Emission Limit Values Research Articles

UV-promoted carrier transfer regulation of PbS quantum dots modified ZnO for ultra-high response detection of ppb-level triethylamine

Triethylamine (TEA) is internationally recognized as a common industrial waste gas, necessitating the urgent development of gas sensors with high selectivity and sensitivity. Here, the gas sensor derived from ZIF-L modified with PbS quantum dots (QDs) was designed and prepared. The photo-generated charge under UV light interacts with the adsorbed oxygen on the ZnO/PbS surface, resulting in the formation of alternating cycles. The p-n nano heterojunction created at the ZnO/PbS interface facilitates rapid carrier transfer. Therefore, the ZnO/PbS-0.2 sensor exhibits a response to TEA under UV light is as high as 13,600 (Ra/Rg), which is 5 times greater than that of ZnO, and 16 times higher than that of ZnO/PbS-0.2 sensor in darkness. Moreover, the response of ZnO/PbS-0.2 to TEA under UV light is at least 8 times that of the other 7 types of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). In addition, the detection limits of ZnO/PbS-0.2 under UV light are as low as 198 ppb, far below the internationally emission limit value (1 ppm). The ppb-level detection, super-high responsiveness, and outstanding selectivity of ZnO/PbS-0.2 sensor are result from the synergistic effect of the p-n nano heterojunction at the PbS-ZnO interface and abundant photo-generated charge carriers generated under UV light.

Chemical oxygen demand and biochemical oxygen demand analysis of discharge waters from laundry industry: monitoring, temporal variability, and biodegradability

In Europe, chemical oxygen demand (COD) and biochemical oxygen demand (BOD5) are used as organic indicators for the analytical characterization of laundry water. However, the values of these indicators are derived from one-off analytical measurements at a defined frequency. In addition, there are few data on the temporal variability of COD and BOD5 parameters and on water biodegradability beyond 5 days. In this work, samples of physicochemical treated wastewater were collected for 1 year and their content in COD and BOD5 measured, with BOD monitored over 35 days. The results showed that, for the 24 samples studied, the average and standard deviation values were 835 ± 176 mg/L for COD and 445 ± 114 mg/L for BOD5, indicating a biodegradability index of 2.0 ± 0.4. The interpretation of the data also indicated that the concentrations were close to emission limit value, particularly for BOD5. BOD21 values were particularly high compared to the initial COD, indicating the biodegradability of water. Laundry effluents were also rich in substances very quickly biodegradable, which has been demonstrated by the values of the ratio between BOD7 and BOD5. However, a significant proportion of surfactants is not degraded, as shown by measurements of total organic carbon and anionic surfactant analysis. The results of this study could help the industrial partner involved in our project to guide its choice of the complementary method to better treat wastewater and to reduce its organic load.

Odor emission measurements: The role of n-butanol as a reference material and origins of large inter-laboratory variability

Malodors negatively impact the quality of life of people who are exposed to them. In order to enforce legal emission limit values that aim to reduce these adverse effects, reliable methods for the quantification of odor emissions are needed. The standard EN 13725 describes a method to quantify odor concentration, which is based on the use of human assessors as sensors. Previously published work that studied the performance characteristics of this method indicates that the variability of results between different laboratories is higher than expected and that the uncertainty associated with this method may be underestimated. We analyze here a unique data set, which contains the response of 368 assessors that participated in 21 odor proficiency tests performed in 2016–2022. By investigating the response of the smallest unit of an odor measurement by EN 13725, namely the individual assessor, as opposed to the panel, we gain unprecedented insight into the sources of inter-laboratory variations in odor measurements. Our results indicate that the assessor sensitivity to n-butanol is not transferable to other odorants and odor mixtures, which is contrary to the assumption made in EN 13725. By Monte-Carlo simulation coupled with our data set, we investigate how the responses of individual assessors transfer to panel responses, focusing on the influence of panel size, panel selection strategy and number of rounds. We find that for the laboratories investigated, larger panels only modestly reduce the inter-laboratory variability and we attribute this effect to non-random selection of assessors for the panels of these laboratories. The present work provides new insight into the sources of inter-laboratory variability in odor emission monitoring and is expected to be useful in the further development of reliable methods for odor concentration measurements and odor abatement technology.

