An Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) ad hoc committee yesterday approved Formosa Petrochemical Corp’s (FPCC) plan to replace petroleum coke with coal in two circulating fluidized beds (CFB), but rejected its proposal of a new process for converting lime into gypsum.
The company consumes about 700,000 tonnes of petroleum coke and 368,000 tonnes of limestone per year in its two CFBs, which are used to generate vapor and electricity to supply energy to the naphtha cracker in Yunlin County’s Mailiao Township (麥寮).
If the EPA allows it to replace petroleum coke with coal, it would consume about 998,640 tonnes of coal per year, but it could reduce carbon dioxide emissions by up to 199,253 tonnes per year, the company said in a report yesterday.
As it would use a type of coal that contains about 0.8 percent sulfur, which is much less than the 8.5 percent in petroleum coke, the replacement would also reduce the company’s polluting emissions, it said.
The company also applied to increase its use of a process that converts lime, which is used to absorb sulfur oxides produced in petroleum coke combustion, into gypsum, saying the process fits with the government’s promotion of a circular economy.
While most reviewers on the committee supported the company’s goal of reducing pollution, they said lime conversion is a significant process, for which the company should apply for a separate in-depth review.
The company’s application to change its fuel has the appearance of a smoke screen to cover up its real intention of disposing of large amounts of lime produced in petroleum coke combustion that has found no buyers for, committee member Wu Yi-lin (吳義林) said.
It is typical of FPCC to bury a substantial request within a seemingly insignificant application, Southern Taiwan Anti-Air Pollution Alliance convener Chen Jiau-hua (陳椒華) said.
Coal combustion still creates pollution and the company should use natural gas instead, she said.
Yunlin Environmental Protection Bureau secretary Shen Su-yuan (沈淑妧) advised the company to mix in a certain ratio of alternative fuels, such as garbage that has been mechanically and biologically treated.
However, committee chairperson Liu Shi-ping (劉希平) said garbage treatment is a complicated issue and should not be discussed at the review meeting.
After the two-hour meeting, the committee recommended that the EPA pass FPCC’s application to change its fuel, but rejected its application to apply the new conversion process.
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