Estimates of air emissions from asphalt storage tanks and truck loading

Title V of the 1990 Clean Air Act requires the accurate estimation of emissions from all U.S. manufacturing processes, and places the burden of proof for that estimate on the process owner. This paper is published as a tool to assist in the estimation of air emissions from hot asphalt storage tanks and asphalt truck loading operations. Data are presented on asphalt vapor pressure, vapor molecular weight, and the emission split between volatile organic compounds and particulate emissions that can be used with AP‐42 calculation techniques to estimate air emissions from asphalt storage tanks and truck loading operations. Since current AP‐42 techniques are not valid in asphalt tanks with active fume removal, a different technique for estimation of air emissions in those tanks, based on direct measurement of vapor space combustible gas content, is proposed. Likewise, since AP‐42 does not address carbon monoxide or hydrogen sulfide emissions that are known to be present in asphalt operations, this paper proposes techniques for estimation of those emissions. Finally, data are presented on the effectiveness of fiber bed filters in reducing air emissions in asphalt operations.