Methodology and Realization of Indoor Pass-by Noise measurement for passenger cars

Nowadays the protection of human life is extremely important, and for this purpose the vehicles must go through a homologation process before the introduction to market. If we look at the acoustical requirements, one of the most important test procedures is the Pass-by Noise (PBN) measurement, which defines the noise emission limit value, when the observer stands beside the vehicle passing him by. There are two versions: Exterior (or Outdoor) and Indoor (or In-room) Pass-by Noise (IPBN) measurement. Former is presently the only accepted method for homologation; however, environmental and weather conditions could strongly influence its feasibility. For this reason, IPBN got into focus, with better suitability for development purposes and the prospect, that it will be accepted later for the homologation process too. This paper focuses on the IPBN method: gives an overview on the setup and presents the details of a realized test-measurement campaign. Beside the 2 most important points: the measuring room and the position of the sensors, the measurement devices, vehicle location and connection to measurement system, the measuring program and the whole process are presented together with some preliminary results related to different characteristics of the vehicle.

Industrially relevant pyrolysis of diverse contaminated organic wastes: Gas compositions and emissions to air

Pyrolysis is a promising waste handling technique compared to incineration, especially due to its potential for greenhouse gas reduction through biochar carbon removal. This study investigated greenhouse gas and air pollutant emissions and emission factors from waste feedstocks and a reference clean wood pyrolyzed at 500–800 °C in an industrially relevant small version Biogreen® unit with condensation prior to pyrolysis gas combustion. Emissions were generally lower than literature values, except for nitrogen oxides (NOX) and sulfur dioxide (SO2). Methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions ranged 30–570 mg CH4 and 0–32 mg N2O per kg biochar produced. Waste lignocellulosics (waste timber and garden waste) had comparable emissions to clean wood, except for higher NOX emissions. All waste feedstocks exceeded the EU NOX emission limit value for waste incineration (>200 mg NOX/Nm3 at 11% oxygen, O2), while no carbon monoxide (CO) was measured (<0.6 mg/Nm3) suggesting possible compliance with EU emission limit values for waste incineration with simple pollution control measures such as air-to-fuel ratio regulation, or other NOX reducing measures such as flue gas recirculation or selective (non-)catalytic reduction. Sludges and food waste reject also exceeded the SO2 EU emission limit value (50 mg SO2/Nm3 at 11% O2) for waste incineration, emissions ranging 61–298 mg SO2/Nm3 at 11% O2, indicating the potential need for SO2 pollution control. In conclusion, this study shows continuous pyrolysis with condensation as a promising alternative for waste management with potential for simplified air pollution control compared to incineration. Future work should focus on optimized combustion systems for waste pyrolysis and emissions from waste pyrolysis without condensation.

The assessment of a road “acoustic capacity” methodology and application to a real case of study

In this paper, a new methodology for the definition of the acoustic capacity of a road infrastructure is proposed. The acoustic capacity is rather a new topic as, in the road performance assessment, only the physical capacity is taken into account, or, sometimes, the environmental capacity due to atmospheric pollutants; instead the environmental capacity due to noise, called “acoustic capacity” in the following, is always neglected. For the acoustic capacity assessment, the Harmonoise model has been used: it receives in input traffic data and provides in output noise emission and immission levels which are after compared to the limit levels established by law. Moreover, some problems of implementation on the field of the acoustic capacity methodology are investigated: the position of the receiver in the case of intersections of complex geometry; the noise emission limit values to take into account in case of rush hour traffic. The proposed methodology is applied to a real network: the road network of Piombino, Italy. The results of the application show firstly that the acoustic capacity is actually a constraint involving several traffic flows. Moreover, the acoustic capacity of a road infrastructure is generally lower than its physical capacity, when the noise emission limit value is that ​​imposed by law: that is the acoustic descriptor Lday in our analysis. When the limit value increased by 3 dB(A) for rush hours is taken into account, the acoustic capacity is higher, and is more often greater than the physical capacity.

