S.C. Code Regs. § § 61-62.5.3.1.IV

Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 9, September 27, 2024

Section 61-62.5.3.1.IV - Performance Specifications

(a) The owner or operator of an affected facility shall ensure that:

(1) The secondary chamber is maintained at a temperature equal to or greater than 1800° F. A thermocouple is appropriately located at the exit of the chamber to confirm the temperature.

(2) The temperature equal to or greater than 1800° F is maintained for at least one second (secondary chamber residence time). The ducting between the secondary chamber and heat recovery system or the breaching and portion of the stack (tertiary chamber) may not be included for the residence time demonstration.

(3) The auxiliary (secondary and/or tertiary) burners of the incinerator are designed such that without the assistance of the heat content of the waste, a minimum temperature of 2000° F can be maintained for at least one second. (See Appendix B)

(4) Appendix B of this Standard shall be used to demonstrate compliance with paragraph (2) and (3) above.

(b) Owners or operators which have an incinerator facility with a continuous capacity greater than 2000 lbs/hr or a batch capacity of less than 16,000 lbs/day in existence on or before May 25, 1990, equipped with a secondary chamber and/or an afterburner operated at a minimum temperature equal to or greater than 1800° F may choose to meet a more restrictive visible emission standard of zero percent opacity in lieu of meeting the residence time requirements in paragraph (a) above. However, a residence time of at least 0.5 seconds will be required if the facility is permitted to burn hazardous waste or antineoplastic drugs.

(c) The firing of the burners and the combustion air shall be modulated automatically to maintain a secondary chamber exit or after burner temperature of at least 1800° F.

(d) The incinerator shall be equipped with an automatic loader except for units with capacities less than or equal to 300 lbs/hr and equipped with the interlocks specified in paragraph (e) or (g) or as provided in paragraph (f). However, a sealed feeding device capable of preventing combustion upsets during charging will be required for the units with capacity less than 300 lbs/hr.

(e) For batch fed incinerators (fully loaded while cold and never opened until burn cycle is completed), interlocks should be provided to prevent (1) ignition of the waste until the secondary chamber exit or afterburner temperature is established at equal to or greater than 1800° F; and (2) recharging until the combustion cycle is complete. No waste shall be incinerated if the required interlock system is not operational.

(f) The owner or operator of an incinerator, except a batch incinerator in existence on or before May 25, 1990, which is manually fed may submit a written request to the Department that manual feeding be allowed. The request must include a plan detailing the methods and operating procedure to be employed in manually charging the incinerator. The Department shall determine if the plan provided is acceptable.

(1) The owner or operator of the incinerator must post or file on the operating premises a copy of the approved plan.

(2) The plan shall not relieve the owner or operator of the duty of meeting all other emission requirements.

(3) Any violation of the conditions under which the plan was approved or any violation of other requirements of this Standard may result in the Department requiring that an automatic mechanical loading device be installed.

(g) For non-batch fed incinerators, the charging of waste to the incinerator shall automatically cease through the use of an interlock system when any of the following conditions exist: [Note: The only monitors required in the interlock system are those required for a specific incinerator size facility in Section V below.]

(1) The incinerator's secondary chamber exit or afterburner temperature drops below 1800° F, and/or

(2) The carbon monoxide emissions are equal to or greater than 150 ppmv (dry basis), corrected to seven per cent O₂ on a dry basis for a 15 minute period, and/or

(3) The flue gas oxygen level drops below six per cent (dry basis) for a 15 minute period, and/or

(4) The opacity of the visible emissions is equal to or greater than 10% for a period of 15 minutes, and/or

(5) The required monitoring equipment is not functioning.

(h) Startup and Shutdown Requirements

(1) The owner or operator of an affected facility shall ensure that:

(i) No waste is charged to an incinerator other than a batch incinerator until the secondary chamber or afterburner has achieved a minimum temperature of 1800° F.

(ii) The secondary chamber or afterburner has achieved and maintained the required minimum temperature for 15 minutes before charging begins.

(iii) The control equipment (if equipped) is operational and functioning properly, prior to the ignition of waste and until all the waste is incinerated.

(2) The owner or operator of an affected facility shall ensure that during shutdowns the secondary chamber or afterburner minimum temperature of 1800° F is to be maintained using auxiliary burners until "shutdown" as defined in Section II of this standard has been met.

(3) The owner or operator of an affected facility shall ensure that a detailed procedure for normal system startup and shutdown, including the duration of preheat and burn-out cycles, is submitted as part of the application for approval.

(i) Storage.

(1) The owner or operator of an affected facility shall ensure that the storage of hospital/medical/infectious waste shall be in a manner approved by the Department to prevent the escape of malodor.

(2) The owner or operator of an affected facility shall ensure that hospital/medical/infectious waste and ash are stored only in enclosed, leaktight containers or areas.

(3) The owner or operator of an affected facility shall ensure that ash is loaded in an enclosed area or handled wet in enclosed containers.

S.C. Code Regs. § 61-62.5.3.1.IV