N.M. Code R. § 20.2.63.203

Current through Register Vol. 35, No. 11, June 11, 2024

Section 20.2.63.203 - DESIGN AND OPERATING REQUIREMENTS

A. Design Requirements:

(1) All combustion units shall be equipped with a secondary combustion chamber which provides for turbulent mixing by ensuring that the air being supplied to the combustion zone has sufficient momentum to penetrate the combustion gases. The secondary combustion chamber shall also provide one second of residence time, as measured from the location where the maximum temperature has been fully developed and is calculated with consideration of design-specific furnace parameters including chamber volume, volumetric air flow rate, and excess air rate.

(2) Primary combustion chamber temperature must be maintained at not less than fourteen hundred (1400) degrees Fahrenheit.

(3) Secondary combustion chamber temperature must be maintained at not less than eighteen hundred (1800) degrees Fahrenheit.

(4) Auxiliary burners must be designed to provide the combustion chamber temperatures as described in paragraphs (2) and (3) of subsection A of 20.2.63.203 NMAC without the assistance of the heat content of the waste. The auxiliary burner fuel and the combustion air shall be modulated automatically to maintain a secondary chamber exit temperature of at least eighteen hundred (1800) degrees Fahrenheit and a primary chamber temperature of at least fourteen hundred (1400) degrees Fahrenheit.

(5) The waste charging system of any combustion unit must be designed to prevent disruption of the combustion process as waste is charged. Batch charged units must be equipped with a lockout mechanism to prevent charging after start-up. Units with automatic charging systems shall be equipped with a sealed feeding device capable of preventing combustion upsets during charging. The volume of the loading system shall be designed to prevent overcharging.

(6) For batch charged units, waste shall not be ignited until the secondary chamber exit temperature is established and holding at eighteen hundred (1800) degrees Fahrenheit for at least fifteen (15) minutes. Interlocks shall be provided which prevent opening the charging door after ignition and until the burn-down and cool-down periods are complete.

(7) For continually charged combustion units, the charging of waste shall automatically cease through the use of an interlock system if:

(a) The combustion unit's secondary chamber temperature drops below 1800 degrees Fahrenheit for any continuous fifteen-minute period; or

(b) The carbon monoxide emissions are equal to or greater than 50 ppm by volume, corrected to seven percent (7%) O2 on a dry basis for any continuous 15-minute period.

B. Stack Height Requirements: Exhaust stack height for all biomedical waste combustion units shall be in accord with "good engineering practice" (GEP).

(1) For purposes of this Part, GEP is defined as the greater of:

(a) Hg = H + 1.5L where: Hg = Good engineering practice stack height measured from the ground-level elevation at the base of the stack, H = Height of nearby structure(s) measured from the ground-level elevation at the base of the stack, L = Lesser dimension, height or projected width, of nearby structure(s), provided that the Department may require the use of a field study or fluid model to verify GEP stack height for the source; or

(b) The height demonstrated by a fluid model or a field study approved by the Department, which ensures that the emissions from a stack do not result in excessive concentrations of any air pollutant as a result of atmospheric downwash, wakes, or eddy effects created by the source itself, nearby structures or nearby terrain features.

(2) For purposes of this Part, the definitions in 40 CFR Sections 51.100(Z), (ff), and (hh)-(kk) (1987) are hereby incorporated as state regulations.

C. Operating Requirements:

(1) The owner or operator of a biomedical waste combustion unit shall not manually charge the primary combustion chamber through doors open to the atmosphere while the unit is operating. Charging of waste for units other than batch units shall be by mechanical means which prevents upsets in the burn cycle.

(2) Each combustion unit shall operate so that during shutdown the combustion unit continues to meet applicable emission limitations and the secondary combustion chamber temperature is maintained at 1800 degrees Fahrenheit or above until the waste is completely combusted.

(3) Combustion units utilizing control devices to attain emission limits must be designed such that the flue gas temperature at the outlet of the final control device does not exceed three hundred (300) degrees Fahrenheit unless a demonstration is made that an equivalent collection (removal) of heavy metals and toxic organics can be achieved at a higher temperature or through the use of alternate technologies.

N.M. Code R. § 20.2.63.203

11/30/95; 20.2.63.203 NMAC - Rn 20 NMAC 2.63.500 - 502 10/31/02