PCDD/Fs, PAHs and HCl emissions from co-combustion of lignite and chicken manure in a circulating fluidized bed boiler with compact refractory casting

Chicken manure (CM) should be used in energy production due to its high production potential for the waste-to-energy approach. Co-combustion of CM with lignites may be a good practice in terms of reducing its environmental impact and the need for fossil fuels. However, the level of organic pollutants originated from CM combustion is not clear. This study investigated the potential of CM to be combusted in a circulating fluidized bed boiler (CFBB) with a local lignite. Combustion and co-combustion tests of CM and Kale Lignite (L) were performed in the CFBB to measure PCDD/Fs, PAHs and HCl emissions. CM burned in the upper parts of the boiler due to its high volatile matter content and low density compared to coal. This caused the bed temperature to decrease with the increase in the amount of CM in the fuel mixture. It was also observed that the combustion efficiency increased as the share of CM in the fuel mixture increased. Total PCDD/F emissions increased with CM share in the fuel mixture. However, all are less than emission limit value (100 pg I-TEQ/m3). Co-combustion of CM with lignite at different ratios did not have a significant effect on HCl emissions. PAH emissions were found to increase with the increase of the CM share when the CM share was more than 50% by weight.

Techno-economic impact of lower emission standards for waste-to-energy acid gas emissions

Acid gas removal is one of the main drivers of operating costs in the flue gas cleaning lines of waste-to-energy (WtE) plants. In the light of updated technical and normative references, such as the revised Best Available Technology reference document for waste incineration in the EU, plants are required to comply with increasingly lower emission limit values (ELV). In the case of existing WtE plants, this requires selecting the appropriate option among three alternatives: intensification of current operations, installation of additional equipment (retrofitting) or substitution of equipment (revamping). The identification of the most cost-effective solution to meet the new ELVs is thus paramount. In the present study, a comparative techno-economic assessment is performed with reference to the relevant options available to WtE plants equipped with a dry acid gas treatment system, explicitly taking into account the influence of several technical and economic variables by a sensitivity analysis. The results show that retrofitting based on furnace sorbent injection is a competitive option especially in the presence of high acid gas loads in the flue gas. Despite the high investment cost, revamping based on conversion to wet scrubbing can also reduce the overall cost of treatment compared to intensification, but only if no constraints are present on flue gas temperature downstream of the acid gas treatment. If flue gas reheating is needed, e.g., for the compatibility with a downstream DeNOx treatment or to avoid plume visibility at stack, the associated costs make revamping not competitive with retrofitting or intensification. Sensitivity analysis confirms that these findings are robust even in presence of relevant variations in cost entries.

The collaborative pollutants and carbon dioxide emission reduction and cost of ultra-low pollutant emission retrofit in China's cement kiln

Promoting the ultra-low pollutant emission retrofit of the cement industry, as the third largest industry in terms of air pollutants and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in China, has become an important part of achieving carbon peaking and carbon neutrality. In this work, the current status of pollutant emission in cement industry and the pollutant emission limit value of ultra-low emission retrofit in typical provinces were analyzed. And, the collaborative air pollutants and CO2 emission reduction potential and cost-benefit were assessed in six types of ultra-low pollution emission retrofit scenarios. The results indicate that the emission reduction of particulate matter (PM)，sulfur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) in six scenarios are 10%–15%, 1%–5% and 26%–64%, respectively. The construction investment of 43.8 billion Yuan is needed to complete the retrofit of production lines when the pollutant emission limit value is set as 10 mg/m3, 35 mg/m3 and 50 mg/m3 for PM, SO2 and NOx, which is 6 times of that when the pollutant emission limit value is set as 10 mg/m3, 50 mg/m3 and 100 mg/m3. However, the cost per unit equivalent of pollutant abatement of the former is only 36% of the latter. The emission reduction potential of CO2 in six scenarios is 0.4%–0.6%, indicating that the ultra-low pollutant emission retrofit in cement kiln has limited effect on CO2 emission reduction potential. Comprehensive analysis of emission reduction potential and cost-benefit, it is more economical and reasonable for China cement kilns to choose the path of ultra-low emission retrofit in scenario 4.

Feasibility of Using Isokinetic Sampling Techniques to Extract a Representative Sample from Processes in the United Kingdom

