"Recent Air Quality Compliance Experience at Wisconsin Gray and Ductile Iron Foundries
"Recent Air Quality Compliance Experience at Wisconsin Gray and Ductile Iron Foundries
Steven Klafka, P.E.
Wingra Engineering, S.C.
ABSTRACT
Since the mid-1970's, a Wisconsin company has
operated
four gray and ductile iron foundries. Recent expansions at these
facilities were subject to new air pollution control regulations and
policies.
Of these, the Prevention of Significant Deterioration, or PSD
regulations
and Wisconsin regulations controlling the emission of hazardous air
pollutants
have most significantly affected the design and planning of new
processes.
Fabric filter baghouses have successfully controlled dust emissions
from
new pouring, cooling and shakeout operations. State air toxics
regulations
have required estimation and testing of organic emissions resulting
from
the decomposition of core and molding sand raw materials. Pollutants
receiving
significant attention were benzene and formaldehyde. Air permit
applications
have required the technical and economic evaluation of emission control
systems such as incinerators, carbon adsorption, biofiltration and mist
scrubbing. With modest increases in stack heights, compliance air
quality
standards for criteria and hazardous air pollutants has been achieved.