PFPI-BiomassIsTheNewCoal-April-2-2014

Synthetic minor facilities tend to have higher allowable SO 2 emission rates than facilities that havegone through PSD permitting. However, in Figure 7, the non-PSD facilities with allowable SO 2emissions around 250 tons did include sorbent injection in their emissions controls, suggesting thatactual emissions would be lower than allowable emissions. Overall, 13 facilities did not appear toplan on using sorbent injection, including a couple of PSD-permitted facilities that plant to rely on“natural” ash sorption of to control SO 2 and HCl emissions.Figure 7: Projected emissions of sulfur dioxideFigure 7. The relationship between permitted SO 2 emissions for some facilities that went through PSD, versussynthetic minor sources that avoid PSD. Dashed line shows trend for no-PSD facilities; solid line shows trend forPSD facilities.Toxic air pollution from biomass energyHazardous air pollutants (HAPs) is the collective name for the group of 187+ compounds that EPAconsiders especially toxic in air. Although biomass energy is routinely presented as “clean,” in fact,biomass burning emits large amounts of HAPs, also known as “air toxics” – including hydrochloricacid, dioxins, “organic” compounds such as benzene and formaldehyde, and heavy metals likearsenic, chromium, cadmium, lead, and mercury. Emissions of metals and other HAPs are likely tobe highest when contaminated materials like construction and demolition debris are burned as fuel,but burning just unadulterated forest wood also emits toxic air pollutants. Some of thesecompounds are contained in the fuel itself while others are created during the combustion process.As we discuss below, the use of contaminated fuels is increasing in the bioenergy industry, thusHAPs emissions from the biomass power industry are likely to increase.Burning biomass emits a wide variety of air toxics, but the HAP typically thought to be emitted inthe greatest quantities is hydrochloric acid (HCl). Other HAPs emitted at relatively high ratesinclude acrolein, acetaldehyde, styrene, benzene, and formaldehyde, which have various38