The requirement to monitor and control particulate emissions from industrial processes using continuous emission monitoring systems (CEMS) has significantly increased over recent years. Under current legislation, CEMS equipment requires calibration against the standard reference method (SRM) using isokinetic sampling and gravimetric analysis under controlled conditions as detailed through BS EN 13284-1 “Stationary source emissions–Determination of low range mass concentration of dust. Manual gravimetric method”. This process includes pumping a known volume of gas through a filter, which is weighed before and after sampling, and the total mass of dust per m3 can then be calculated to output results in mg/m3. As tougher legislation is introduced and stringent emission limit values (ELVs) are imposed on emissions processes in the United Kingdom (UK), the calibration of CEMS is increasingly more difficult due to the reliability of the SRM at low concentrations. The accuracy of results from the SRM and therefore CEMS equipment must be questioned when the uncertainty of measurement is higher than process ELVs. This research analyses data taken from an industrial survey and 21 UK processes where the standard reference method, in accordance with the procedure in BS EN 13284-1 has been used for particulate measurement. Investigating the reliability of isokinetic sampling when used as a method to extract a representative sample from a stack process when used in conjunction with innovative, alternative methods of sample analysis. In processes with particulate emissions &lt;5 mg/m3, 80.7% of the total sample was collected in the rinse, and for processes &gt;5 mg/m3, 56.4% of the sample was collected in the rinse. The data does not suggest any correlation between any of the measured parameters and the percentage of particulate in the rinse, including the stack velocity, isokinetic percentage, sample volume, and total mass concentration.

Carbon Border Measures, Environmental Effectiveness and WTO Law Compatibility: Is There a Way Forward for the Steel and Aluminium Climate Club?

AbstractWith its narrow focus on price-based policies and ‘explicit’ carbon prices, the EU carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM) aims to prevent carbon leakage by ensuring that imported products ‘bear’ the same exact economic costs ‘borne’ by EU products. The proposed US border carbon adjustment (BCA) and the recent proposal for a global steel and aluminium arrangement (GSAA), by contrast, reflect a broader focus on environmental equivalence and recourse to punitive or quasi-punitive remedies. All recently proposed carbon border measures suffer from specific limitations. Further, albeit to a different extent, they are all associated with problematic aspects in terms of WTO law compatibility. This research note enquires whether the GSAA could be fine-tuned at the regulatory design stage in such a way as to provide an environmentally effective and WTO law compatible way forward. The analysis illustrates that recourse to an installation-based approach, emission limit values and product standards would achieve these goals. Nonetheless, the implementation of this ambitious strategy would be fraught with political obstacles.

Multistage treatment for olive mill wastewater: Assessing legal compliance and operational costs

A treatment train for the remediation of a raw olive mill wastewater (OMW) was investigated, aiming to comply with the emission limit values (ELVs) for direct discharge into water bodies. The following stages were proposed: (i) pre-treatment (filtration and sedimentation), (ii) coagulation, (iii) biological oxidation, and (iv) advanced oxidation process (AOP). Under the best-operating conditions for coagulation (0.8 g L−1 of Al2(SO4)3, pH = 4.5), high removal of total suspended solids (TSS) (97%), turbidity (98%), and phenols (57%) was achieved, along with a decrease in the inhibition of the biological activity. A subsequent biological oxidation stage provided a high removal of organic matter (chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal of 73%). For the third stage, three AOPs were applied and compared – photo-Fenton with UVA radiation (PF-UVA), anodic oxidation (AO), and ozonation (O3). After 3 h of treatment, the PF-UVA process (pH = 2.8, [H2O2] = 400–500 mg L−1, [Total dissolved iron]0 = 100 mg L−1) allowed to meet the ELV for COD, but the other parameters exceeded the threshold, while O3 process (inlet concentration = 100 mg O3 Ndm−3, gas flow = 0.2 Ndm3 min−1) allowed to comply with phenols, TSS, and sulfate limits. The AO process (current density up to 200 mA cm−2) was the least efficient AOP for all studied parameters. The operational costs for the coagulation and biological oxidation stages were estimated at 1.20 € m−3. Regarding the most effective AOPs, ozonation presented an estimated cost 2.3-fold higher than PF-UVA (11.9 € m−3vs. 5.2 € m−3).

Research on the influence of different calculation methods of deterioration factors on light-duty vehicle emissions

The calculation method of deterioration factor of durability test in China 6 emission regulation of light-duty vehicle is studied. The difference between multiplication and addition in the implementation of the regulations is obtained. The results show that the additive DF can keep the actual deterioration level of the car, while the multiplication DF will change the deterioration level of the car and enlarge the error; With the decrease of emission limit, multiplication DF makes it more difficult for vehicles to pass through emission limit value than add DF; For emission consistency inspection, the two degradation factors have advantages in different regions.

