40 CFR § 76.15 - Test methods and procedures.

§ 76.15 Test methods and procedures.

(a) The owner or operator may use the following tests as a basis for the report required by § 76.10(e)(7):

(1) Conduct an ultimate analysis of coal using ASTM D 3176–89 (incorporated by reference as specified in § 76.4);

(2) Conduct a proximate analysis of coal using ASTM D 3172–89 (incorporated by reference as specified in § 76.4); and

(3) Measure the coal mass flow rate to each individual burner using ASME Power Test Code 4.2 (1991), “Test Code for Coal Pulverizers” or ISO 9931 (1991), “Coal—Sampling of Pulverized Coal Conveyed by Gases in Direct Fired Coal Systems” (incorporated by reference as specified in § 76.4).

(b) The owner or operator may measure and record the actual NOX emission rate in accordance with the requirements of this part while varying the following parameters where possible to determine their effects on the emissions of NOX from the affected boiler:

(1) Excess air levels;

(2) Settings of burners or coal and air nozzles, including tilt and yaw, or swirl;

(3) For tangentially fired boilers, distribution of combustion air within the NOX emission control system;

(4) Coal mass flow rates to each individual burner;

(5) Coal-to-primary air ratio (based on pound per hour) for each burner, the average coal-to-primary air ratio for all burners, and the deviations of individual burners' coal-to-primary air ratios from the average value; and

(6) If the boiler uses varying types of coal, the type of coal. Provide the results of proximate and ultimate analyses of each type of as-fired coal.

(c) In performing the tests specified in paragraph (a) of this section, the owner or operator shall begin the tests using the equipment settings for which the NOX emission control system was designed to meet the NOX emission rate guaranteed by the primary NOX emission control system vendor. These results constitute the “baseline controlled” condition.

(d) After establishing the baseline controlled condition under paragraph (c) of this section, the owner or operator may:

(1) Change excess air levels ±5 percent from the baseline controlled condition to determine the effects on emissions of NOX, by providing a minimum of three readings (e.g., with a baseline reading of 20 percent excess air, excess air levels will be changed to 19 percent and 21 percent);

(2) For tangentially fired boilers, change the distribution of combustion air within the NOX emission control system to determine the effects on NOX emissions by providing a minimum of three readings, one with the minimum, one with the baseline, and one with the maximum amounts of staged combustion air; and

(3) Show that the combustion process within the boiler is optimized (e.g., that the burners are balanced).