3 to 8% in Al, 30 to 37% in Zn, and 270 to 885% in Pb; (ii) a decrease of 8 to 13% in NO x , 9 to 13% in polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, 6 to 7% in naphthalene, 32 to 39% in chlorobenzene, and 32 to 45% in dioxins and furans. The results obtained showed that the maximum ground‐level concentrations were well within the environmental standards (for operation with only coal as well as for operation with a combination of coal and tires).