Modeling of Energy Consumption and Reduction of Pollutant Emissions in a Walking Beam Furnace Using the Expert Method—Case Study

This paper presents an algorithm for modeling electricity and natural gas consumption in a walking furnace with the use of artificial intelligence and simulation methods, depending on the length of the rolling campaign and the established rolling program. This algorithm is the basis for the development of a proposal for a set of minimum requirements characterizing the Best Available Techniques (BAT) for beam furnaces intended for hot rolling, taking into account the requirements set out in national regulations and the recommendations described in the BREF reference documents. This information should be taken into account when drawing up an application for an integrated permit, as well as when setting emission limit values. Based on the constructed algorithm, it was shown that depending on their type and technical specification, the analyzed projects will offer measurable economic benefits in the form of reducing the amount of energy consumed by 1,076,400 kWh during the implementation of 50 rolling campaigns to reduce gas by 14,625 GJ and environmental benefits in the form of reduction of pollutant emissions into the atmosphere 80–360 g/Mg. The constructed algorithm was validated in the Dosimis-3 program, based on a discrete event-driven simulation. Thanks to this representation of the model, its user can interactively participate in changes that take place in the model and thus evaluate its behavior. The model, verified in real conditions, can be the basic source of information for making effective operational technological decisions related to the preparation of production at the rolling mill as part of planning and long-term activities.

A Practical Methodology for Forecasting the Impact of Changes in Influent Loads and Discharge Consents on Average Energy Consumption and Sludge Production by Activated Sludge Wastewater Treatment

This paper proposes a simple and easy-to-use methodology for forecasting the impact of changes in influent chemical oxygen demand (COD) and in the emission limit values (ELVs) of COD and total nitrogen on average energy requirements for aeration and sludge production by activated sludge wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). The methodology is based on mass balances of sludge production and oxygen requirements for carbonaceous material biodegradation and/or nitrification, oxygen transfer and aeration equipment efficiency. Using average values of historical data of regular monitoring (water quality and operating conditions) WWTP-specific equations of oxygen requirements, energy consumption and sludge production are derived as a function of influent COD and influent N-total, which may be used to quantify the impact of influent and ELV changes. The methodology was tested in five extended aeration WWTPs for three scenarios established by the utility. The results show that increasing influent COD, from 900 to 1300 mg/L, for example, significantly increases the energy consumption by 49% and sludge production by 53%. For influent 54–68 mg/L N-total, imposing 15 mgN/L ELV results in a 9–26% increase in energy consumption. The COD ELV change studied (season-specific, from 150 mg/L 12 months/year to 125 mg/L 8 months/year to 100 mg/L 4 months/year) increases the energy consumption by 1.8–2.6% and the sludge production by 4.3–5.4%.

Dust Emission Monitoring in Cement Plant Mills: A Case Study in Romania.

This paper presents aspects of monitoring material dust emissions from stationary emission sources (monthly dust measurements performed on cement mill stacks—mill outlet and separator outlet). Additionally, the Portland cement mill technological process (its component parts), as well as the solutions regarding the reduction of the air emissions level, following the emission limit values (VLE), established in the integrated environmental authorization (AIM) from a cement factory in Romania, were analyzed. The paper focused on analyzing the data obtained in three different years for PM10 and dust concentrations (2018–2020). For each year, the measurements have been done in 3 months, each in a different season. The average values for each year for working conditions were: 30.22 mg/m3 (2018), 27.38 mg/m3 (2019), and 27.51 mg/m3 (2020) for working conditions and for normal conditions: 34.22 mg/m3 (2018), 30.49 mg/m3 (2019), and 30.16 mg/m3 (2020). For all 3 years, the values measured in spring were higher than the other two, both for work and normal conditions.

Climate service derived indicators to assess the impact of climate change on local river assimilative capacity

Continental climate services provide information on essential climate variables and indicators, which can further be used to address challenges at the local scale. Climate impact indicators are the core data for evaluating the change of the assimilative capacity of the river systems under future projection scenarios. Here, the indicators from the Copernicus pan-European climate service are used to develop and showcase a water management information service for the Asopos River, Greece. River flow indicators are incorporated in the estimation of emission limit values which serve as environmental pressure indicators, for the reference and two future periods (early- and mid-century). Assimilative capacity is evaluated for six heavy metals, namely Cr, Cd, Cu, Pb, Ni and Zn. Socioeconomic indicators are also utilized to incorporate changes of economic activities in the assessment. Results from the large ensemble of 209 scenarios, consisting of different global circulation, regional climatic and impact model combinations as well as industrial activity evolution, indicate that a decrease (up to 33% of 209 scenarios) of assimilative capacity is more probable than an increase (up to 18% of the scenarios) in a future climate. Local industrial activity evolution also has an effect on the uncertainty of the results for the early-century period. We conclude that although climate impact indicators are free of the need for laborious processing, they cannot cover all requirements for local analyses. Consequently information from continental climate services and local data should be used for climate change impact investigations.

