Kraft, Soda, Sulfite, and Stand-Alone Semichemical Pulp Mills (MACT II): National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) for Chemical Recovery Combustion Sources
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Rule Summary
The chemical recovery process at pulp mills involves the recovery of chemicals in the spent cooking liquor, reconstitution of those chemicals, and the generation of energy from the incineration of the organic residuals. This subpart regulates the emissions from the pulp mill combustion sources, which are recovery furnaces, smelt dissolving tanks, and lime kilns.
These standards do not address emissions from mills that chemically pulp wood using kraft, semi-chemical, sulfite, or soda processes that are referred to as MACT I mills. Mills that mechanically pulp wood, or that pulp secondary fiber or non-wood fibers, or that produce paper or paperboard from purchased pulp are referred to as MACT III mills, and these two MACTs are regulated under a seperate NESHAP.
The National Emissions Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) for the pulp mill combustion sources was originally proposed in 1998 and promulgated in 2001. In these actions, the EPA identified Hazardous Air Pollutants (HAP) metals as the HAP emitted in the largest quantity and regulated them through a particulate matter surrogate. Gaseous organic HAP were also regulated for new sources.
See the regulations in the section below for more details.
Subpart MM RTR Final Rule Supporting Documentation
Technical supporting documents for the final rule
Subpart MM RTR
Subpart MM RTR Supporting Documentation
Rule History
11/05/2020 - Final Amendments (85 FR 70487)
10/31/2019 - Proposed Amendments (84 FR 58356)
10/11/2017 - Final Amendments: Residual Risk and Technology Review (82 FR 47328)
12/30/2016 - Proposed Amendments; Risk and Technology Review (81 FR 97046)
05/06/2004 - Final Rule; technical corrections (69 FR 25321)
07/18/2003 - Final Rule; amendments (68 FR 42603)
05/08/2003 - Correcting administrative amendments; change in effective date (68 FR 24653)
02/18/2003 - Proposed Rule (68 FR 7735) & Direct Final Rule (68 FR 7706)
08/06/2001 - Federal Register Correction (66 FR 41086)
07/19/2001 - Final Rule; technical corrections (66 FR 37591)
01/12/2001 - Final Rule (66 FR 3180)
04/15/1998 - Proposed Rule (63 FR 18754)
Additional Resources
Redline of NSPS Subpart BBa and MM
Fact Sheet: December 2016 Proposed Amendments; Risk and Technology Review
Chemcial Recovery Combustion Sources at U.S. Sulfite Pulp Mills
Technical Support Document: Chemical Recovery Combustion Sources at Kraft and Soda Pulp Mills
WATER9 is a Windows based computer program for estimating air emissions of individual waste constituents in wastewater/waste. Further information or a copy of the WATER 9 can be obtained from EPA. You can also contact the Air Emissions Model Hotline at (919) 541-5610 for support or more information about this model.
Pulp and paper manufacturing is subject to the Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program. Information regarding available and emerging technologies for reducing greenhouse gas emissions from pulp and paper manufacturing can be found here.
Related Rules
MACT I & III Pulp and Paper regulations
Kraft Pulp Mills: New Source Performance Standards (NSPS)
Pulp, Paper, and Paper Board Point Source Category Effluent Guidelines and Standards
Compliance
Pulp and Paper Clean Air Act Section 114 Information Collection Request
Applicability Determination Index (ADI). The ADI is maintained by EPA's Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance (OECA) and provides a data base of memoranda dealing with applicability issues. The database is searchable by Subpart.