1188781 - Reducing NOx and CO Emissions from Petroleum Refineries and Related Operations in the South Coast Air Basin

The South Coast Air Quality Management District (South Coast AQMD) recently adopted Rule 1109.1 – Emissions of Oxides of Nitrogen from Petroleum Refineries and Related Operations. This rule applies to oxides of nitrogen (NOx) emitting combustion equipment at facilities, including asphalt plants, biofuel plants, hydrogen production plants, petroleum refineries, and facilities that operate petroleum coke calciners, sulfuric acid plants, and sulfur recovery plants, located in the South Coast Air Basin. The South Coast Air Basin consists of portions of Los Angeles, Riverside, and San Bernardino counties and all of Orange County.

Rule 1109.1 establishes NOx and Carbon Monoxide (CO) emission limits to reflect the Best Available Retrofit Control Technologies (BARCT) for most combustion equipment categories at the affected facilities. Additionally, the rule establishes provisions for monitoring, recordkeeping, and reporting and provides alternative implementation and compliance approaches, which provides flexibility and opportunities for facilities to reduce cost impacts.

Rule 1109.1 is aimed at achieving NOx reductions for the region to meet the state and federal air quality standards. The rule will require all affected units to meet NOx concentration limits either directly or in the aggregate. Based on 2017 emissions data, an estimated 220 units that are currently not operating at Best Available Retrofit Control Technology (BARCT) levels will be affected by this rule. Implementation of Rule 1109.1 is expected to achieve 7.7 to 7.9 tons per day of NOx emission reductions.

Rule 1109.1 was developed through an extensive public process. The South Coast AQMD began the rule development process for this rule in the first quarter of 2018 and conducted 25 working group meetings prior to adopting the rule in November 2021.

Heaters and boilers are the largest equipment categories representing 80 percent of the equipment. There are many subcategories of equipment including steam methane reformer (SMR) heaters, sulfuric acid plant furnaces, startup heaters or boilers, and vapor incinerators.

South Coast AQMD conducted a thorough technology assessment to evaluate the NOx control technologies that will achieve the BARCT level for combustion equipment at petroleum refineries and related facilities. The technology assessment consists of four steps including the assessment of South Coast AQMD requirements, a complete assessment of emission limits of existing units, a review of other regulatory requirements, and an assessment of available pollution control technologies. South Coast AQMD evaluated the cost-effectiveness of the NOx BARCT emission limit which is measured in terms of the cost of the control method to meet the proposed NOx limit per ton of NOx reduced over the lifetime of the control equipment.

This platform presentation will introduce the requirements of Rule 1109.1, BARCT assessment and limits, options to comply with the BARCT requirements, and monitoring, testing, and recordkeeping requirements.