Air Quality and Industrial Emissions in the Cities of Kazakhstan

Industrial emissions are of major concern, especially in developing countries. Hence, there is a need for studies that investigate the trends in industrial emissions in these countries. The purpose of this study is to discuss trends in industrial emissions in Kazakhstan and the air pollution level in its industrial cities. Data on emission limit values from the permitting documents of twenty-one power plants and nine metallurgical enterprises of Kazakhstan were analyzed. Eight cities (out of fourteen) had a “high” level of atmospheric air pollution according to the Air Pollution Index in 2019. Most of the considered enterprises increased their emission limit values compared to the previous permitting period. In some cities there is a lack of monitoring stations, indicating the need for improving the spatial coverage of the air quality monitoring network in the industrial cities of Kazakhstan. The location of industrial plants far outside the cities could reduce the exposure of the urban population to air pollution. Kazakhstan urgently needs to adopt stringent emissions standards for coal-fired power plants and heavy industrial plants. The national air quality standards and definitions of air pollutants need to be updated based on the latest scientific knowledge.

The effect of the European Industrial Emissions Directive on the air emission limit values set by competent authorities in the permitting procedure: The case of the Spanish cement industry

The concept of the “flexibility principle” introduced by the Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control Directive in the procedure to determine the emission limit values in the permit raised the interest of several scholars and heightened the debate on environmental regulation. The Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control Directive allows a considerable flexibility to competent authorities in the permitting process to deviate from the use of best available techniques described in the reference documents. Several studies show how this flexibility lead to disparities in the permitting process among Member States, which reduced the potential benefits in the environmental performance of companies.After the adoption of the Industrial Emissions Directive by the Member States of the European Union, the permit contents of around 52,000 of the largest European Union industrial installations need to be updated by competent authorities to meet the requirements of this Directive. Several studies on its effectiveness have been developed to determine how emission limit values are set by competent authorities with reference to the range of emission levels associated with the best available techniques.This paper is oriented to study the effect of the Industrial Emissions Directive at sector level, investigating its effects on the air emission limit values set by the competent authorities in the permits for cement facilities. This paper contributes to the scientific debate in relation to the effect of these Directives on the environmental performance of the industrial installations. The data analysed in the case study considered show that the emission limit values have been reduced in permits consistently over the past 10 years.

Emission measurement campaigns of Respirable Crystalline Silica (RCS) at industrial plants/Emissionsmessungen von alveolengängigem kristallinen Siliziumdioxid (RCS) an Industrieanlagen

The potential risk from human exposure to Respirable Crystalline Silica (RCS) includes a range of serious non-malignant effects as well as lung cancer, which may occur at relatively low levels. In a previous study, investigating several industrial sectors, we found the highest emission levels of RCS in the industrial silica sand operations. 28 different sand processing facilities were examined in two complex emission measurement programmes. A two-stage cascade impactor was used to separate the particle fractions: &gt; 10 μm, 10 - 4 μm and &lt; 4 μm of aerodynamic diameter. The size of particles of most concern is the so-called particulate matter 4 (PM4). The analytical procedure for determining RCS in emission samples consists of using X-ray diffraction and infrared spectroscopy methods. The relationship between Total Particulate Matter (TPM), PM4 and RCS (as a percentage of PM4) was evaluated. In the case of increased Total Particulate Matter concentration in the stack gas (more than 20 mg/m³) combined with increased percentage of RCS in PM4 an exceedance of an Emission Limit Value (ELV) of 1 mg/m³ is more likely to occur. The evaluation of the emission data helped to formulate differentiated emission control requirements of the plants concerning the draft of the new German Technical Instructions on Air Quality Control (new German TA Luft). It was possible to demonstrate, under which conditions for the specific processing techniques used, emission limits for Total Particulate Matter can be used as a threshold value for the Respirable Crystalline Silica emission. If the mass fraction of quartz in the source rock to be processed is more than 20%, periodic measurements of Respirable Crystalline Silica will be necessary every three years on grinders, whereas they will be only necessary on dryers if the Total Dust concentration exceeds 5 mg/m³.